kb3lms

<p>Really, really nice, Larry. I think you are right about the Plus-X replacement potential. </p>

<p>Processed my first roll of UN54 Monday evening in XTOL 1:1 @ 8:45 shot as ISO 80. Haven't gotten to print any yet but the negs look really nice! Next run I think I may back off to 8:00 in the XTOL. </p>

<p>+1 for GIMP. The price is right (free) and you can move on to photoshop if you feel you need to once you get the general idea. GIMP lacks some features that PS has (adjustment layers) but when you are ready for that you can decide if you want photoshop or not.</p>

<p>http://www.artchemicals.com lists it. Darned expensive stuff!</p>

<p>Ferric Ammonium Citrate has a different CAS number than Ferric Ammonium EDTA. Is Ferric Ammonium Citrate a substitute?</p>

<p>Where do you get Ferric Ammonium EDTA? Neither the Formulary or Artcraft list this chemical. Is it one of those things with different names and I should be looking for something else? Thanks for your help! Jason</p>

<p>Sounds great, good luck with it! One word of advice that you have already started to pick up on: don't bother too much with the older kids, especially boys. I have coached youth soccer at all levels (U6 to U19) for 14 years and without a doubt the older kids are never interested in pictures. The parents seem to pass on it, too. I would imagine other sports are similar. Display pictures for the older crowd but don't print them ahead of time. But for younger kids, especially U11 to U13 girls, go for it! How much are you charging per print?</p>

<p>I have been using this kit, and it works OK, but I am really beginning to question if there aren't better options without going into buying gallons of Kodak/Fuji chemistry. You might want to look into the Digibase kit available through Freestyle. http://www.freestylephoto.biz/<br>

One question to consider is the issue of retained silver after using a Blix. My question: does the retained silver end up showing on scanned negatives as excessive graininess? Would the amount or appearance of retained silver be affected by film speed at all, i.e. faster film would show more of an effect? I am guessing speed does have some influence as my processed negatives seem to be very grainy and dark - faster film looks worse to me.<br>

As another question, I ruined half the Blix from my current batch of Jobo chemistry by accidentally dumping it into a container of stop bath. (Ugh) I have one box of the Jobo stuff left and then I am planning on trying the Digibase chemistry from Freestyle after the Jobo is used up. Would mixing up a batch of the Potassium Ferrocyanide style bleach such as found on http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/photo/c41_ra4_chemicals.htm be worthwhile (used with Kodak fixer - it's cheap and I understand you can use with B&W as well) and better than the blix or don't bother? The Kodak / Fuji bleach is awfully expensive and I don't want to commit a lot of money to it until I have tried the Digibase kit which looks perfect for me. I have read it is prepared from Fuji/Hunt chemistry.</p>

<p>Thank you, everyone, for your help. Seems this isn't so simple as I might have thought! Attached is a scan of just the area with the spots using VueScan. Each frame that has spots has a few. The green/yellow spots (next to the large blue one) are purple on the negative. The blue one is "brownish-black: in the center and ringed with an orange flare. The other smaller one to the lower left is just a small, orange fuzzy spot against the field of magenta grass.. I haven't had a problem with air bubbles so I don't think it's that. This looks more like something "exposed" on the film. Up and to the right of the group of spots there is another brown one which shows as white on the positive. That seems to be another artifact. I had not noticed that one till I looked at the negative scan.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is the full frame straight from VueScan. This was shot with my Pentax ME-F (seals replaced about 2 years ago), lens is Pentax-M f2.8 40-80 Zoom. Processing was done in my Jobo tank bought back about 1980 or so. The spots have only shown up on this one roll. (The problems in my previous rolls were crap on the film which turned out to be from our water and my home made rinse. The solution was to ditch the rinse and use Photo-Flo.) These spots are not on every frame and not in the same places when they do appear. But they are always towards the left side of the film with none on the right. Maybe a light leak due to the tank lid not seating properly? Might be time for a new tank?<br>

Jason </p><div></div>

<p>Recently, I started processing my own C-41 film. Tonight I was scanning my latest roll and I have noticed a few frames have these blue spots. They are probably there in my previous few rolls too, but they had enough other problems that I never noticed. The film is some kind of Kodak consumer 400 (code is GC 400-8), it was processed in Jobo Press Kit chemistry according to the instructions and scanned on my Nikon Coolscan IV. I'd guess this is a simple thing but I have no idea what it is. I did have some trouble loading the film into the reel and I'm wondering if that is part of the problem. This color film seems much flimsier than B&W... Thanks for any help in pointing out how to avoid this. Also, what would the green spots next to it be? Below is a tiny part cropped out of the full frame.<br>

Jason </p><div></div>

<p>I've gotten setup to print again finally using Ubuntu with Vuescan, Digikam, GIMP, and Turboprint. I also use a Pentax K200D in addition to scanning film. I have been working on lining up the colors between LCD monitors (using the manufacturers profile) and my iP2600D printer. Mainly, I am just interested in getting some decent prints - not quite ready for full color management). The iP2600D is an OK printer and I plan to purchase something better when it dies. Anyway, my issue is that RED in the printed output is REDDISH-ORANGE and the whole print has a bit of a yellow cast. I tried to tweak the colors through Turboprint's control panel but I could not see any effect at all. My second attempt was to print an IT8 trough VueScan and calibrate with that. That removed the YELLOW and made the colors much better, except that it's now WAY over-saturated. (will try this route again though) I am looking for a way to take the icc profiles from Turboprint and tweak the color just a bit to get rid of the Yellow. If I view a color chart on on the LCD it looks about like I think it should, but the print next to it is noticeably "orangey". Does anyone have a clue as to why I don't seem to be able to tweak the color in Turboprint (Pro Edition) or alternately can suggest software to tweak the icc profile? (I have access to a Windows pc at work if Windows software is needed) Thanks! Jason</p>

<p>Girls U13 Soccer...</p><div></div>

There were no frame numbers on the film at all. This is what leads me to believe it was bad developer. What's the best way to maximize developer life? I always spray "dust-off" in the bottle before capping it when done. I am not surprised to hear that the freezing idea doesn't work, but what about refrigeration? Would that help it to "keep" longer? Thanks for all your help. Economics isn't the reason I process some of my own - I just like to do it.

