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

[ericantonio]

I bought three SS 1/2 size chafing trays from Costco, very cheap

I use them only for 7x17

I think it's the same as 20X13

I just got back from Ikea and I saw these, I thought maybe if someone was looking for 8x10 sizes I think these should work.

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/kuggis-...hite-60280205/

[Fr. Mark]

Someone can do a better job on this than I can, but the sunny 16 rule is a way of estimating exposures. Xray film will make you think your light meter is lying to you, however, or the estimation rule is wrong. It is only Blue or Blue and Green sensitive so the yellow, orange, and red light late in the day (the golden hour for our color photography friends) will not meter correctly and you'll get under-exposure due to lack of light at the right wavelengths. The closer you get to sunrise or sunset the more exposure you'll need. Warm incandescent (or LED or fluorescents i.e. ones with lower color temperature) will also need a LOT more exposure (maybe 4 stops, maybe more, I don't have my notes here) to come out "right."

[ericantonio]

Someone can do a better job on this than I can, but the sunny 16 rule is a way of estimating exposures. Xray film will make you think your light meter is lying to you, however, or the estimation rule is wrong. It is only Blue or Blue and Green sensitive so the yellow, orange, and red light late in the day (the golden hour for our color photography friends) will not meter correctly and you'll get under-exposure due to lack of light at the right wavelengths. The closer you get to sunrise or sunset the more exposure you'll need. Warm incandescent (or LED or fluorescents i.e. ones with lower color temperature) will also need a LOT more exposure (maybe 4 stops, maybe more, I don't have my notes here) to come out "right."

Ah okay, I see. Does it matter if I do reflective metering or incident reading? I usually use a an old Sekonic one, the studio type one. I'm just used to it.

[Jim Noel]

Ah okay, I see. Does it matter if I do reflective metering or incident reading? I usually use a an old Sekonic one, the studio type one. I'm just used to it.

The type of meter doesn't really matter in this case. It has to do with the percentage of red and blue+green wavelengths available at time of exposure. The more red, the more exposure needed. A good indicator is to reflect the light off the recording side of a CD or DVD. Some practice viewings at various times of day will help make proper decisions.

[ericantonio]

The type of meter doesn't really matter in this case. It has to do with the percentage of red and blue+green wavelengths available at time of exposure. The more red, the more exposure needed. A good indicator is to reflect the light off the recording side of a CD or DVD. Some practice viewings at various times of day will help make proper decisions.

Ahhh, making all sense now!!

Okay, processed 3 sheets. Well, turned out to be 4. I didn't realize I had 2 sheets in one slot. Amateur hour! Turns out that was the best shot too.

First one, yep, I thought I was careful and got scratched
2n'd one success!! Zero scratches. Until I took it out of wash, and noticed it was 2 sheets. Had to dump one of them in fixer fast cause that was the best one. And handling that one give me a couple of scratches
3rd one, not bad.

I think they scratch, for me at least, is in the handling after fixer just looking at it and stuff like that. I have to remember, it's cooked, it's baked, I can't go back and stick it in the oven, it is what it is and I'll refrain from looking until I hang it up!

I wound up doing 2 min exposure pinhole, sunny 1pm southern california light, 8 min hc110 B. Looked pretty dense, probably will alt print really well. Rest I did 6 min.

[Daniel Unkefer]

Handheld HRU 200th F6 Med Yello MicX by Nokton48, on Flickr

Made another couple tests yesterday, decreasing exposure by one and two stops.

Handheld Fuji HRU Plaubel Makina II 1/200 f6.0 Plaubel Yellow filter Mic-X 12 minutes 5x7 Aristo #2 RC print Omega DII Omegalite Diffusion head Multigrade dev. Plaubel Makina sheet film holder was utilized.

Key Day Full Sun 3:00 EST. Great I can shoot handheld with XRay film! The Makina II is getting to be my favorite Makina. Plaubel used to market it as "The World's Smallest View Camera". I will agree with those sentiments after using it for a while.

[vnukov_pk]

13x18 SFM Mammo MF film, D23 dev, lomo reprolens 300/10






13x18 SFM Mammo MF film, d23 dev, xenar 210 lens

[Daniel Unkefer]

Very nice! ^^^ I like 13x18cm I am just getting started with it.

Two 13x18cm HRU in 11x14 Tray by Nokton48, on Flickr

Presently the largest size HRU i have attempted has been 4x5 which I enlarge to 8x10. Now I am getting started with 13x18cm for several reasons. I have a number of original 13x18cm Sinar Norma film holders, and cutting down an 8x10 sheet, I can get one 13x18cm, and three 6.5x9 sheets with just a small amount of scrap left. So I get all that for 32 cents a sheet which to me is a great deal. Presently I have loaded six 13x18cm holders and it is pretty easy to do for me. Never any scratches yet while the film is dry. When it is wet that is another story.

So now I have ordered four 11x14 Cesco trays from B&H cause I am moving up in film size. Extra XRay dental clips are required as you can see. The purpose is twofold; A) Keep the sheet completely off the bottom of the tray where is will smudge or abrade during agitation. B) Keep the sheets from moving around when agitating, bumping into each other which causes major scratching. Touch this stuff when it is wet, and it's game over. With a bit of due diligence and extra care you can produce perfect sheets without any scratching whatsoever. Yes I scratch sheets but that's my fault not the film.

I can fit 16x20 trays in my Delta Sink but there is no room for washing and big is very cumbersome. Large Deep tanks are in my future but not quite yet. Cesco trays are great for small film runs.

I'm using Paterson trays to mock up and to see how the sink fills up. I think I have enough room for this including washing.

[vnukov_pk]

What got me in this sfm mammo film is that it does not get scratches. Of course I handle it with care, but it behaves like normal bw film.

[Philippe Grunchec]

What got me in this sfm mammo film is that it does not get scratches. Of course I handle it with care, but it behaves like normal bw film.

Where do you buy this film?
Thx,