Availability of 5x7 film

[Drew Wiley]

I didn't like the amidol tweak to PMK - just too unpredictable. And being mainly a field photographer who backpacked to locations, I didn't have the luxury of taking duplicate shots or bracketing sheet film exposures. In that respect, TMY proved more economical than low-budget sheet films because it was reliable in terms of quality control and more versatile to use. FP4 was my idea of a budget option, provided I could work with the lower speed, and if the scene contrast wasn't off the map - but that's exactly what I often encounter - windy days and extreme scene contrast. Another default for sake of saving money is to shoot 120 roll film when I have only moderate sized enlargements in mind; and in 6x9 format it mimics that lovely longer proportion of
5X7.

[Hans Berkhout]

Re: those shadows. Try condenser as enlarger light source -if you haven't already.

[Daniel Unkefer]

I never found PMK+ to be unpredictable in actual use. At the time I was using my Olde Art Deco Kodak Visual Densitometer (uber accurate BTW), and I was nailing exposure and development. On big landscaping trips I never bracketed. One Shot Daniel. Although as a caveat I shot a dupe each time, to run in D76 1:1 as a comparison. Both sets of negs were exactly pretty much in the zone, so to speak. All was acting very predictably.

Now I will soon crack open a new set of bottles of PF's PMK. I have Amidol in good condition, so of course I intend to use it. My Assistant Friend has a PHd in Chemistry, says the rainbows indicate chemical changes. In reality the negs often benefited from the "Amidol Shot" in the PMK. When the exposure was right on the line, it made a positive difference in terms of shadow speed, although not by much. So I will use it again. If you are willing to use older film, there are good deals on 5x7/13x18cm around.

13x18cm I also buy, in Wintertime, from the German shoppes. Buy in quantity it's the cheapest way.

[Mark J]

Re: those shadows. Try condenser as enlarger light source -if you haven't already.

My understanding ( which I'm hoping to confirm once my Durst 138 is operating ) is that the highlight areas should show improvement in tone separation due to reduction of the callier effect from the narrower cones of light to each point in the negative. This is also noted as an advantage of condenser illumination in my copy of the Ilford book of photography. So, I'm a little surprised to hear you imply it will improve the shadows. Is this from personal experience ?

[Hans Berkhout]

My understanding ( which I'm hoping to confirm once my Durst 138 is operating ) is that the highlight areas should show improvement in tone separation due to reduction of the callier effect from the narrower cones of light to each point in the negative. This is also noted as an advantage of condenser illumination in my copy of the Ilford book of photography. So, I'm a little surprised to hear you imply it will improve the shadows. Is this from personal experience ?

I'm not implying anything. I'm suggesting to try something.

[Mark J]

Ok, that's fine. However the shadow areas on the neg are relatively transparent and don't scatter much, so the Callier effect there is low and probably won't show much change.
In any case I will have this running in early December, fingers crossed, though my results will be qualitative at best, because I can't run two enlargers in the small darkroom.

[Drew Wiley]

Ohhh ... but all those other headaches when condenser sources are used. And for VC papers? Not for me. I'll stick with the diffusion colorheads on my Durst enlargers. I have no problem handling highlights ever since I started using PMK to begin with, though sometimes its nice to go the extra step to unsharp masking too, for the extra Wow factor.

[Mark J]

Yeh... I know, but I want to do this experiment now before it's too late and I can't handle the practical work involved. I can always revert to a diffuser head later if the problems are too much.
But this is a subject for another thread...

[Mark J]

Not having found any evidence of film or pricing on Kodak 5x7 sheet film on EBay, can I check with the US photographers - is 5x7 Kodak film a special order item ?
It looks like Keith Canham could offer it (and other formats), based on enquiries.

[Oren Grad]

A quick check just now shows 5x7 TMY in stock at B&H and 5x7 TXP in stock at Freestyle.

At B&H, TXP and E100 are flagged as "temporarily out of stock", Ektar 100 and Portra 400 as "special order".