jim_landecker

Doubling or halving the ISO number is equal to a 1-stop change. The in-between numbers on your ISO dial (i.e. 250 and 320 in between 200 and 400) are 1/3 stop increments. Setting the meter's ISO to 200 will "overexpose" an ISO 400 film by one stop, setting it to 320 will overexpose by 1/3 stop.

Careful, my Mamiya 7 lenses all focus on infinity slightly ahead of the actual mark on the barrel (about the end of the loop on the infinity sign). It would be wise to put a piece of groundglass on the film rails with the back and the lens open, and check where infinity on the lens is before doing any major adjustments to the rangefinder. I also find that if the rangefinder is adjusted for infinity, it can be off at closer distances a bit, so I prefer to bias it to the closer focus range where depth of field is more sensitive to focus error.

 

Jim

Yes, meters with aperture-only scales require more mental juggling. I now use the "T" mode on a Sekonic L-558 (aperture priority) which works well. In low light levels, though, the shadow reading can be off the analog scale of the 558, which goes to 4s. In these cases some shifting is required, but I don't find it overly onerous.

 

Jim

I quite like it for Kodak HIE though....

Are you sure that the purple portions are on the emulsion side of the negative and not on the back side? If they're on the back side, it could be that the negative is clinging to the chamber wall and anti-halation layer isn't getting washed away. By the way, the chambers in the Expert drums are slightly barrel shaped so that liquid can flow around the back of the film. Hold one under a strong light, sight down the grooves in the chamber wall and you'll see. 1 liter is a lot of developer, and I think your tank would have to be pretty severely out of level to get undeveloped portions on the negative. On the other hand, how much fixer do you pour in? Maybe your "undeveloped" areas are actually unfixed.

Perfect! Thanks Michael!

I've just picked up a Copal electronic No.1 and want to try it out -

does anyone know what battery/voltage it needs? Recently there was

<a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?

msg_id=009rqA" >this</a> thread, but no one mentioned what battery

it is...anyone who has one care to have a look?

Thanks,

Jim

My suggestion would be to look at the German Berlebach tripods - high quality, sturdy, and consiberably cheaper than the Ries. http://www.berlebach.de/

In Germany you could also try Foto Brenner http://www.brenner-foto.de/ or Foto Mayr http://www.fotomayr.de/ Both carry about the same range of basic chemicals - Mayr is a bit cheaper. Of course there are also industrial suppliers, but the quantities you have to order might be too big, unless you really want 2kg of sodium metabisulfite!

 

Jim

Peter,

 

Thanks, that's good to hear - I'll try the additional 30% of solution A at high speed.

 

Jim

Arne,<P>

 

Which formula were you using, as the one on unblinkingeye.com has no EDTA?<P>

 

BTW, I was also using distilled water and a presoak, except the first set of negatives where I forgot, but the lack of presoak didn't affect the streaking at all.<P>

 

Thanks,<P>

 

Jim

Hi,

 

I recently tried self-mixed Pyrocat for the first time, developing

4x5" film using a CPE-2 and 2521 drum with 2509n reel. The films I

tried were Classic 200, Delta 100 and HP5+. I'm pretty happy with

the results and all the negatives, which were of a contrasty scene,

print easily and are very sharp. But....all of the Classic 200

negatives, and to a lesser degree the Ilford films (although I

haven't processed enough for this to be absolutely conclusive), show

density streaks near the edges of the film that sit in the grooves

of the reel. Putting the film back into the reel I can see that

indeed where streaks are worst, the film is sitting close to the

concentric bar of the reel. This effect is probably why Jobo

recommends the high speed setting for film development (which I

normally use and have had even development), but is unfortunately

contrary to Sandy King's recommendation of low speed to avoid

oxidation and general stain. So far I am considering trying the

following solutions:<p>

 

a. add some sodium sulfite as suggested by Sandy King, and try the

high speed rotation.<p>

b. only use the Ilford films, which seem less prone to the

problem.<p>

c. try developing on a CPA which can be set for "in-between" speeds

and see if a slightly higher speed will get rid of the streaks

without causing oxidation and stain problems.<p>

d. leave enough space around the edges for cropping.<p>

e. don't use Pyrocat with sheet film.<p>

<p>

I'll try option (a) first, as I would like to keep using the Pyrocat

and the Classic 200, which I like a lot. Have any others with the

same setup seen and found a way to minimize this problem?<P>

<p>

Thanks for any insights,<P>

<P>

Jim

Hi,

 

I just got a Spotmeter M, and was a bit dismayed that the meter

doesn't retain any settings (shutter, ASA) when turned off and back

on. The manual I got with it is for a slightly different version

which uses a smaller 6v battery and says "Measure lock" under the

power switch where mine says "on/off". Is the manual for an older

version? Is this normal behaviour for this model...it seems hard to

believe it would be designed that way? It's a little inconvenient to

have to set the ASA every time the meter is turned on, but I guess

I'll never forget to set the film speed! When did Minolta stop

making these (the fact that the button is labelled ASA says

something of its age!)? Or is it time to start looking for an "F"

model?

 

Jim

I'm curious about this half darkslide idea - if you simply slit a darkslide down the middle, won't you get light leaks through the slit? Seems to me some sort of baffle would be needed around the slit area.

Sorry, that should be Sodium Metabisulph-ITE!

Since I have some of the above chemical at hand, will it work the

same way as Sodium Sulfite for clearing Polaroid Type 55 negatives?

Thanks for any insights!

 

Jim

As others have suggested, it's probably the wrong lamp. I believe the 220 volt versions (as distributed by Jobo in Europe, and probably as manufactured by LPL in Japan) come with a power supply that has output for a 24V lamp, while the American versions come with a power supply made by the distributor Saunders, which has an 84V output. Check the power supply, as it should have the output voltage written on it somewhere.

 

Jim

Yes, I've had the same problem with Delta 400/ID-11. I am also using an acetic acid stop bath (and a water rinse before the stop), and I still got the pinholes after diluting the stop bath further. I've developed with D76 in the past and didn't experience these pinholes, but that was at a different facility, and I'm not sure what type of stop bath they had. The water there was also much softer. Could this have any bearing (does hard water have calcium carbonate)?

 

Jim

I have been offered a Saunders 4x5 enlarger that's marked "Diffusion

Modular Enlarger DM4500". I've never seen this model and can't find

much about it. Can anyone provide any information about this one and

what's different from the 4500II?

 

thanks,

 

Jim