william_marderness1

You could try Microdol-X straight, which decreases the speed by a stop. You could also try adding Potassium Bromide to the developer. I would try 2-3 grams per liter. This will also decrease film speed.

I had this problem when toning an 8x10 print in an 8x10 tray. Try larger trays.

How long should a pt/pd print stay in the clearing bath? Luis Nadeau

writes in his book to leave a print in the clearing bath for twice

the clearing time (or three baths for 5 minutes each), because a

print may look cleared to the eye, but still contain residue chemical

in the paper. He notes old pt/pd prints that have yellowed, and says

they were not properly processed. Richard Sullivan and Carl Weese say

to pull the print out of the clearing bath as soon as the whites have

cleared. Dick Arentz says the same as Sullivan/Weese, but he also

says to clear in three baths for 5 minutes each (which agrees with

Nadeau), so I am not sure where Arentz stands on this?<p>What do you

think? Has anyone found that a print became stained over time because

it was pulled out of the clearing bath as soon as the whites cleared?

Has anyone found that the image bleaches when left in the clearing

bath too long, including safer EDTA/sulfite clearing baths?

How do you position a camera for portraits? Should the camera go at

eye level, with fall and rise used to adjust the framing? Or should

the camera be placed so the framing works out with no movements? I

have beed doing the latter, but am wondering about the former. I am

concerned that using much rise or fall could give an unnatural look.

I am looking for a way to carry my series 9 filters that will not

smudge them. I have tried wallets made by F64, Tamrac, MC Photograpic,

and most recently, Domke. The Domke seemed to be doing okay, till I

opened the wallet after a long, hot trip, and found a stubborn film on

the filters that required liquid cleaner. I usually use a dry

micro-fiber cloth and no cleaner, but this film did not want to come

off. Since my filters are threadless, I can't use stack caps. Any

suggestions?

A boss screen is like a ground glass, but it uses wax instead of textured glass. The fresnel should go on the photographer's side. If it goes on the lens side, it will shift the focus and cause a curvature of the focal plane. The shift in focus can be corrected with spacers between the boss screen and fresnel, but the curvature of the focal plane cannot be corrected.

Mike,

 

My negatives have a density range of 1.7 for pt/pd. They are contrasty enough to print with no contrast agent. The problem is, with no contrast agent, I get mushy highlights. When printing a step-tab, the steps never reach paper based white. I don't need more contrast in the whole print, just a little more contrast in the highlights, which is what contrast agent with do. I am reluctant to use contrast agent if I don't have to.<p>

 

Do your pd prints with no contrast agent have highlights that reach paper-base white?

Right. You need to use FP-4+ with a developer that will give a straight line. I use DK-50 straight to get the high contrast needed for pt/pd.

Roger,

 

I have been adding .5 gm of EDTA per 25ml of solution A, but no oxalic acid or anything else.

I am interested in the use of contrast agent for pt/pd printing to

improve the emulsion for use with a quality pt/pd negative. I am not

interested in the use of contrast agent to adjust the paper to

various negatives that are less than ideal for pt/pd printing. (For

me, a quality pt/pd negative has low fog, a straight-line curve, and

a density range of about 1.7.)<p>If I use only solution A (ferric

oxalate 27%), the prints look basically good, but the highlights are

dull. When I print a step wedge when only using solution A, I find

that the contrast decreases as the tone gets lighter, so that it

never reaches a paper-base white on the wedge. I think this means I

am getting fog. I have been mixing up my own solution A from dry

ferric oxalate just before the test. I have read a lot about avoiding

contrast agent if possible, and I have seen its bad effects

(graininess, mushy shadows) before. But I wonder if a bit of

contrasting agent is needed to get optimum results by clearing up the

whites. <p>The only contrast agent I have used is potassium chlorate.

Has anyone experimented with this or other contrast agents with the

purpose of improving the emulsion for a quality pt/pd negative (not

for the purpose of adjusting contrast for a less than ideal pt/pd

negative)? What about hydrogen peroxide as a contrast agent? I have

read about it, but have not found details on how to use it or how

well it works?

That is right. FP-4+ is a good choice. It has low fog and a straight line.

Stefan,

 

I have not tried the 4x5 Toho, but I have tried the 8x10, as I said above. It was a new camera, and the movements would not lock down, so I returned it. I am not being picky. The front and rear standards kept flopping over. Maybe the 4x5 Toho is better made than the 8x10.

I tried the 8x10 Toho and was unhappy with it. It has two thumb screw locks for each movement, which means twice as much work to lock down a movement. The instructions said the double locks were to ensure that the movements would not slip. Guess what, no matter how tight I turned the two screws, some movements slipped, so much that my lens and the rear standard (which were supposedly locked) slammed down when focusing due to the pressure of the bellows.

Instead of the Wista, consider a Tachihara. I have tried both. They are basically the same, but I liked the Tachihara better, and it costs half as much as the Wista.

Wisner bellows larger than 8x10 are not made of leather.

I have this lens, and I had Steve Grims extend the scale to f256. I also had my 355mm G-claron's scale extended to f128.

I would not use HC-110 in a Jobo because HC-110 is a fast developer, so your times will be too short, or you will have to dilute it too much, which means there may not be enough developer for the amount of film. Try D-76 1:1.

I have used the unmodified and the Zone VI modified Pentax Spot meters, and the modified meter is better. It is more accurate when metering through filters. When metering through a 25 filter, the unmodified indicates a filter factor of 4x, which is wrong. The modified meter indicates a filter factor of 8x, which is right. I also tested the meters' sensitivity to IR. Both have IR sensitivity, but the modified meter is less sensitive to IR.

I tried the same combo as you and gave up on it. HC-110 develops too quickly in a Jobo to get minus development. Try D-76 1:1.

Try here: http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/

Thanks for your responses. By "height of about 46 inches," I meant I want the maximum height of the tripod to be at least 46 inches.

I am looking for a short, lightweight, tripod with no column that can

hold about 15 pounds. The only tripods I find that have no column are

heavier ones. The lighter ones all have columns, which adds to the

weight, and I don't want to use a column. I would like a tripod that

has a height of about 46 inches. Any ideas?

I am looking for a lightweight 8x10 camera and tripod. Weight is very

important, but I want a reasonably stable system. I am thinking of

the Toho FC-810, which weighs less than 7.5 lbs. with two rails, and

a bit over 6.5 lbs. with short rail. I am also thinking of the Gitzo

G1228 tripod. I have not seen either of these. Any options on this

combination or other options I might look into?

How about a blue filter for a stark white sky. I use this sometimes for architecture. It separates a gray building from the sky nicely. With a yellow or orange filter, the tone of the sky is too close to the tone of the building.

The 110XL I used covered 8x10. It looks like there is a filter on the lens you used.