thilo_schmid

Ed,

<p>

this is by design. You will have to lock focus tight and use a litte

more force when inserting the holder. When using thick holders (like

the Polaroid pack film holder or a Fuji Quick Change), I would

recommend using the Graflock. It is accessible after you have removed

the outer back by pressing the two chrome bars.

<p>

Regards,

John,

<p>

the stabilizer bath does usually not alter the density or color of

the film. So I wonder whether something else has happened. Did you

check the wet or dry film?

The function of the stabilizer bath is to preserve film and dyes.

Never use the stabilizer bath in your drum (as should be stated in

the manual). The stabilizer bath does contain tensides that may

adhere onto the plastic of the drum and reels and may cause foam in

later developments or may even interfere with the chemicals.

<p>

Regards,

Pete,

<p>

the cambo back has a flat bolt to lock the viewers. A non-Cambo back

usually lacks the capability to lock the viewers properly.

<p>

Regards,

Simon,

<p>

film prices do vary significantly throughout Europe. Prices are e.g.

cheap in Germany (usually cheaper than in the US, esp. if you take

into account the current currency conversion rate US$-Euro) and more

expensive in the UK. The same applies to processing. Do not expose

your film to any risks than the light you wish ;-)

<p>

Regards,

Clark,

<p>

for 10x loupes, use a Bosscreen for perfect vision. 10x loupes are

useful for macro work. For "normal" photography, a 4x loupe will be

sufficient. It gives you the vision of a 20x16" print and DOF on a

well stopped down lens will do the rest.

<p>

Regards,

<p>Kevin,<br>

<br>

these are the guys who do build real large format cameras: <a

href="http://www.klimsch.com/produkte/pontika/pontika.htm">

http://www.klimsch.com/produkte/pontika/pontika.htm</a>

;-)</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

<p>Kevin,<br>

<br>

at a certain macroscopic level (the level we usually look at

photographs when not using a microscope),

we usually do regard analog film as a <i> continuous tone

recorder</i>. But when

we blow up a picture we <i>stretch</i> the tonal values recorded onto

the

negative. On the one hand, we increase the space between the grain

(the tonal

atoms) and on the other hand, every paper gradation has a gamma value

>1.

This means that the tonal values on the Positive do always lie

further apart

than on the Negative. Each Film has different limits here.</p>

<p>A Film with a good tonality will yield a pleasing Positive, no

matter what

scale or paper gradation you may need to express your vision. And

will yield

good tonal separation in highlights <b>and</b> shadows while you

concentrate on

the mid-tones.</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

Robert,

<p>

9x12 is still a common size at least in Germany. Some films (e.g.

AGFA) are significantly cheaper here in 9x12cm than in 4x5", but not

all sorts are availiable in 9x12cm. The holder is esentially the same

with narrower guides at the three closed sides. I, personally, find

that the aspect ratio of 9x12cm has even a 'compositional edge' over

4x5". Check out your ground glass. Most do not have croppings for

9x12cm. Cut a passepartout for a simple workaround, which is usually

better than obeying the cropping marks during composition.

<p>

Regards,

Dan,

<p>

Fuji has discontinued Chrome 35 at the beginning of this year and is

selling their inventory now. As I have been told, the R-3 process

will vanish, since all labs prefer only one process line. This is not

bad news for those who use an external lab, since digital prints from

slides on RA-4 paper are usually of good quality. But this is bad

news for all who used to do their own processing. As far as I know,

Kodak Radiance will be the only R-3 paper left for the next time and

nobody knows how long. Even Ciba/Ilfochrome seems to be threatened by

digital.

<p>

Regards,

<p>Paul,</p>

<p>the cartridges do certainly not last forever. But they will

sustain a hundred

reloads without any problems, if you take care and:</p>

<ul>

<li>rotate the counter only clockwise</li>

<li>be careful when inserting new sheets.</li>

</ul>

<p>The plastic plates that hold the film are not very solid, because

they must be thin enough to store 8 films in limited space.

However, if one is  worn out some day, you can still keep the

cartridge and

exchange parts with others. So they actually fade away instead of

being useless

at once.</p>

<p>I am in quite often in Basel can give you a QuickChange

demonstration, if you

you are interested and happen to be there some time. Just drop me a

note.</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

Clark,

<p>

this usually happens, if you pull the white tabs throu the rollers

instread of the slot besides it. Open the holder in a changing bag or

darkroom and remove the useless frame by pulling it away. You should

be able to install it properly afterwards, since the white tabs

usually come out correct, if you do not do anything but insert the

cartridge in the straight way.

<p>

Regards,

<p>Jerry,<br>

<br>

As others have already said, both films are true silver based B&W

films. But their spectral sensitivity is slightly different. This

results in a different tonal rendition of colors. Both films can

record a rich tonal range. You better compare Tri-X

and  T-MAX <b> 400</b>, which is in the same speed class. I'm

personally

convinced that TMY developed in XTOL delivers an even larger 

tonal range

than Tri-X is able to. But the appearance of Tri-X is still

convincing, because

it renders some colors more pleasingly, e.g. skin tones. But this is

also a

matter of taste.</p>

Regards,

Kent,

<p>

another easy way to open the cartridge is to first reset the counter

and then to reopen the darkslide in the holder. When the darkslide is

(partly) open, simply open the holder and remove the now open

cartridge.

