Hi folks, I`m of course not new to fotography, as well as film development or darkroom. Again, got a new toy, a minox B. First test film (Kodak Plus X at ISO 200 dev. in T-Max dev.)was quite nice, still with a special look wich seems to be improvable. Any recommendations from all you specialists? I´m of course looking for fine details rather defined contour but softer overall contrast. Naturally I`m cutting the stuff myself, so any film available in 135 welcome. Thanks, Martin
Since Minox 8x11 negative is about 1/3 the linear dimension of 35mm negative, to enlarge to same size print, the grains of Minox film is enlarged three times of that of 35mm negative. ASA 200 film is a bit grainy <p> YOu may try Ilford Delta 100 or Ilford PanF+<p> Or even Kodak Technical Pan, which will give you grainless 8x10" prints.<p> For developer, look for fine grain developer, such as Xtol etc. Personally I like to used Agfa Rodinal Special, diluted to 1+60, develop PanF+ or Technical Pan 16 minutes 20 degree C in Minox tank.<p>
After fooling around with a lot of different films and developers, I've been doing well for a few years now with Kodak T-Max 100 in good old D-76 1:1 at Kodak's recommended times. I routinely get beautiful 5x7 prints from my better negatives (and 4x5s from the ones that are a bit tougher to print). Contrast can be a bit high and highlights have a tendency to blow out sometimes, but the sharpness and grain make the trade-off worth it. Of the older-style 100-speed emulsions, I recommend Agfa APX 100 (aka Minopan 100), which is nearly as fine grained as TMX and has a much nicer look. (But I give it much less development time than Agfa recommends - only 9 minutes in D-76 1:1 at 68 degrees.) While it's not as fine grained as TMX, the contrast isn't as severe, and APX is just a beautiful emulsion. On the question of film speed, I have never found using 100 to be a problem in the Minox. I've made everything from amusement park night shots at 1/2 second to beach shots at 1/1000 with one of the filters on, and gotten good results. (Following conventional wisdom, you may *think* that you can't shoot in ordinary room light with 100-speed film, but given the Minox's lack of vibration and ease of hand-holding, you'd be surprised what good results you can get at 1/20 or 1/10 second!)
You may also take a look at http://www.8x11film.com, Agfa Copex Rapid developed in SPUR Nanospeed developer may give good result. However you must be careful in handling Copex, the antihalation layer is quite soft, prone to scratch.<p> The following picture was taken with Copex Rapid, developed in SPUR NANOSPEED in Minox tank, enlarged to 8x10" with Minox enlarger II <P> <img src="http://www.photo.net/photodb/image-display?photo_id=983844&size=md">
Agfa APX 25 is still available in factory loads. Developed in Rodinal it stands virtually alone in quality. If you find yourself in a situration where that's too slow, just push/pull/click/click twice and drop in APX 400. I like Rodinal for that too.
Agfa APX 25 is my favourite B&W film, I still have two 50' bulk rolls of APX 25 in the fridge.<p> I think I shall keep this bulk for 35mm camera, and use factory loaded Minopan 25 ( APX 25) for Minox. I shall load some APX 25 in my newly acquired Leica IIIc with Summitar 1:2 50mm lens<p> I am waiting for an OLO rotary scissors to make a 16mm to 9.2mm cutter for Agfa Copex 16mm bulk film.