nbg90455

<p>Toss the fixer, and the fixer jug (unless you can get it sparkling clean)...</p>

<p>A nice lens anytime, plus the capabilities of the Aria -- a Contax flash might cost less than you think...</p>

<p>The Aria doesn't have a "puny built-in" flash (or any other built-in flash)-- unless I somehow missed that in the last 10 or so years ;-)<br>

You can try high-speed film (especially since you have the excellent 1.4 Planar lens) , but sometimes it's the "fill flash" rather than pure additional llight you need, so I would try to get one of the excellent Contax flashes that were made for the Aria (and other Contax cameras), which will effectively communicate with our Aria and get things right.<br>

Also, definitely shoot a test roll before the "big event"...</p>

 

<p>In 4x5, I only use TMax100. All the shots are tripod-mounted, so speed is a non-issue. In 120 -- virtually always handheld -- I generally use TMax100 as well, except for cases where I need more speed (low light, or situations that call for an orange filter)...</p>

<p>Larry -- with (formal) portraits, you wouldn't have to lug anything around. I assume the OP meant stationary portraits, and not street photography...<br>

He aims his 4x5, shoots and scores ;-)</p>

<p>Not to be contrarian here, but have you tried a larger film format? Everything else being the same (ceteris paribus), a 4x5 negative is going to have smoother tonality than a 35mm negative...</p>

<p>How about your own bathroom? Nobody will take as good care of your negatives as you yourself. All you need is a changing bag, a tank and a couple of cheap chemicals (and a bit of time). It really is simple. If you can't find the chemicals locally (and given a lot of the restrictions these days on shipping liquid chemicals), you might be stuck with Kodak's dry stuff (D-76, Fixer and Hypo-Clear) but even those will get you better, more consistent and cheaper results than anything from bag services these days..</p>

<p>A regular B&W negative should be okay with regular white light (Tungsten) -- I am not sure about the UV-intensive CFL bulbs that are popular these days, but my guess would be that a museum would still use halogen spots in presenting art work...</p>

<p>In the history books of photography :-(</p>

<p>Where in India? Feel free to contact me offline, if it happens to be Delhi and/or you need pointers about India...<br>

Enjoy!</p>

<p>It does matter (a lot), especially if you start with photo chemicals in powder form.<br>

Good news is that you will need to find a safe water source for yourself as well, and that might do the trick (more or less). I don't know where you are moving to, but when I moved to India (Delhi) for a couple of years, I got an R.O. water system, which produced water that was both safe to drink and work (almost) as well as distilled water for my B&W film processing. Assuming you have access to electricity where you will be living, R.O. systems aren't very expensive...</p>

<p>Get the JOBO dailight tanks and save you all this trouble...</p>

<p>Not for the faint at heart, but it is possible, and still being done -- see (just as an example) the website of the Osterman's (<a href="http://www.collodion.org/">http://www.collodion.org/</a>) for details.</p>

<p>Assuming the building is truly straight (i.e. no settling issue or lousy construction), then all you have to do is make sure that your camera is truly leveled in all dimensions (use the bubble levels on your camera standards, if you have them). Then, if you only use rise/fall and shift, the photo should come out perfect. And, yes, check the grid lines on your groundglass to verify the building is straight. If the building is tilting or something (e.g. archeological sites and the like), your groundglass is your best bet...</p>

<p>How much longer are you going to be there? If it is at least a couple more months, and you got time to burn in the evening / on weekends, go for it !<br>

A couple of years ago, I moved to Delhi, India, for 2 years, and I took tanks & chemicals with me (MF & Large Format even) -- was the best thing I ever did (photographically speaking)...</p>

<p>My suggestion is to get rid of the glass -- it's a huge PITA in the long run (including Newton Rings and/or hazing) -- and get yourself a Leica projector with a CF (curved field) lens.<br>

Disclaimer: I am not a Leica nut, in fact this is just about the only Leica branded product I have, but the CF lenses actually really work, especially with the old cardboard mounts of yesteryear...</p>

