ken_reither1

I've been developing film for years. I use Patterson tanks. By the way, I've found developing tank reels are hard to load due to the reverse curl put on film by my Leicas. I have to wait at least 12 hours for the reverse curl to reverse itself again before trying to load the reels. Maybe this is not a problem with those stainless steel reels, but I can't see they would help the matter much. Time and patience cure the problem.

 

Before developing your first roll, take a undeveloped roll and practice loading it onto the reel. Do it over and over again till you can do it with your eyes closed. When you do it for real, you can't turn on the lights to find that reel you dropped (the one that rolled across the room), or to try to figure out why the dang thing won't load.

 

Recently I started using Ilford Pan F Plus and Ilford Delta 400, developing in Ilfotec DDX. I've been getting excellent results, using the dev. times provided with the film and developer. In the past, I've gotten excellent results with HC-110 and Kodak TMax 400 and 100 films.

 

For a scanner, I use a Nikon LS-4000, usually scanning at 2000 dpi. I get wonderful results. The instructions are sometimes obscure, though.

 

When buying a thermometer, go to a store where there are a dozen mercury or dial type hanging on the shelf. You'll find six of them reading the same, the rest above or below those six. Pick one that's the same. In making your selection, read the specs carefully. Some digital thermometers give a read-out in 1/10 C, but the fine prints only claims accuracy plus or minus 1 degree C. Being 1 degree C off is not good.

 

Ilford has a wonderful site with all kinds of info. Also, www.digitaltruth.com has the development times for a zillion film/developer combinations.

 

Ansel Adams, Fred Picker, and many others standardized on Kodak's HC-110 as a developer. You can't go wrong with it.

 

When you're starting out, stay AWAY from trying to push develop film. Pushing film increases contrast and destroys shadow detail. There may come a day when you'll want to do that, but start out simple.

 

When developing your first and every film, keep meticulous records as to the time, temperature, method of agitation. You'll need this info later to get repeatable results, and to solve problems. For example, if your negs appear flat, it could be that your thermometer reads low. Next time, increase development time by 10% and compare to the flat roll.

 

Some instructions have you start by pouring developer in the tank and banging the tank against something to dislodge the air bubbles from the film. It's a great way to break the tank -- yet not dislodge the bubbles. The liquid in the tank seems to act as a cushion. A better way is start with a plain water bath. Pour it in and agitate by turning the tank over and over again about dozen times in 30 seconds, then pouring that out and starting your development cycle. I've never had bubbles since I adopted that method 25 years ago.

 

Keep the temperatures of your pre development bath, developer, shortstop, fixer, clearing agent, and wash water withing a two or three degrees of each other. Otherwise the emulsion will expand and contract. Not good. If you want your negatives to look like cracked dried mud, pour hot water in along the way. I ruined a roll that way.

 

If you're working with limited facilities (most of us start that way), get one of those big plastic tubs (like at Wal-Mart). One that holds at least two or three gallons. Fill that and use it as a source of supply for mixing developer, shortstop, clearning agent, and wash water. It works well.

 

When drying film, don't use one of those chamois or other film scrapers. All they do is scratch the negatives. Use Kodak Photo Flo, and simply hang the negs up to dry in a dust and wind free place. They will dry in a short while. Don't try to hurry the process.

 

Good Luck and Enjoy. Doing your own film development is the only way to go. Custom B&W film developers are getting harder and harder to find. I won't bore you with my horror stories of the past.

 

 

I want to add to my response posted above. I keep my M6TTLs in Leica leather cases. Today I noticed a clear indentation in one case where the shutter release button meets the top inside of the case. Thus, it could be that my batteries were drained simply by buttoning up the case with the shutter dial ON, putting pressure on the release button. It doesn't take much pressure to activate the meter. For me, then, I'm going to try to remember to turn the dang things OFF when I'm through shooting and put the camera away.

The manual for my three year old 0.72 M6TTL says, "If the camera is stored in a bag or left unused for some time, the shutter speed dial should be set to "B". The exposure meter is then switched off."

