anthony3

<p>Hi Charles:<br>

<em>The difference between shutter speeds is 1 stop. You can use any combination of shutter speed/aperture change to get to how many stops over or under Zone V reading you need.<br />Four stops under 1/500 f8=1/30 f8; 1/60 f5.6; 1/125 f4.</em><br>

I appologise for belaboring this but what you are writing is not sinking in for me. For example - going from zone v to zone I in my mind should have the effect of letting in less light/exposure thus making the film less dense and closer to film base plus fog. But in your example you are showing four stops as going from 1/500 @f8 to 1/30 @ f8 and it seems to me a longer exsposure (1/500 vs 1/30) would let in more light and therefore move more toward zone IX than zone I. Have I totally lost it?</p>

<p>Hi Robert:<br>

If I have the concept correct I was using the meter to get Zone v and then stopping to Zone 1 which is the darkest area with some detail. Then I would test my negative for base plus fog and look for the exposure which was .1 over that to find out what exposure and what film speed setting got me that and I would then know what the actual film speed was for my camera/development/film. You Zone folks can let me know if I have this correct.</p>

<p>I'm using Ilford Delta 100 and an 80mm lens on a Hasselblad. I was shooting the gray card in the sun and tried to alter the amount of light but in the shade was too dark and in the sun was a bit too bright. The books warned about indoor or artificial light. I was using an ultra spot II hand meter.<br>

Thanks. </p>

<p>Hi all:<br>

I am trying to test for film speed after reading Zone VI and Beyond the Zone System and all seemed clear until I actually went to do what I read. <br>

I went out with a Gray Card and got my reading (Zone V) then went to stop down to Zone I. Problem/confusion for me was that my V was 500 @ f8 and I didn't have four stops available. Can I at that point change the shutter speed to get the fourth stop? Also, my spot meter was reading things like 8.3 and 8.7 and 5.6 (7) and I wasn't sure what to do with the tenths of a stop. <br>

Sorry but most of the density seems to be in me rather than my film.<br>

Thanks,<br>

Anthony </p>

<p>First, I have some old but unopened Xtol, D76 and Dektol from about 9 years ago. Can I use them or just toss them? <br>

Second, I have Ilford PanF; Delta 100 prof; and Delta 400 prof film (new 120 rolls) and would appreciate suggestions on the recommended chemical to develop them.<br>

What this is all about is that I started to develop my own film ten years ago and was starting to learn the Zone system. Then the world happened and I woke up yesterday and would like to get back to where I was (in more ways than one) and continue learning and using the Zone system and making my own prints. <br>

thanks for the help,<br>

Anthony</p>

<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I have searched everywhere for the company but they seemed to have completely disappeared. I will keep a look out at Xlab as suggested and hope for the best. In the mean time it is still fine for reading density.</p>

<p>I just picked up a Mantis Densitometer (Absolute Photographic Co) and it did not have the attachment for shutter speed which I believe is a small optical cable that attaches to the unit. If anyone has one from a broken unit or wants to sell one or has one to loan so I can get back to the Zone System and check my shutter speeds I would appreciate it.<br>

Regrds,<br>

Anthony</p>

I just developed my first 120roll of Delta 400 in Xtol. The negatives look very nice to me but I was wondering how I determine if the 10.5 minutes I gave the file shouldn't be increased to 11 minutes or decreased to 10 minutes. In the Zone VI book I have it suggests exposing a roll to zone on at asa, 75% asa, 50%asa and 25%asa and then checking with a densitometer. Is there agreement that this is a good approach to finding the best time/asa for a given film or does someone out there have another suggestion? I would have thought that I should also expose for zone V and X to test those out as well.

P.S. thanks to the folks who helped me out a month or so ago with the problem I was having with my Xtol. It DID turn out to be a bad batch from Kodak and they replaced it.

Regards,

Anthony

I am about to develop some 120 rolls of Delta 400 and was wondering if I could get some recommendations concerning development time/temp for the finest grain. Also would appreciate fixing times and if stop bath is recommended. Finally, I thought I read somewhere that Illford didn't recomment pre-whetting the film but I would like to hear what you think about this.

Regards,

Anthony

I tried using Xtol developer for Ilford Delta 400 film (120 roll) last week and had very poor results. First of all when I mixed in the second part of the two part developer it formed this giant crystal(at 68degrees) which I had to heat and leave over night to get it to disolve. Then, when I developed my film (used xtol at full strength and developed for 10.5 minutes) the film came out with a slight greenish tint and therefore all my prints are dark and very grainy. I am clueless. Does anyone have any suggestions which might set me in the right direction?