I processed my first roll of C-41 film (Kodak Max 400) tonight in about 6 months using Tetenal press chemistry.

There is absolutely nothing on the finished film. Just clear film base. This roll was definitely exposed, but

nothing important on it. Was the developer shot? I had used this chemistry for a few rolls last fall and

everything was fine with good results. Just to be sure I dumped the developer down the potty once I was done.

But, I still have half the developer left unused as I had split the quart into two 16 oz bottles. It has been

kept in a sealed brown KALT bottle in a dark cool corner of the basement filled all the to way to the top to

minimize air in the bottle. All containers were then stored in a big ziploc bag with as much of the air forced

out as possible. Would it still be any good?

Since I ended up with clear base can I assume the blix is OK? Also, I once heard about freezing unused chemistry

till you need it. Would that really work?

I use the Jobo kit as well. Go ahead and use the Photo-Flo, it works just fine. The stabilizer in the Jobo kit can leave water spots if you do nothing else. Use the stabilizer as directed, then dump the stabilizer and fill the tank with a photo-flo solution. Take the film out and dry as normal.

 

Having a blast with the Jobo kits but I may move up to flexicolor as well.

Some really good advice above, but it all depends on what you want to and like to do. With regards to C-41, it's not worth doing it yourself on a cost basis. But for me, I shoot 35mm and started doing my own C-41 a few months ago and haven't looked back. The cost to me is acceptable and having to set up and process the film gets one more part of photography AWAY from the computer. And, I "gave up" scratches and finger prints from Wally World - of course, there are better places to run your film. B&W I wouldn't even think about sending out.

I just shot some I bought from York recently. It's not half-bad for outdoor use. It's a bit grainy but I thought the color saturation was good. Some of it was shot inside at a soccer tournament and it didn't perform so well there, but it was a weird situation anyway Processed it myself so I can't comment on the commercial processing.

I scan mostly 35mm color and b/w negative film (about 80/20) as well as some

slide film. Been using a Dual Scan II with Vuescan and am pleased with the

results but I am considering upgrading to the Coolscan V ED. Is it worth it?

Yes, the local Wally World is 1 1/2 miles away and does a decent job. The lady who runs the 1 hour photo there is into photography and knows enough to teach the kids to keep their fingers off the negatives and change the chemicals. This is just for fun because the kid asked if we could do "color pictures" as we are having fun with b&w. Temperature control isn't that hard if you have enough water to buffer short term changes. The chemistry side of analog photography adds to the fun - I have to fool with computers all day. Nothing wrong with digital, but it's just one more computer to have to mess with (and on my own time.) :-) The only downside is we still (at least for now) have to use a computer to scan and print the negatives.

I buy 35mm film through the mail all the time, any speed, any type and have never had a problem. Some I buy from B&H, much of it off of ebay - both current and expired. (When I worked at Kodak, they told us past expiration date up to two years was just fine, the research lab guys said it was much longer than that.)

Can you use the same fixer as for B&W film? Right now I am using Kodak Professional Fixer (197 1746). Adorama lists the developer for $10.49, Bleach III (894 0801) for $26.50 and Stabilizer (867 3170) for $6.95. Are those the right items? B&H lists a 1 gallon kit for $39.95 which sounds like a good deal, if they actually had it in stock.

Frederic, I hadn't thought about that. I dumped in 500 ml because it says it is a 500 cc tank. I just measured, and 400 ml covers the film. Not much savings but a little. The tank I have is marked "JOBO Tank 35F Mod. 4", "Inhalt 500 ccm". I'm sure it's an antique and might have been when I got it. (I'm not saying when that was but let's just say disco was going real strong.)

 

It's not so much about saving developer/cost as just not having to keep so much D-76 (or HC-110) on hand and mixing it; D-76 is pretty cheap after all. My question was more along the lines of: if I'm doing two rolls, can I use the same batch of 1:1 dilution for both rolls instead of going through an entire litre? Or would that not be advisable.

My daughter and I want to try processing some C-41 at home. I am doing B&W now

and have done E6 in the past. For our first try, I bought one of the Tetenal

press kits. Longer term, I think we would be interested in other chemistry. I

have read lots of posts about using Kodak chemicals and they talk about

starters, replenishers, and working solutions. Could someone please explain the

differences and maybe point us in a direction of a practical chemistry? I have

scanned what's available from B&H and such but it's a little overwhelming. We're

trying to figure out where to start. We will probably do 6 to 8 rolls a week.

Thanks for your help and sorry if this has been asked a hundred times before.

Would appreciate some advice. Currently I am processing 35mm Delta 100, Tri-X

and TMAX 400 in a 500 ml single reel Jobo tank using D-76 diluted 1:1. I have

been doing this one-shot, dumping the D-76 after each roll. Have only done a few

so far one at a time and the results have been excellent. My question is: how

many 24 or 36 exp. rolls would 500ml of 1:1 D-76 process? My daughter has taken

up interest and we anticipate doing 3 or 4 rolls at a time between the two of

us. Dumping 500ml every roll seems kind of wasteful. Thanks!