david_kirk1

Thanks everyone for your help I will try this out when I get a chance

to dev the films.

Yesterday I managed to take a couple of rolls of Hp5, pulling it to 250, at a fashion show held on Buchanan St in Glasgow. What is the best way to develop these to get a good neg (i.e. hopefully little grain at a 10x8 print using all of the neg that will fit on the paper). Incidentally the lighting was flat. Will ID11 diluted to th 1:3 concentration, but developed for the 1:1 time produce suitable negs? or do I resort to Perceptol using ilfords times?

Tried searching but couldn't find answer anywhere clearly.

Apart from the difference at the lens side, are there any other than

cosmetic, differences between ProS and ProSD 6x7s? specifically the

current |Digi backs claim to have RB67 fittings, are they compatable

throughout RB line or only the SD. Just need to know as can save

money on body and spend on those KL lenses that can fit the ProS.

 

Thanks

I use a uni-loc tripod, made by the same design team as benbo,it is

easily sturdy enough for a metal 5x4, can't help you with the head

though, as the manfrotto I use just holds it. for uniloc products go

to www.uniloc.fsnet.co.uk/

Ilfospeed 1-60 or 1-100 about 10 mins dependant on technique for 1-60

near 14 for 1-100.

 

<p>

 

I don't think you can get good results with multigrade.

Go for the Nikon FM2, it is in my opinion one of the best cameras you

can get that doesn't need batteries. However, it may be an idea to

look at Nikon's new FM3A, fully automatic, but has a hybrid battery

independant shutter, seems quite nice.

Or if weight is a consern, try an olympus OM1n with the 55mm macro,

a very light but pretty durable piece of kit.

Soon I hope to be purchasing an F4E, can anyone tell me what is a good price for one in 'condition 3', as described on the jessops site at www.jessops.com ? I've been quoted £650 body only for a 25xxxxxxx serial no.

I don't know the register of my camera, an MPP Mk7 by the way, and I

have noticed results are sharp using various holders ranging from the

Linhof dual plate/film darkslides to fidelity delux and elite

holders. Also when I still had it, the results from my Wray

Graphmatic were possibly sharpest.

Irrespective of how advanced the class is, send them out with a 35mm

camera and atleast one roll of slide film. They need only set camera

on auto and the lens to f8. On their return get the films processed

(if the college has an in-house lab) and returned to them preferably

the morning after. Next get them to mount 6 of their favourites from

their roll for projection. Get them to talk about why they took that

photo and what they would do to improve it and why.

After this get them to shoot the following(again 35mm for now) 2x

selective depth of field 2x extended DoF, 1x object on tele lens, 1x

object, the same size on a wide angle, 2x panning, 2x high key, 2x lo-

key 2x high contrast 2x composition.

The above suggestion is an extract from thr camera techniques

module I did in college.

Other things to show them can be basic portraiture and B+W

processing and printing.

Another trick you can use is, if the feature is present, the

self-timer.

I think that this will work. If you get ont of those projectors

schools use for displaying lecture material on acetates, and mask off

a suitable area, this should provide you with an inelegant, but simple

way of projecting your images (as long as you can beg,borrow or steal

one anyway).

Either that or try to use an LF enlarger horizontally, or get a one

of those old horizontal half-plate enalrgers.

I find that using Rodinal at 1-25 or 1-50 and adding a few minutes

more to dev time, and doing half as many inversions gives me good negs

(although my inversions are slightly more vigorous than others).

I've also heard that Paterson Fx-39 can give superb negs.

After approx 30 seconds it should be safe (at least it is for tank

processing)

Bill Brandt Perspectives on nudes - he used an ex-police or ex-WD

kodak wide angle camera.

I've found that with my equpment - MPP Mk7 + Wray 89mm - I can set up

and expose a neg within two minutes. This however comes from

practice, and from roughly knowing what to set the movements to.

However, what I'd recomend for speed, but not economy would be to

use a Quickload or Readyload film and holder in place of the standard

darkslide (however due to the envelope sticking out during exposure

can lead to camera, or rather 'film shake'. One other thing to

gonsider is a graphmatic back - excellent bit of kit.

I don't know about the lens or lighting, but one thing I'd do is push

the film speed by up to 2 stops or perhaps more if I were contact

printing the negs only, e.g use HP5 rated at 3200 chances are if

contact printing is the only thing done, you'd be hard pressed to

spot the grain.

Just a thought.

One thing I'd suggest is try ringing round secondhand shops and

repairers or anywhere someone may have taken a Condenser laborator in

to swap for a multigrade head. Alternativly save up for a multigrade

head as IMHO they make things very easy, bar the dodging and burning.

With a bit of luck I should be getting my greasy paws on a 'new' s/h enlarger an MPP Micromatic cold cathode 5x7/5x4 without a lens. What I would like to know is if anyone else has used this enlarger, (as all that I have used previously for 5x4 enlargements, was an 'all singing, all dancing' Dutst Laborator 1000, with the smartarse ilford multigrade head) or can coment on what would be a decent CHEAP (I am a student) 150mm lens that would fit this.

Probably not, at least not until a digital system can povide the

following : Image resolution meeting film quality, the scanning backs

themselves are self-contained - what I mean is that you take a

picture, and then an image is projected/viewable from the ground

glass, without the need for a PC to be on hand, as for the storage

side, we are reaching that capacity, however the capture side of

things is still lower quality than film.

However one thing that will not be bad for LF is the post capture

digital side. As this gives you the ability to produce digital

'contact seets' mixing col neg, B+W, and slides.

Of course, what you could also do is use blu-tak or plasticene to

hold the filters on.

Something that I saw reciently in a collection pf prints by Sebasito

Salgado, was that stamped or impressed upon the print within the

white bordes was his copyright. Perhaps this may help you.

Try www.camerabellows.com if that address doesn't work contact them

through www.leefilters.com

Just an idea, does anyone know if you reversed the standard lens

would it focus closer for macro photography.

As for lens recomendation a 90mm will (I think though I may be

wrong) near 3x magnification. I my self use a 89mm Wray, and it

seems to perform well, if a little dark, but thats partially down to

a mukky ground glass.

First off, let me say that I agree with Wayne, for the petitions

ideas. I also think that having a few more beginers pages would be

great - e.g. Platinum processin (including info on how or where to

get LARGE copy negs done - a short list to labs providing that

service UK and Europe, not just the US would be nice). Other good

beginers topics could include setting up the camera and other

ancillary equipment for different applications (e.g. portraits, still

life, landscape, other people shots not falling into portraits - i.e.

group shots and the like, nudes, product). And it would also be a

good idea to have sectiond on digital capture, and the scanning in of

negs/ chromes.

Also I think that having 'shoot reports' would be very helpful -

giving you some nice photos for the page, and some more exposure for

the photographer.

Sorry I don't have a clue about the Mail question, but I have a

suggestion that may be of some use (possibly) see if you can

buy/build a tent specially for darkroom use. As if I remember

correctly Francis Firth used on, as did many other plate camera users

at the turn of the century, for preparing their albumen based negs.

As for the mailing of negatives I can only guess that any halfway

decent pro lab should be happy with your arrangement.