david_karp

I love leave my lens wide open when pulling the darkslide on my film holder. It just makes my day. It wouldn't be so bad if I did not do it so often! Oops.

David Carper: Was the decline severe in units sold? Or was it a lesser decline exacerbated at the bottom line by the strong Euro against the dollar? I had heard through the grapevine that so much film is sold in the U.S. that the declining dollar severely hurt Ilford's bottom line, and that this really impacted the private brand sales of Ilford products due to the pricing in the agreements Ilford made with its customers.

I agree with the others. Diafine works fine with 4x5 sheet film. Some photographers do not, however, like how T-Max 100 looks developed in Diafine. Like other combinations, there are others who like it. I am in the first category. I love how FP4+ or HP5+ look in it.

Andre,

 

I think it is called "Hortogaby" and it is on Ventura Blvd., between Laurel Canyon and Lankershim. I cannot, however, vouch for the quality since I have not eaten there!

Akshay,

 

Try Diafine or Divided D-76. These are divided developers and all films are developed at the same time, usually 3 minutes in bath A and 3 minutes in bath B, with no wash in between. (Read the directions to make sure.) Photographer's Formulary has a Divided D-76 kit. Diafine is also a commercially available pre-mixed product. There are many other formulae available. Check out the latest edition of the Darkroom Cookbook.

 

Using a divided developer, you won't have to compromise by pegging the developing time in between Tri-X and HP5+ to come up with hopefully acceptable negatives.

 

Good luck.

Thank you Vincent.

Vincent,

 

Will you be posting the good news on this site? Or should we check the Barry Thornton site?

 

Thanks

Just to be clear. I was not pushing the super sharp screen (bosscreen) over the satin snow. Vincent just asked a question about the super sharp screen, and I happen to use one (and like it). I don't have any experience with the satin snow glass, but I have read universally good reviews of it.

The supersharp screen is a Bosscreen. It will make your image a little bit brighter, and very even. I find it easy to focus my Cambo with the supersharp screen. I have not tried it with a Fresnel lens, but suspect that it might help see the corners with very wide angle lenses.

No difference. The Cambo SC is an excellent workhorse camera. It uses the same lenses as any other 4x5. Nobody will ever be able to tell whether you used a Cambo, a Linhof, or a Sinar.

Scott,

 

You are right, T-MAX 100 is sensitive to time and temperature changes. A competing T-Grain film from Ilford, Delta 100, offers similar fine grain, and perhaps greater acutance. It processes well in standard developers like X-TOL and ID-11, and is not as sensitive to time and temperature changes as is T-MAX 100. As an alternative, Ilford FP4+ is a traditional grain film that I believe offers superior performance to Plus-X. However, different people have different opinions. I would compare Delta 100, FP4+, and Plus-X, and see how you like them.

As others have mentioned, it would help you to know what different light sources are hitting the building, as they will require different filtration. Since it is likely that there is more than one source, a good alternative would be to use negative film. Many architectural photographers are starting to use these in mixed light situations. Fuji NPS and Kodak Portra both work well in mixed light, without filtration.

Robert,

 

Whenever you have a technical question for Calumet on large format, contact Jose. He knows all of the old cameras, and variations of them, as well as about older Caltar lenses, etc. In the absence of a knowledgable sales person in a local store, he is their best resource.

Arista Professional is Ilford HP5+ or FP4+.

 

Arista.Edu is made by Forte.

Michael,

 

You are welcome.

 

Glad you like it. I find that two bath formulas are great from a convenience standpoint, as well as to compensate for the broad brightness range of many of the subjects I photograph.

Michael,

 

I use it. When I mix it, I do so at room temperature. It takes a long time to dissolve the metol, but then I don't have to cool the solution down to use it right away. I found that HP5+ is rated at 200 and FP4+ is rated at 64-80 in this developer. Others have looked at my test negatives and felt that I could go higher with both, but it all depends on how much shadow detail you want. I have his formula with 120 and 4x5, but not 35mm. I believe Thornton's website suggests 4 minutes at 21 degrees C for roll film and 5 minutes for sheet film. My experience is that temperature does not have too much impact on results, within a reasonable range. I try to keep my darkroom between 68 and 70 degrees F. Sharpness is good.

 

Hope this helps.

Bruce,

 

Another good book is Stone's "A User's Guide to the View Camera." Zone VI was bought by Calumet. Calumet stores and their website now sell Zone VI products. Basics like loading film are covered in all the books, and at largeformatphotography.info. You load it into the holder with the holder in the vertical orientation, with the emulsion side up, and the notches in the upper right corner.

 

Since you have a Polaroid back, I recommend you try to find some out of date black and white Polaroid film (should be inexpensive) and go out in the backyard or the park and play with the camera. Try a variety of different subjects, and play with the movements to see how they impact the image. Its fun, and you will learn a lot.

 

Good luck. I think you will enjoy large format.

Vincent,

 

Here is a better place to make the comparison.

 

http://www.cambo.com/capages/framesetabout.html

 

Compare the Legend to the SC2.

The SC is the predecessor to the Calumet 45NX, 45N and 45NX-II. The Legend is a studio camera. It is heavier, but more precise. It would be tough to backpack or hike with the Legend, but you could use it to photograph from the car, or close to it. A Legend is certainly a later design than the SC.

 

The advantage of the SC is that it can be pressed into use for backpacking. I have done that many times with my 45NX. The rails for the SC are not extendable. You have to change to longer or shorter rails. The Legend has an extendable rail.

 

To get a better idea of the differences, check out the Calumet website and compare the 45NX-II with the Legend. When doing this you should know that the SC should have a few features that the NX-II does not. These include a 360 degree rotating back and a longer standard monorail (21").

Dan,

 

I believe that Scott Walton's formula is the same as the one in the Darkroom Cookbook by Anchell. Scott sent it to me a while back but I am not anywhere near it now, sorry. The formula is somewhat different than the current commercial version of Diafine. The home brew version uses borax as the accelarator. I checked the MSDS sheets for Diafine, and it listed sodium carbonate in the B bath.

 

When I use Diafine, I use the commercial version, especially now that Freestyle carries it and I can pick it up when I need it.

That's bath (oops).

I checked Thornton's book last night. He recommended trying 7g per liter for N- developement with his two bat developer.

I have used the Thornton formula also. His last iteration of this formula (in his book The Edge of Darkness) called for 6.5g per liter of metol. Thornton favored metol because of its edge effects to promote acutance. I like this developer very much. I have used it with sheet film, Arista 125 and 400 (= to Ilford FP4+ and HP5+)and roll film 120 HP5+. In The Edge of Darkness Thornton suggested mixing different B baths with different amounts of sodium metaborate to control contrast. I believe that he suggested 20g per liter for + development. I don't recall what he suggested for - development (perhaps 8g per liter?). Film speeds are closer to normal or below with this developer.

 

Another alternative is Divided D-76, which can be purchased in a kit from Photographers Formulary. There are a variety of formulas available on the web and elsewhere. Check out http://www.jackspcs.com/dd76v.htm. I have used the formula for Divided D-76H (no hydroquinone) given in the Darkroom Cookbook by Steve Anchell with good results.

 

I believe that Cachet sells a product called AB55 that is another two bath developer, but I have never tried it.

Check out this site for information on bottles to use with photo chemicals: http://silvergrain.org/Photo-Tech/plastic.html. The author suggests using PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles due to their good gas permeability and acid resistance characteristics.

I have a friend that used a P2 with DB shuttered lenses to do architectural work. It worked great, if a little heavier than a Sinar F2 or Arca Swiss F lighter weight monorail.