h._shafi

Thanks John. That's depressing, but I guess inevitable. Can someone please educate me on the type of cutter that would be easy to use in the dark for cutting my own 5x7's from roll paper? I assume that it has to be a special gizmo with a way of mounting the roll. Also, I assume that cutting and stacking sheets in advance would take care of any curvature that might affect enlarger focus. I don't want to give up on analog printing yet and 8x10s aren't always convenient. Speaking of 8x10, do you guys recommend stocking up on that?

Thanks again!

Hi folks,

I've been out of commission for a couple of years busy with a move, new job, etc. Last weekend, I finally got the

gear out, bought some chemistry, etc. only to find out that my Supra Endura 5x7 stock was almost out. To my

shock, I couldn't find it (or even a Fuji alternative) anywhere (B&H, Adorama, Calumet, etc.) I bet this is old news, so

please forgive my ignorance,

but what are my options now?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Hi Dan,

Unfortunately, I've only got a 35mm scanner, so I'll try to describe the problem in writing in more detail. The streaks cover a variable number of frames and they are blue/cyan to the naked eye and most obvious between frames. They manifest themselves as subtle bands in the printed photos. I usually crop while printing to avoid them when possible, but they've ruined some pretty nice photos... Another possible pattern is that they always start towards the leading edge of the film (when inserted into the Jobo reels for development) and tend to not exist towards the trailing edge of the roll.

Let me know if I can be more specific.

-Haz

Hi folks,

I'm getting blue streaks across some negatives after development.

They don't appear to be caused by anything mechanical since they

move across the width of the film from one frame to another. I used

to get these a long time ago with 35mm film and solved it by adding

a wetting stage before the developer in the Tetenal C-41 process.

Here are the details of my setup and process:

- Jobo 1540 tank, CPE-2 Plus processor, temp = 100F (verified)

- Two 120 films at a time on two reels

- Fresh Tetenal C-41 chemistry (from a 5-liter kit)

- Film: Fuji Reala

- Process: 5 min dry warmup, 2 min prewet/water, 3:15 min

developer, 4:00 Blix, 6 x 0:30 min rinse cycles

- Chemistry volume = 500mL for all steps

This has occured on 3 consecutive development cycles and I'm pretty

sure that it always occurs on the top reel (with the tank's magnet

facing down). Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

-Haz

Oops. I'm moving from Texas to Washington state. This'll be RA-4 and C-41 chemistry. Sorry for leaving these details out.

Thanks again!

Hi,

I'm in the process of relocating and the movers won't carry

photography chemistry. What shipping service can I use to ship my

unused chemistry bottles? Any advice/precautions?

Thanks in advance.

-Haz

Assuming I understood the question correctly, if you bought a 2x teleconverter then your effective aperture is 2x what the lens setting says. Regarding flash compensation, you've effectively cut its range in half for a given lens aperture setting.

I hope this helps.

-Haz

Hi,

First, congratulations on your move to color printing! I think that you'll find it very rewarding if you seek "perfect" prints by your standards. Regarding analyzers, I bought a used Beseler PM2L that works well, but I now mostly use it for exposure adjustment when cropping (i.e., adjusting enlarger height etc.). I used to use the analyzer to help me with the initial color balance for the contact sheets, but quickly figured out a very good starting point for the paper and film combinations that I use. I try to be very consistent with film development as far as chemistry/temperature etc. I also haven't had major problems across C-41 film lots of the same type/brand. The advice above regarding color viewing slides is very useful. Those are usually a set of 6 sheets with transparent panels of varying densities of RGBCYM. You use them to determine the color filtration in your enlarger to achieve a color balance that you like.

As far as using the analyzer for color balance. I have two pieces of advice:

1. I've successfully used people's foreheads as a refernce point as someone pointed out above. This can work well if you often have a photo of the same subject in one of your negative frames under similar lighting conditions. I take lots of photos of my kids using flash so that makes it easier. But, not all people have the same complexion of course, so your mileage will vary.

2. A much better workflow requires taking a picture using a grey card under the same light conditions that you'll use for the rest of the frames. One you achieve the correct color balance for a photo with a grey card once and calibrate the analyzer for it, you'll be able to achieve pretty good color balance on other films.

Good luck again!

-Haz

Depending on how many you've got, you might be better off buying a film scanner, especially if you still shoot film. You can then either print them yourself at home or have them printed by a lab. Enlarger prints from slides can still be done, but fewer places still provide this service. But since you wanted them on CD's anyway, you'll still need someone to scan them.

I'm sure that others will have plenty more to say about this.

Good luck.

Captain,

If you find a reliable source for a new 7 in the US, please let us know.

Thanks.

I thought that Kodak's Endura paper is rated for 100+ years depending on display or storage conditions. You guys seem to imply that inkjet prints can last almost as long, which hasn't been my experience thus far with 7-year old Canon ink/paper prints that I made with a BJC-6000, especially on display behind glass. Anyway, perhaps my luck with the Epson R300 will be better.

