gary_gumanow

I too am going to be traveling over the next three to four years. I'll be commuting from Portland, OR to Irvine, CA every week for work. I plan on staying in different hotels each week to get a different flavor of shooting Orange County/LA in the evenings. I was just thinking that I would bring film development supplies, purchase chemicals down there and develop negs during the week, sleeve them, and print on the weekends. How funny to pop into photo.net and see someone doing the same?

 

I too wouldn't leave my film in someone elses hands. On the rare occasion, when I've screwed up loading reels, etc., I'm always happy that it was me that screwed it up. Can you imagine screwing up someone elses film? I would just hate that. Too much pressure to put a friend in.

 

Good luck,

Gary

Contax as well.

Check out www.digitaltruth.com and try the massive development chart. It has a lot of developers and times for these films. Good stuff. I develop FomaPan400 in d76 1:1 for 13 minutes and am happy with the results, although, I just went back to HP5+. The FomaPan scratches real easily. It also dries flat so picking it up is a little trickier. Its cheaper than tri-x and hp5+.

I had a similar experience. I got my first camera when I 8, my dad's Ricoh rangefinder. Then graduated to other cameras. Most recently I picked up a Leica M6 TTL and absolutely love it. I was shooting a lot of street, but not people, with a Mamiya m645. But now with the Leica I can shoot people, something that was impossible with the m645 on the street. The 45mm lens is a monster.

 

The Leica has really opened up new avenues for me and I think it will for you as well. Best of luck!

 

Gary

I picked one up a few weeks ago and while I haven't seen the results yet, I couldn't resist

picking up Leica glass for $275. When I said the price out loud to the guy selling it on

Craigslist, he immediately dropped his price another $25, thinking he was asking too much. I

was shocked that I could pick it up for that cheap. The lens is barely used, great shape, and

should be a great companion. I mostly shoot 28mm, so this will take some getting used to.

 

Cheers.

The same thing happened to me... time away and such. When I came back I couldn't print anything without it being mud.

 

I think the issue is contrast filters. Make sure you have them. When I was a teen I didn't use them, now you can't print without them.

 

YOU MUST USE CONTRAST FILTERS!

I purchased an M6 TTL about three months ago and glad I did. I shoot MF mostly now and

going back to 35mm was an issue for me.

 

However, I wanted to explore street photography and the MF was starting to weigh me

down. The Leica allows me to move easier. It isn't a big honking device/box that says here

I am. Recently on a trip to NYC/Prague I decided to try shooting street with my m645 and I

am happy with the results. Bigger negatives that have a lot of detail and tonal quality.

Much better than the 35mm Tri-X that I shoot in the Leica. But I can't really get the same

shots. The Leica is so quiet and I can get closer to people. Furthermore, I can shoot down

to 1/8th of a sec b/c there is no mirror slap and no stopping down of a lens with a 77mm

filter ring.

 

I'm so glad that I have both for very different reasons. I also have an Oly XA so that I can

snap away off my bicycle.

 

I'm real happy with the quality, the lenses are great even wide open.

 

G.

Tough question... I love them all for so many diffferent reasons.

 

MF: Mamiya m645 for the composition

 

Leica M6 TTL for the fast action stuff.

 

Not a fair question!

I'm using FomaPan 400 for 35mm, and FomaPan 100 for 120, and can say that I probably

won't buy it again. Not worth it to use this cheap film. The 120 rolls had a blue tint to them

even after rinsing prior to developing, and a longer fixing time. The 35mm FomaPan 400

didn't have frame numbers, and layed flat after drying. I'm trying out Ilford HP5+ next. For

120 I like Neopan. I'm going to be sticking with that for 120 going forward.

Charlie is right you know. I started 40 years ago and have never paid anyone to do my black and white. You'll have more control as well.

I am currently having this issue fixed at Knight's Camera Repair in Vancouver, Washington. I've had to manually stick my finger in there and reset the wheel back to S so that the film doesn't wind all the way on the takeup spool. I hate the idea of getting my finger grease in the camera everytime I change out a roll of film. Better to get it fixed then to have a greasy shutter curtain... right? :-0

Light: I carry an M6 TTL and Elmarit 28mm attached and 20 rolls of Tri-X and Neopan 100, in a Lowepro AW500 (its wet in the Pacific Northwest and I love the raincover).

