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

[seezee]

Has anyone tried using orange filters to darken skies with this film? I was looking at the spectral transmission graphs for some of B+W's green,yellow and orange filters, and there are a few orange ones that reduce transmission below mid-green.

I want to darken skies, because my outdoor shots look like they were taken during supernova. Evaluating my options and wondering if any of you guys have maybe tried colour filters with these films.

My guess is that you'd have a seriously underexposed negative. Since the film doesn't see to the orange part of the spectrum, and the filter you propose lets that part of the spectrum through while blocking what the film does see, you'd have a close to black image.

Having said that, x-ray film is cheap. Why not try it and report back?

[Corran]

Use a yellow filter. Seems to work okay with x-ray. Also, depending on situation, a polarizer can be helpful.

[Randy]

Use a yellow filter. Seems to work okay with x-ray. Also, depending on situation, a polarizer can be helpful.

I agree with Bryan - yellow. I tried an orange a couple years ago with the green sensitive x-ray film I had and the negs were severely under exposed.

[andrewch59]

Well I never gave up on the Mod54. I snipped off the fingers that protrude to hold the film in place, after feedback it seemed these were more of a hindrance than anything else. There is still a little groove there for the film to sit in but it does not interfere with the flow or cause unwanted marks in development because of them.
What I did do was load it up with film and marked where the film crossed the wings at each end. I t hen drilled small holes in the wings at the ends of the spool and injected gasket goo? through them to cause a small nipple that would prevent the film from slipping out. I have only tried two 4x5 at a time so far and it works a treat. The wings at each end can be pulled out slightly to allow placement of the film and then closed to hold the film in place.

[koraks]

Huh, what do you know, that looks perfect! Can you post a picture of the modifications to the MOD54?

[andrewch59]

unfortunately it doesn't stop scratches cause by cutting up 8x10 size film and loading. I used sergei's amounts for R09 and it has been pretty much spot on I think, thanks Sergei

[axs810]

All you really need to do for the Mod54 is feel where the film sits and feel the edges. If you can feel anything slightly "sharp" just file it down lightly. Doing that with gentle agitation makes the Mod54 a breeze to use.


I like your results andrewch59 but the sky looks a bit uneven. I'm mainly looking at the top right portion of the sky (yes I'm also accounting for where the sun is by looking at the shadows)

[andrewch59]

Hi AXS810, it was a real test run taking that photo. I had just finished grinding down the GG on my Shen Hao hzx45 iia, to try and get it a little more light sensitive, I then put a an old graflex Fresnel behind it and was trying it out for focussing. I also had my new to me super angulon 90mm f8 lens on, and a circular polarizing filter, which was the first time I had tried it. It seems that there is a change up in the filter that I need to be aware of, if not you get that uneven sky tone. I also didn't allow a couple of stops for the filter.
As far as the mod54 goes, my film would slip out of the holder during rotation, others mentioned that the longer "fingers??" disrupted the flow and left tell tale marks well into their negs. I did notice a couple of scratches on another neg I developed which seems to be from me not rounding of the fingers well enough. Hey! it was just a test to see if I could get it functioning, its not a cheap bit of plastic to buy.

[senderoaburrido]

My guess is that you'd have a seriously underexposed negative. Since the film doesn't see to the orange part of the spectrum, and the filter you propose lets that part of the spectrum through while blocking what the film does see, you'd have a close to black image.

Having said that, x-ray film is cheap. Why not try it and report back?

Use a yellow filter. Seems to work okay with x-ray. Also, depending on situation, a polarizer can be helpful.

I think that's the idea, though. Bump up exposures significantly, at least in landscape shots, to get a more balanced exposure. If you take a look at the Carestream EB/RA sensitivity graph, it's actually more sensitive to high green than it is to blue, by a smidge. Taking a second look at the B+W filter transmission graphshttp://www.ars-imago.com/productinfo...onCurves_e.pdf, I can see that yellow would probably make a hell of a difference. It's interesting to see that even though true yellow light is supposed to start around 580nm, above the cutoff for my film's sensitivity, the filter still transmits light well below that mark.

[axs810]

Hi AXS810, it was a real test run taking that photo. I had just finished grinding down the GG on my Shen Hao hzx45 iia, to try and get it a little more light sensitive, I then put a an old graflex Fresnel behind it and was trying it out for focussing. I also had my new to me super angulon 90mm f8 lens on, and a circular polarizing filter, which was the first time I had tried it. It seems that there is a change up in the filter that I need to be aware of, if not you get that uneven sky tone. I also didn't allow a couple of stops for the filter.
As far as the mod54 goes, my film would slip out of the holder during rotation, others mentioned that the longer "fingers??" disrupted the flow and left tell tale marks well into their negs. I did notice a couple of scratches on another neg I developed which seems to be from me not rounding of the fingers well enough. Hey! it was just a test to see if I could get it functioning, its not a cheap bit of plastic to buy.

Ahh I understand now. The use of the polarizing filter would explain what I'm seeing

Can't wait to see your future results with this set up!