Use of X-ray film: technical discussion with example images

[Sweep]

You are a wise man mdarnton and very perceptive.
All this LF is so new to me, and I am probably trying to run before I can walk, but I am victim to information overload that the internet provides but what option do I have?
I suppose in the old days it would have been like a scene from the Karate Kid where you would have learned these skills at the side of "The Master" but nowadays we have an electronic master who provides all the information but none of the guidance :-(

[koraks]

Is Rodinal something I can make work or should I return?

It'll work just fine, don't sweat it
Expose as EI 50-80 and develop for 7 minutes or so in 1+100 and see what you get. Adjust time and dilution to suit your taste. You will get an image at the EI, time and dilution I mentioned and most likely it'll print just fine somewhere between grade 2 and 4 and it will scan perfectly alright in any case.

[ImSoNegative]

this stuff will develop in pretty much anything, d76 is good as is ilfosol 3

[Sweep]

I suppose as I have so much of this stuff on hand I can afford to do a bit of experimenting.
I will load up the film holders this weekend and make, say, four exposures at ISO50 and another four at ISO80 and then develop one at a time and see how it goes. 'Unfortunately' I am using Jobo tanks so will have to experiment with the timings blind.
One good thing about 100+1 dilution is that I wont run out of dev.

[seezee]

The good thing about having lots of Rodinal is it keeps practically forever. Even when it turns dark brown & yucky looking, it just works. And it's cheap, so you're not out much cabbage.

[alanbutler57]

I went back to re-shoot Fair Park in Dallas (heavy overcast) after botching development above vis a vie divided Pyrocat, Speed Graphic 127 Ektar. This time I went back to 1:1:100 but increased the number of fuji green negatives (ISO 100) from 4 to 6 (so 12 sides of emulsion) in the Jobo using 600 ml of solution. So, this is well below the recommended minimum amount of solution, but I did increase my normal time from 6 to 8 minutes in hopes I could use every molecule of developer and got usable images (at least for scanning).

So: 20-21C, 5 minutes prewash, 8 minutes 1:1:100 PCHD, normal stop and fix, Jobo 2551

Using the "fuji NHGII" pre-set to automatically remove color cast in Silverfast resulted in showing the Pyrocat brown stain nicely I think.

[Sweep]

Considering the green sensitivity of the x-ray film, what kind if scene should I use for my test shot? I do have a Spyder cube with white/grey/black patches which I can include in the scene but am concerned that I will not be able to accurately interpret the results due to the characteristics of the film. What I'm trying to say is what colours should I include and what should I try to avoid?

[koraks]

Just don't shoot a scene with a lot of red, as that won't register. Also avoid overly red light (e.g. the magic hour), as that will throw you off balance a bit during testing. But you can really shoot anything. I usually just use daylight for testing, preferably under light clouds, but sunshine works as well (it just gives more contrast, so measure your scene so that you know what kind of brightness range you're dealing with).

Alan, excellent image, I really like the toning! I wouldn't have known it was xray if it wasn't in this thread

[Sweep]

Thanks Koraks,
Just loading film holders now. The weather is pretty much as yo describe and my backdrop will be green privet hedge.
Wish me luck

[Sweep]

That being said, it is probably a daft idea to focus on anything less than infinity as I might introduce another variable, that being bellows extension