Originally Posted by
koraks
A negative doesn't require all that much washing. I'm not sure why you want a short wash, and how short you're actually thinking of, but a few minutes and a few changes of water is all it takes to properly wash a negative.
As to prolonged wet times: yes, the emulsion will continue to soften, especially on films with less hardening such as Fomapan. In any case, leave the film wet for long enough and it'll slide right off the base eventually, even if it's rock hard TMAX.
I really don't see any good reasons to keep film wet for an extended period of time. Even when processing in the field, it's easy enough to bring a small tray that holds the 100-200ml it takes to submerse a 4x5" sheet and spend maybe 10 minutes tops on washing a negative.
@Eric: some people like a final wash with something like 50%-75% alcohol - pretty much any kind will do; ethanol, isopropanol etc. Drying times will be short. The solution could be reused in an outdoor/travel situation, but evidently evaporation will be an issue when using a tray for the final wash.
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