Might depend on fixer. I also notice very fast clear times with TF-5 and it seems to last a very long time.
Might depend on fixer. I also notice very fast clear times with TF-5 and it seems to last a very long time.
Michael, there is a fix from Tetenal called Super Fix plus; it fixes normal film in 20 to 30 seconds, too, but Tetenal says 2 or 3 minutes.
Fixing a film until he is clear means, that the not exposed bromsilver is removed, and this can happen fast.
But this process brings new chemical connections; they must be removed, too, so I believe in Tetenal's 2 (or 3, I'm not sure) minutes.
Otherwise I have found, that old thin layer film fixes fast, too, but fixing more than 5 minutes destroyed the image in my negatives.
Ritchie
That's interesting. I've been fixing for about two minutes, in spite of the clearing time. Maybe I should give a bit more.
Also, I was wondering if it would wash faster, both since it clears quickly, and also is in the fix less time. Not that this matters, because I wash with changes and over-wash even by that plan, since it's so easy.
Thanks, but I'd rather just watch:
Large format: http://flickr.com/michaeldarnton
Mostly 35mm: http://flickr.com/mdarnton
You want digital, color, etc?: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stradofear
It was made for use in automatic processors which zip along, Inthink a friend said either 2 or 4 minutes insert to developed, fixed, dried. But this is hearsay.
Has anyone tried processing Ektascan in XTOL? If so, what was your process and how well did it work for you?
I think the quick fixing times are because the emulsion swells very readily, unlike the somewhat harder emulsions on regular films. Also, I think the emulsion is one layer (per side) only and the physical structure of the grains may have something to do with it as well. Either way, since the emulsiom absorbs fluids so readily, I suspect that washing times don't need to be very long either. I usually fix for one to two minutes, then rinse the film thoroughly under a ranking tap and finally let it soak for 5 to 10 minutes in water with a bit of photoflo. I doubt the longevity of my negatives, but it doesn't worry me too much, to be honest.
You can't really wash "faster". Washing is a soaking out process, so speeding up the water flow has little if any effect.Originally Posted by mdarnton
I have a box of 14x17 Agfa X-ray (old and fogged) that I fix-out to use as support material for making carbon tissue. Perhaps I am over-fixing it, as the emulsion on both sides comes off under any pressure. Is that what you mean by your image being destroyed?
mdarnton: Some photo material, and depending on how they are processed, do wash faster than others. But I think you would see the greatest effect of that with fiber base photo paper, with the paper base soaking up fixer. Since the film base does not soak up any chemicals, wash times are much shorter - with unhardened gelatin emulsions probably washing a little faster than hardened emulsions, but as you said, probably not significant in the normal over-washing we tend to do.
"Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China
QUOTE=Vaughn;1318443]I have a box of 14x17 Agfa X-ray (old and fogged) that I fix-out to use as support material for making carbon tissue. Perhaps I am over-fixing it, as the emulsion on both sides comes off under any pressure. Is that what you mean by your image being destroyed?
[/QUOTE]
No, I meant a kind of bleaching - if I remember right, it has been long ago.
But I can remember the not desired results, and the following better results after fixing short.
A friend of me gave me the tip of shortening the fixing time depending on the thin layer film.
Is there anywhere one can buy X-ray film in the UK? Either cut down to 4x5 or in original boxes.
It is just that I do not know if there is a place locally with a darkroom and a guillotine so I can cut the film down myself.
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