<p>

Regards,

<p>Jerry,<br>

<br>

as Mike has pointed out, in case of T-Max-Film the color comes from

antihalation dyes that still resides in your film. Use a more

extensive rinse cycle instead of a stop bath after development to

wash out

those dyes that have not been washed out by the developer (which

might get saturated,

especially when using low volumes in drums).<br>

<br>

You might experience a similar effect with Ilford Delta Films. In

case of Ilford Films, the color is not from antihalation dyes. Ilford

uses dyes to make the film panchromatic and these

should be washed out during fixing. The best way to remove either

dyes is to use a two bath fixing stage. Fix half of the time in one

bath and have of the time in the second. Then dispose the first bath

and use the second as the first one in the next cycle. This is the

best way to make sure that a T-Grain film is properly fixed and will

yield the most clear base possible.</p>

<p>Regards,</p>

Andrew,

<p>

The shortest Lens I use Lee Filter Hoods with is a 90mm lens on a

4x5". For shorter lenses, I prefer a Lens Shade, because it is better

adjustable to block direct sun light. The lens hood must not vignett

the whole image circle while a lens shade may vignett the parts you

don't need. There will not be much left with a 47XL on 4x5, but you

will have an advantage on 6x9.

<p>

Regards,

Ole,

<p>

Liesegang has built several enlarger models, but as far as I know,

has never built a 5x7 model. And since it is not easy to get parts

for them, I would not recommend buying one that is not fully equipped

with all what you need.

<p>

Regards,

<p>Paul,<br>

<br>

As a B&W photographer you know that you have to get used to your

material. Although color processing is much more standardized, the

working chain has almost the same error sources. The errors of:</p>

<ul>

<li>your meter</li>

<li>the true film speed</li>

<li>your shutter</li>

<li>your diaphragm</li>

<li>the transmittance of your lens</li>

<li>your processing lab</li>

</ul>

<p>may cancel each other or sum up to significant values. So whether

to set your

meter to 100 or 80 does have to be verified. The true film speed for

E100VS is

usually ISO 100/21°, if not stated otherwise on the box. Velvia is

reported to

reach it's nominal speed only in the original Fuji E6-Process and may

have a

slightly lower speed in other E6-Processes. But Velvia currently

seems to be the

only film that behaves like that.</p>

<p>Regards,

Domenico,

<p>

your view camera is not limited to DOF for sharpness control. You can

have selective sharpness even with a stopped down short lens, if you

make use of your tilt- and swing controls. Try some "inverse"

adjustments, like upwards tilt or opposite swing. Using a LF lens

wide open is usually not a good idea, because the parts of your

picutre that are supposed to be sharp should come out real sharp. if

you like to take soft pictures, think of using an Imagon, Softar

Filters or just breathe on the lens.

Enrique,

<p>

I don't know the Omega D2, but 135mm is already the shortest lens for

4x5. However, if you really want to enlarge only a part of the image,

a shorter Lens might help as long as you take a selection from the

center of the image or you can move the negative carrier as required

(which might be a problem at certain offsets). In this case you don't

even have to change the condensors. But as Per has pointed out, the

best way is to gain more distance between easel and head somehow.

<p>

Regards,

Handoko,

<p>

if you can't focus your lens is most probably to short for the

bellow. You will need either SEIPLA, LATUB or DITUB2 recessed lens

mounts, depending on the focal length and whether your had is a 138

or a 138S (there is no 139 head - a 139 has got a 184 Stand and 138

(S) Head). You will need condensors 200/130 for 80mm and 130/85 for

50mm focal length.

<p>

Regards,

Dichroic Filters use interference and do not age. Their principle is

based on the interferences appearing at multiple reflections between

two semi-permeable layers in the filter. Dyed Filters incorporate the

filtering substance in the glass and do age as the dyes fade. There

have been some color heads that use additive color mixing by means of

dye filters (e.g. Philips).

<p>

Regards,

Nigel,

<p>

the more meters you take, the more confused you will be. The metering

angle of your F4 depends on the lens you use. Your Sekonic has a

fixed angle and as long as both agles are not the same, you will most

likely get a different result. Take two readings from a standard Grey

Card. They should be close to each other. Hand-held meters without

spot capabilities do have a metering angle around 30° (aprox. a 50mm

lens on your F4) and are always taking an average over the whole

view. They don't have features like Matrix Metering etc. A hand-held

Meter should be tilted slightly downwards, if metering objects and

not light in a landscape.

<p>

Regards,

In my opinion, AGFA RSX II is currently (even after the introduction

of Provia 100F and has been so in the past) the slide film with the

most neutral greys, highlights and shadows. It's color rendition is

exact although less saturated than it's competitors. RSX II more

grainy, but this should not be a problem in LF. If you self process

your slides, you will notice that RSX II is far less susceptible to

process tolerances (temperature, impurity, concentration,

utilization, etc.), especially when compared to Fuji. It is fairly

easy to archive consistent results with RSX II. As far as I know,

AGFA is about to introduce a new Professional Color Slide generation,

similar to the Consumer Line "Vista" soon.

<p>

Regards,

A B&W contrast filter selectively darkens and lightens certain

colors. This is why it seems to increase contrast in a colorful

environment. If your subject is monochrome, you might even decrease

contrast with a "contrast filter". I don't know what you mean exactly

with "red filter decreases contrast on TMY". A red filter together

with TMY yields the same dark sky as with Tri-X. Think of TMY as a

film with a built-in light yellow filter (which is not exactly true,

because less blue sensitivity is more selective).

<p>

Regards,

Leigh,

<p>

the Hyperfocal Distance, i.e. the focus point where DOF extends from

infinity to the nearest most plane, is indeed not applicable to a

tilted view camera in the same way. It's substitute is a more general

DOF-concept, as you have already pointed out.

<p>

Regards,