Pushing b/w film

[jordi]

Hey folks. I'm new to using b/w film.

 

I have an Olympus XA, and I'd like to start using it for b/w photography. My question is, I'm

after that contrasty, grainy look. What's my best choice? Push Tri-X 100 all the way to 800?

 

If my camera goes only to 800, is there a way to push beyond that, or am I stuck? The reason

I ask is, I've heard people saying values as high as 128000, but I don't know which camera

goes that high.

 

For now, I'm developing in labs, but I might try my luck at bulk loading at using Diafine at

home. Sorry for the long post, thanks!

[rich_ullsmith1]

What size are you enlarging to? If you are in the 8X10 or 11X14 range, you

will get plenty of grain from a Tri-X400 or Delta 400 ,EI400, in Rodinal. Lots

more control, too.

 

A super contrasty neg will leave you nowhere to go at the printer. IMO, better

to shoot for a full spectrum neg, choose a developer for grain, and use harder

filters for contrast at the printer.

 

If you are going to have only one developer at home, Rodinal would not be a

bad choice. Long shelf life, highly diluted, one-shot liquid. Cheap, too.

[jay ott]

You need to understand what the ISO dial is for. The purpose of the ISO dial is to set the meter so it will read light for any given film's sensitivity to light. Whether you are pushing or not, you can expose the film at 1600 if your meter can only read 800 by simply stopping down 1 stop or using a shutter speed 1 stop faster than the meter says. If extrapolating meter readings bothers you, then I would suggest to get a handheld meter.<p>

 

Tri-X's box speed is 400, not 100. Rating it at 800 is only a 1 stop push and would not increase grain very much.

 

Anyone who has accidently set the wrong ISO for the speed of their film knows that setting it lower overexposes the film and setting it higher underexposes the film. If they don't catch it before processing, their medium gray values will be wrong.<p>

[nickr]

The XA is an aperture priority camera, so like Jordi says, he can only go to 800. But as Rich

pointed out, Tri-x at 400 developed in Rodinal should do the trick for 8x10 and beyond.

[jim_appleyard]

The XA also has a "backlight switch" which is the small lever on the bottom that swings out. It adds 1.5 stops to your exposure.

 

Another thing you can do, especially with the small wide-angle lens that the camera is fitted with, it to get a bit farther away from your subject when taking the photo and then blow the image up when printing. That, plus your Tri-X, Rodinal, higher contrast filters when printing, and pushing should get you the grain and contrast you need/want.

 

The XA won't go to to an EI of 12,000. You need a more sophisticated camera.

[jordi]

Yeah, I can't add one more stop by halving shutter speeds. It is Av only here. :(

 

Thanks for all the help though! I guess I'll just have to test pushing to 800 from both 100

and 400, to see the result. Because I have absolutely no idea what my lab will use.

[jordi]

Ah, Jim, great idea!

[groundglass]

I think using the backlight switch will have the opposite effect you want and just bring you pretty much right back to where you started EI wise...

 

i.e.

 

400 speed film + iso set to 800 (underexpose 1 stop) + backlight switch (overexpose 1.5 stops) = EI ~320

[jim_appleyard]

Jonathan, I belive you're right!

[jordi]

Ah, crap. Well, at least I haven't wasted film yet! To be honest, I looked it up, and the

backlight is +1.5EV. I don't know how an 'EV' relates to an f-stop, so that stopped me from

wasting film at ISO 320.

[rustys pics]

Pushing Tri-X to 800 in your XA would be pretty simple. Pushing a 125 speed film like Plus-X or FP-4 would yield the grainy, high contrast effect you seem to be after. A good developer would be Ilford DD-X or Kodak XTOL

On the more esoteric side, I have gotten some great results pushing fomapan 200 to 800 using Calbe A49 developer. Both are available in the US from <a href="http://jandcphoto.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9">JandC Photo.<a/>

[john_shriver]

If you want grain, shoot Ilford Delta 3200 or Kodak T-MAX P3200. Expose at 800, which is pretty close to the true speed. Ilford's times for 1600 are really correct for 800, so use them if you use that film.

[mb81]

If you look at older photographs from the 50's and earlier, you will notice that most of these are pretty high contrast, but not grainy. Most of the old press photographers used Tri-X also called (saftey film) and pushed it giving it that contrasty look.

 

If that is what you are looking for, go for the push. But if you want a really grainy look, shoot T-Max 3200 or Neopan 1600. The choice of developer makes a huge difference in grain as well. I have developed TMax 3200 in TMax developer and gotten very ungrainy film. I prefer developing mine in D-76 stock.

 

Also, if you develop yourself, if want a big (chunky as I call it) grainy photo, when developing double the agitation, and rather than agitating smoothly, shake the tank really hard for a few seconds. This will give you very chunky grain.