 

Medium/Heavy: Same bag with Mamiya 645 45mm & 80mm lens, filters and more film... 120. ZeroImage 2000 6x6 Pinhole. Tabletop tripod.

What I usually do is rinse the bottles several times with hot water and snap my fingers in the path of the water coming out of the bottle. When I feel no residue coming out of the bottle I know that I am getting close to clean. I use this same method when rinsing between developer and fixer. I've had great results with the "snap" method.

you can find some images at www.flickr.com

 

 

You can find some other images on flickr if you do some looking around.

I should be so lucky to have three. Match the three bodies up with three different focal lengthes, and different film and you should be set for anything that comes your way.

I would recommend the Olympus XA, not the XA-2, or XA-3, or 4. The XA allows you to set f-stop, has manual focus, supports 800ASA, uses 35mm film has a 35mm f2.8 Zuiko lens, a retractable lens cover, and fits in your pocket. It has a flash unit that screws on with a thumb screw. Whole thing cost me $70 in great condition.

 

I have a Leica M6 TTL, but use the XA when I bike to work. I don't ever want to be without... ;-)

 

Cheers, Gary

I went back last night and developed another roll of Fomapan400 and realized that I didn't bring my fixer up to 20c. It was around 15c. Might need more time at that temp? :-)

 

So, the roll I did last night with fixer at 20c looked fine, but I will increase my fix times nonetheless.

 

I hate that sludge.

 

Thank you all.

 

Gary

I will try longer fixing times. I checked the fixer, rapid Ilford, with hypocheck before fixing, but will fix for longer. I usually fix for 5 minutes.

 

Thanks,

G.

Thanks for your response. The swirly sludge is all over the film, but mostly in the middle of the frames all the way down the roll. I tried again last night and it seems that most of it was removed with the fourth dunking in PhotoFlo 200. Might have to try again.

 

This film doesn't curl like Tri-X. Its mostly flat and feels a little thinner. I'm wondering if I need to adjust some of my timing.

 

Anyone else have this issue?

I recently processed two roll of film in one stainless tank. One roll Tri-X

the other fomapan400. Both rolls like fine from a development/contrast

perspective.

 

The fomapan400 has a streak smudge going down the length of the negative on

the emulsion side only. It is not a line, but an abstract looking smudge mark

that takes on different designs. I tried dipping again and again in PhoFlow at

the proper dillution with no bubbles, but can't seem to get rid of it.

 

I processed these together and the same way, but the fomapan400 just can't

seem to get rid of the smudge. The Tri-X is fine. Is fomapan just that much

cheaper that it has more issues? I'm not using a squeegie either. Just dip for

a minute and then hang.

 

Should I lay the negative flat on a few sheet of photo blotter paper?

 

I'm experienced at developing, and have over 35 years of doing this, but this

is the third time this has happened with fomapan400 for me. I never used this

film before.

 

Any help out there?

 

Thanks,

Gary

Which finder magnification should I get?

 

I've got the body, now which lens should I get?

I asked this same question here a few months ago. I had d76 from the 1980's and when it came out of the packet it was brown. I threw it out. Within two hours someone else responded and was trying the same exact thing. Isn't photo.net the greatest?

 

Anyway, I heard that from a can it should be fine. I would say just make sure that the powder mixes up clear and is a white granular substance. Otherwise, developer is cheap... don't waste your film.

OK, so what was the outcome of this? I just developed Ilford FP4+ and FomaPan Classic 100 in the same tank and the Foma came out with the bluish tint. Does it effect printing?

I shoot exclusively wide on my Leica and my Mamiya m645. My OM2Sp has a 24mm affixed to it almost all the time except when I need more light.

 

I just purchased an M6 TTL .72 and got the 28mm Elmarit to go along with it. I wear glasses and find that the 28mm is perfect for what I want to shoot. I am a little disappointed that it doesn't have any distortion as I am used to that when shooting wide, and actually look for it. This is the only lens I have so far for the Leica and I love it. I don't have a problem with the framelines. If you are going to shoot street photography you will probably not even look through the VF, which is a technique I'm employing, and you'll want to make sure that you get your subject in the frame; 28mm is perfect for me in this application.

 

Good luck, G.

OK, so what do you have?