Availability of 5x7 film

[Mark J]

Thanks.

[Jim Andrada]

Keith Canham puts together group purchases from time to time. I've gotten 5 x 7 Ektar 100 that way

[tgtaylor]

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.

For extreme scene contrast try the split grade printing technique and Defender 59D print developer. I recently revisited such a negative that I couldn't get a decent print from in the past and got a decent print using that technique. Dektol (1:2) rendered a too contrasty print and 59D (1:3) tamed the contrast. Using Dektol 1:3 or 1:4 may give a similar result.