-Haz

Hi,

I recently read an interview with Henry Wilhelm in Shutterbug Magazine

(11/2003) that discussed color permanence/archival quality of inkjet

prints. I currently do my own wet or inkjet prints and almost always

rely on wet prints for photos that I care about for long-term storage.

The gist of the Wilhelm interview to me was this: Unless you stick

with the ink and paper combinations in published longevity results by

your printer manufacturer, your mileage might vary significantly. I

for one can tell you that one of the reasons why I decided to do my

own wet prints is quality control and archival quality. After hearing

the expert's advice, I would have to throw away my stock of inkjet

paper and ink (since I can't find data on the combination) in order to

have any reasonable confidence of the long-term results....

How do you folks deal with this dilemma?

-Haz

The answer to your question is not straighforward. If you store the mixed chemicals in a full & air-tight container it could last for 2-3 weeks. Your mileage will vary based on the manufacturer, temperature, and other conditions. Basically, oxidation is the primary culprit here and is most damaging to developers. Blix mixtures will last longer because they usually require oxidation to function properly so they are not as susceptible to damage due to exposure to air.

I usually mix 1 liter worth of chemicals and make sure to use them within 2 weeks. So far, that has worked for me. BTW, it is sometimes easy to tell if the developer is going bad because it turns brownish as opposed to the light golden color of the freshly-mixed liquid.

As far as concentrates go, I've been able to store opened bottles of Tetenal C-41 and Kodak RA-4 chemicals for up to 6 months. But, I use marbles to make sure that the developer concentrate bottles are always as full as possible to minimize exposure to air. I don't follow that precaution for BLIX.

I hope this helps.

-Haz

Since we're on this topic, does the same advice above apply to "real" photo paper? I've always wondered about that myself.

-Haz

I know lots of people who live overseas and are able to run their US electrical/electronic equipment using transformers. I've seen one of the transformers used for small kitchen appliances (don't remember the AMPs rating), but it was similar in size to a standard laptop AC-DC adapter. The referral above to an actual transformer might be exactly what you need. Call this place up and ask about the details regarding frequency and wattage.

Good luck.

-Haz

I second the Reala recommendation for 100, although I also like Gold 100 for optical prints up to 8x10. Haven't pushed those emulsions beyond that print size for 35mm, but my recommendations are based on an enlarger grain focusing magnifier that I use while printing that clearly shows differences in grain. Kodak 400UC and Fuji NPH for ISO 400.

Good luck.

Samantha,

Something that'll significantly improve the film loading process is to cut the corners of the leading edges of the film diagonally. That should solve the film getting stuck syndrome. Also, make sure that the reels are completely dry. If your hands are moist, wear some cotton gloves.

Don't worry, loading film on reels will be a breeze in no time!

-Haz

I'm assuming that you mean a rotary tube processor (e.g., Jobo CPE2) when you say "spiral tank processor". The main reason why lots of people use those is that they have thermostat-controlled water baths that maintain the temperature well for the C-41 process which is sensitive to that parameter. I also think that rotary processors ensure proper/consistent agitation as well.

I hope this helps.

I print Reala 120 on Kodak Endura paper (both Supra and Portra) using Kodak RA chemistry with excellent results. I've read multiple times that Kodak optimizes its RA papers and chemistry to do well on both Kodak and Fuji film. So, you should be in good shape. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't experiment with UC 100 of course. Reala is my favorite 100 speed color film.

-Haz

Thanks for all the help. Before going the used route, I'm going to ask a friend who's going to Hong Kong to see if he can find me a new Dynax 7.

Paul, thanks for your offer to help, but if they're asking $699 for a demo/display item, i'm skipping thanks.

Thanks again,

-haz

Hi,

I'm looking for a new Maxxum 7 (and grip) but couldn't find anyone who

still carries them. If you know of a source, please let me know.

Thanks!

-Haz

I second the recommendation for the Tetenal 5 liter kit. The only quirk might be the need for a 2 minute pre-rinse that I found to work better for me. I bought the kit from Adorama.

Good luck!

-Haz

Hi Michael,

I went straight to C-41 processing after doing some research and realizing that going the Jobo CPE-2 route is likely to be the best recipe for consistent results. I use the Tetenal 5 Liter C-41 kit, which I recommend. I would like to add two bits of advice:

1. Before taking the plunge, buy the "Darkroom Handbook" book by Michael Langford. That will give you a very good idea about color and black and white processing and (analog) printing.

2. If you won't be doing your own printing or using MF or LF film, you're most likely better off finding a good lab to develop your film. That said, I derive a lot of joy from the film development step itself in addition to knowing that the process is well-controlled. Process control is great when you use the same type (and batch) of film because it reduces the overhead of figuring the best color balance when printing the photos optically (assuming the same lighting conditions are used). That significantly improves my printing throughput and reduces wasted chemistry and paper.

Cheers,

-Haz