IanRivlin

Peter Walnes is living in or around Cornwall, UK He was given a suspended sentence in June 2023. (I didn't know this at the time) and was just about to send him a parcel of my equipment but something didn't sound right and I started doing a brief check. AFTER he had his court appearance, he was still soliciting to "buy" equipment. I have made out a fresh complaint against him with the Cornish Police.

This isn't my experience. I have a freezer and 'fridge full of Tech Pan (and Kodachrome....) I use this film/developer. The grain is extremely fine, I never get specks. My problem is that the negatives come out very thin - so thin that if there's the tiniest defect on the base or emulsion, that imperfection is, of course, translated to the print. I have even developed Tech Pan in undiluted TD-3 working solution for 10 minutes and the negatives are still thin. The information is still there (in the shadows and highlights) but because the shadow detail is so close to the density of the base material, any artefact in the emulsion isn't tolerated. I do get excellent results and I'm still sticking with the combination. (I've tried Adotech lV, highly dilute XTOL and many other low contrast developers, but, IMO, TD-3 gives the best overall results. I would definitely use a new batch of TD-3 and find another source for Tech Pan, in case your batch has become affected by heat, age or radiation (I bought a mini Geiger counter and was surprised how much extraneous radiation there is in unlikely places). You'll still pick up Tech Pan in various places. If it's been correctly stored, it keeps for decades.

PS, I had a partially depleted battery in my EOS1n. it wouldn't operate with Non-EF lenses, it wouldn't operate the motor drive unless the shutter was pressed TWICE. This seems a quirk of the EOS1n. If it starts playing up, don't press the battery check (BC) button, CHANGE THE BATTERY!! These cameras are superb but they are fussy with battery voltage and contacts. I just put a new (rechargeable) 2CR5 battery in my EOS1n. The current battery (no pun intended) was a non rechargeable 2CR5 (T-Power 1500mah). The rechargeable battery was showing 6.73 volts, the T-Power one was giving 6.55v (and was working perfectly). After putting in the new rechargeable battery, I got the dreaded BC light when I tried to fire the shutter. I was about to give up on it, when for some reason, I found myself pressing on the plate that has the srew in it (the one to tighten up the battery compartment). It started working..... After a few hard presses, I no longer needed to keep pressure on the plate. I'm starting to wonder if it was a poor connection but I can't understand why it didn't do the BC thing with the ordinary non rechargeable battery. All the contacts looks clean as a whistle. Possibly some internal wire with a poor solder connection, a micro crack maybe?? Again, I don't know why this happened immediately on changing to the rechargeable battery. The point is, before you start disassembling your EOS and tapping the mirror magnets, pay close attention to the battery compartment, the cleanliness, the position of the battery etc, etc. These cameras are wonderful but the battery situation can occasionally be their Achilles Heel. Should we use rechargeable batteries??? 2CR5 are wickedly expensive, for what they are. If you can get a charger and a rechargeable battery that work well, you'll be very happy. I have an EOS 7 as my backup Canon EOS. They aren't made to quite the same standards of the EOS 1n but they do take two CR123 batteries (which are much cheaper than the 2CR5) The EOS 7 is lighter (plastic) but very fully featured. Don't let anyone tell you the 50e and other similar models are the same as the EOS7, they're sufficiently different to make a hunt for an EOS 7 worthwhile. Canons are fun cameras. I like them. I suspect Nikons might be intrinsically tougher and more reliable (I use Nikon F5 and F100, F2As etc also). Canon tend to have faster AF, look better and usually have more features. I guess, use the one that feels and operates best...

I just put a new (rechargeable) 2CR5 battery in my EOS1n. The current battery (no pun intended) was a non rechargeable 2CR5 (T-Power 1500mah). The rechargeable battery was showing 6.73 volts, the T-Power one was giving 6.55v (and was working perfectly). After putting in the new rechargeable battery, I got the dreaded BC light when I tried to fire the shutter. I was about to give up on it, when for some reason, I found myself pressing on the plate that has the srew in it (the one to tighten up the battery compartment). It started working..... After a few hard presses, I no longer needed to keep pressure on the plate. I'm starting to wonder if it was a poor connection but I can't understand why it didn't do the BC thing with the ordinary non rechargeable battery. All the contacts looks clean as a whistle. Possibly some internal wire with a poor solder connection, a micro crack maybe?? Again, I don't know why this happened immediately on changing to the rechargeable battery. The point is, before you start disassembling your EOS and tapping the mirror magnets, pay close attention to the battery compartment, the cleanliness, the position of the battery etc, etc. These cameras are wonderful but the battery situation can occasionally be their Achilles Heel. Should we use rechargeable batteries??? 2CR5 are wickedly expensive, for what they are. If you can get a charger and a rechargeable battery that work well, you'll be very happy. I have an EOS 7 as my backup Canon EOS. They aren't made to quite the same standards of the EOS 1n but they do take two CR123 batteries (which are much cheaper than the 2CR5) The EOS 7 is lighter (plastic) but very fully featured. Don't let anyone tell you the 50e and other similar models are the same as the EOS7, they're sufficiently different to make a hunt for an EOS 7 worthwhile. Canons are fun cameras. I like them. I suspect Nikons might be intrinsically tougher and more reliable (I use Nikon F5 and F100, F2As etc also). Canon tend to have faster AF, look better and usually have more features. I guess, use the one that feels and operates best...

Agreed. I'm developing about two or three roils of film per week (ie at an accelerated rate) to use it up. I think I'll go 1:0 dilution instead of the 1:1 I've been using. Strangely enough, it seems fine at the moment but that color just *has* to suggest some sort of contamination. Of even more interest.... I poured some of the dehumidifier condensate into a gallon flask and let it sit for a day. It actually went brown - the same color that water is after the plumbers have had a go at the street supply pipes - looked like rusty water. It's as if there are ferrous/ferric salts in the condensate or possibly manganese and copper? It makes me wonder what the dehumidifier's condenser plates are made of and if they are leaching out metallic salts. If that is the case, I can't see this (DeLonghi) dehumidifier lasting that long.

I'm not going to use dehumidifier water again but can anyone tell me why it would be acidic? Isn't it just atmospheric water vapor that's condensed? Where does it pick up this acidity? I also have an actual distiller. In essence it's just an oversize electric kettle and a fan cooled stainless steel baffle causes the steam to condense and drip into a receptacle. Isn't that exactly the same process as a dehumidifier? Confused....

I totally agree. I'm going to stick to either supermarket demineralised water or tap water. (Our local council has won awards for the purest water in the state).

In the end, I just exposed a roll of TMax 400 120 at 500asa and developed appropriately. I figured that if the developer worked at 500asa, it'd be fine. The film came out exceptionally well. (finer grain than I'm used to getting at 320asa and smoother mid-tones). I developed as per "Film Developer Pro" i.e 9 mins at 72.5 f - 1:1 dilution - 5 seconds agitation every minute. No idea what caused the blue color. It's not metal contamination from my implements. The only thing i can think of is that the distilled water is from my dehumidifier. Maybe the condensor plates are rich in copper? Weird but I love the results.