 

However, the manual came with a correcting insert page saying: "If the camera is stored in a bag or left unused for some time, the shutter speed dial MUST be set to "off". This is valid even with released shutter. Only this setting switches off the light meter and the camera's circuitry."

 

The manual for my brand new 0.58 M6TTL states the same as the insert.

 

My first set of batteries went dead quite soon after I got the older M6TTL. They were new when installed. I conclude the failure was due to my being sloppy about not setting the dial to "off".

My grandmother gave me an old album in the early 70's, that included this photo of her dad. He was born in January 1860, and I suppose he's about 15 years old in this photo.<div></div>

My 1968 beater Nikon F with 105/2.5: Rugged, can't hurt it, sharp images.

And my D1x, of course: Beautiful 13x19 prints on my Epson 1280.

The diopter came today from B&H. Box says +1.5, but diopter says +1.0. Whatever, it works great. I can see the image and rangefinder patch clearly. I'm ordering another +1.0 for my other M6TTL. Also, I didn't realize that this dopter screws on top of the existing viewfinder eyepiece. Doesn't replace it. I learn something new every day. Thanks to all.

Jay and Harvey, thanks for the help. I have ordered a +1.5 from B&H in NYC, the only place I know of that keeps them in stock. Here in Houston, our sole Leica dealer says diopters are a non-returnable special order item, which means a long wait. B&H has a liberal return policy, so if +1.5 diopter is wrong, I believe I can return it for another. With the info you provided, I wasn't shooting in the dark when I placed the order. I'll post a message with the results.

 

Gee, Rob, when I bought my Mercedes last year, all I had to do was hand them my glasses. They ground the windshield to match. Given the price of Leicas these days, I expected the same level of service. ... I jest, I jest ...

Thanks for the recommendations.

I had a heck of a time yesterday focusing my new M6TTL on my

granddaughter 8 feet away, using my 90/2.8, indoors, available

light, shooting 1/60 at f4. Only two out of 30 negatives are

acceptably in focus.

 

I'm approaching the "golden years" and have to wear glasses to see

fine print, read road signs clearly, and so forth. I wear variable

focus glasses all the time, which are essentially trifocals without

lines. I use +0.5 correction diopters on my Nikon F and F2, and

crank to the plus side all variable diopter cameras I have. With

those corrections, I can see beautifully through those cameras

(wearing my glasses) and have no problem focusing.

 

Tonight, I searched the archives, read my M6 manual, and scratched

my head. And looked again through the viewfinder of my M6TTL. When

all is said and done, I can't see the rangefinder patch or the image

well at all with the standard correction lens that came with the

Leica. Certainly not anywhere near as clearly as I can see thru my

Nikons with the corrections described above.

 

The M6 manual is not helpful, other than saying that correction

lenses are available in 0.5, 1.5, 2, and 3. I see that B&H sells

them in both plus and minus. I rummaged through the box of diopters

I have, but all are too large a thread to try on the Leica.

 

But I made an amazing discovery. I took a +0.5 Nikon FM diopter

from my goodie box, held it tightly behind the Leica M6TTL

viewfinder (with the original Leica correction lens still screwed in

place), and with eyeglasses on, found I could see image and

viewfinder patch clearly and sharply. Amazing. Now, how do I get

there?

 

Question: Can anyone translate the above into the eyesight

correction lens I should order for my Leica, or send me in the right

direction to figure it out?

 

Thanks in advance. Ken Reither

Thanks for the info on my camera. Shortly after I bought it, we compared it side by side to my brother-in-law's IIIf. Only readily seen difference (besides engraving) was that the Tower had a lever wind instead of a knob. This camera served me faithfully until I retired it to the closet in the late 60's. It still works great. I think I paid $98 for the camera and another $12 for the Leica .5cm finder. My biggest regret was not buying a IIIg way back then.

I bought this Tower 48 from Sears in 1958 and retired it in 1970 in

favor of SLRs. I recently adapted the lens to my M6TTL and bought a

Heliar 15mm for use on the Tower. Can anyone recommend a place to

send this camera for a CLA? After 45 years, it's gotta need one.<div></div>

M6TTL, 50mm 2.0 Nikkor-H<div></div>