<p>With the 2500-series tanks from JOBO, doing B&W processing of 4x5 film is as easy as 135 or 120 film -- you just get a better workout as the tank for 6 sheets takes 45 oz. of liquids...</p>

<p>Don't listen to trolls like Bill -- LF photography is wonderful, and once you figure out the movements, you have capabilties (esp. for architecture and landscapes) that no FF dSLR has. 4x5 film will be around for a long time, and if you go B&W, you'll be independent of labs as well.<br>

Either a Speed Graphic or a (used) wooden field camera (e.g. Tachihara) is a great way to start. Once you know how to properly use movements, you'll probably find out that wide-angle lenses are not your most used lenses -- my 203 Ektar or 210 Apo-Sironar (depending on the kit) get a lot more use than either of my 90mm lenses. With that in mind, make sure you get lenses with plenty of coverage...<br>

Enjoy!</p>

<p>What kind of prints do you do -- glow-in-the-dark-type images ;-)</p>

<p>I have never heard of using uranium-anything in photography (although I do have a couple of slighly-radioactive Kodak lenses (e.g. in my Medalist II) made with rare earth glass that are outstanding performers...)</p>

<p>"Invest in the apparatus of the digital age."<br>

What a bunch of B.S. --- sorry, but that't what it is...</p>

<p>Define "best way" -- if you mean most convenient to use (rather than minimum usage of chemicals etc.) go for these <a href="http://www.freestylephoto.biz/554341-Jobo-Single-Reel-4x5-Sheet-Film-Kit-with-Loader-Up-to-6-Sheets">JOBO</a> tanks. Once you load them (in perfect darkness), you can use them like your favorite tank for 135 or 120 film. No need to have a JOBO processor.<br>

BTW, the Yankee tanks are a PITA...</p>

 

<p>Wide-angle lenses are terrible (optically speaking) for close-ups. Other than a dedicated macro lens, stick to symmetric lenses with relatively short focal length (due to max. bellow extension of most view cameras), so the Rodenstock Apo-Sironar S 150mm f.5.6 is probably your best bet...</p>

 

<p>I had a (somewhat) similar issue when I moved to Delhi, India for a couple of years. I took the following chemicals with me: powdered Kodak fixer and Kodak Hypoclear. You may also want to bring brown gallon or half-gallon plastic jugs for storing the chemicals, once mixed.<br>

I had planned to use locally produced acetic acid or vinegar, but decided to take (smuggle, really) a bottle of Ilford indicator stop instead (it well last a long time since you can reuse it until it starts to smell or change color), but you could also just use water for a stop bath.<br>

Since I use Kodak TMax film, I took (again, smuggled, really) a gallon jug of TMax RS developer with me -- one mixed (i.e. you dump the content of the small replenisher pack into the gallon jug when you first open it) it will last for a year or so, even under less than perfect (i.e. hot) conditions.</p>

<p>The general rule of thumb I have heard is that the optimal f-stop (defined as the optimal trade-off between diffraction and refraction) is optained the following way:<br>

Close down normal lenses by 2 stops, and close down wide angle lenses 3 stops.<br>

Since your Angulon is a wide angle lens, stop it down 3 stops.</p>

<p>I think your problem might be the "usually room temp around 22-23*C" -- the developer temperature really needs to be measured and controlled carefully and consistently. Once you do that, you will get results that you can repeat -- if they are still too light (i.e. overexposed), then either adjust your EI/ISO (the film speed setting on your camera) or the length of the time in the developer. You didn't say how long you leave it in the developer, but all "recommended" times are just starting suggestions and may need to be adjusted to yor personal situation (e.g. accuracy of your shutter speed and your f-stop, accuracy of your thermometer, agitation during developing etc.)<br>

Overall, your results aren't bad for just the first few rolls of BW devloping...</p>

<p>Enjoy!</p>