ron_taylor3

<p>This looks like trouble waiting to happen to me, 8X10 film is stiff. I have done my share of flat tray processing of film and don't recommend it for beginners since uniform agitation gets more difficult with more sheets, as does the potential for scratching. <br>

Try getting some stainless steel cut sheet film holders for vertical tanks from EBAY, they were made for the task. You can make tanks by cutting the top out of a "slimline fridge jug" holds a little over 1 gallon, they sell for $10.00 ea and at 3" wide can accommodate at least 6 sheet film holders.<br>

Large sheet film developing requires pre-wetting to reduce streaking and careful attention to hanger handling technique.<br>

The best choice in my book is to find a custom lab that has a "dip and dunk" processor, they all use hanger type film holders. </p>

<p>I have been using divided D-76 (Patrick Dignan version) for over 3 decades with incredible results. I used to enlarge 35mm Plus-X up to 24X with no visible grain when viewed at 24". Has anyone compared divided D-76 to Barry Thornton's two-bath developer?</p>

<p>Ron.</p>

<p>When I graduated high school with a scholastic achievement medal in photography, I thought I new a lot about photography. My first boss on a small daily newspaper finally convinced me that I didn't know anything, it took 4 months since I was a slow learner. When he said I was finally ready to learn a little about photography, he gave me a Speed Graphic with one holder, (2 sheets of film) and Heiland a strobe. The rules were; the first sheet was on the paper, I had to pay for the second sheet of film if the image didn't publish. This is the point where I got serious about my craft and fell in love all over again with photography.</p>

<p>Try to get your hands on "The Negative" by Ansel Adams, be deliberate, patient, and pay attention to every step of the process. <br>

Large format is a stern teacher but the best I can think of!<br>

Enjoy your journey!!</p>

<p>Ron@spiritscapes.net</p>

<p> </p>

<p>The fifth image has classic agitation streaks along the top edge from the holes in the film hanger. I suspect the other dark and light patches in the sky area are caused by developer as well. High activity developers (short dev. times) are the most common culprits. I always use a water pre-soak to swell the emulsion and reduce streaking. Diluted D-76 works well, but my favorite is divided D-76, stay away from any developer that takes less than 5 min for normal development.<br>

The gray streaks on the left side in #5,4,&3 are probably from the scanner, cleanliness is essential!!!.<br>

I think you have a good eye for composition, I like the first 2 best.<br>

Silver halide B&W photography is well on it's way to regain the artistic status it had 50 years ago. I recommend Ansel Adams book "the negative".<br>

Your first effort is impressive, keep it up!</p>

<p>Ron.</p>

<p>Dean..<br>

The video clip shows film holders for processing sheet film in tanks. After soaking the film and holders in photo flow or wetting agent, you should remove the film from the sheet holder and let it hang by one corner to dry, this will allow the wetting agent to drain off the film with an minimum of watermarks and swelling of the emulsion in the image area. It is easy to safely check if the film is completely dry, there will be a drop of liquid on the lowest corner, it will dry off last, if the lowest corner is no longer sticky to the touch the entire sheet is dry. I have always used the stainless clips that have two sets of teeth that grip the film about 1/8" in from the edge. Don't forget to rinse the hangers again to get rid of the wetting agent.<br>

<br />Ron.</p>

<p>Aner...<br>

I am an old school photographer who has taught B&W photography on many occasions. Lets start at the beginning.<br>

1. The dark room itself: set a timer for 5 minutes, go into the dark room, close the door, turn off all lights and start the timer, when the timer stops, look around, is it really dark, can you see your hands in front of your face? I have used cardboard and black construction plastic to mask out light during my college days.<br>

2. The developer: How old is the developer, Did you follow mixing directions on the developer container?<br>

3. Your safe light: Mix fresh developer, stop, and fix in the trays. Set your timer for 5 minutes again and turn out all lights, including the safe light, pull a sheet of paper out of the middle of the pack, seal the pack up again. Place the paper emulsion side UP on the counter (the emulsion side curls up, you can also test for the emulsion by wetting your lips and place the paper between your lips and close them on the paper, only the emulsion side will stick to your lips). Next, put your keys on the paper and turn on the safe light only for 5 minutes, then develop the paper for 2 minutes, stop for 15 sec. fix for at least 1 minute then turn on the white light. A black or dark gray sheet with the silhouette of the keys says the safe light ain't so safe. <br>

4. Enlarger: With nothing in the film carrier, and a SAFE light, do #3 again with the paper under the enlarger, turn it on for 2 minutes, develop as before. You should have a black sheet of paper with a silhouette of your keys in white.<br>

5. Print paper: Age and heat both can fog paper but it takes quite a bit of either. If you had anything other than white in silhouettes form the keys, the paper is not worth wasting your time with.<br>

Black and white printing can be rewarding and fun, it will become more of a challenge as you get more proficient, IT IS NOT A CHEAP HOBBY. I recommend 1 book for beginners "the Print" by Ansel Adams, you should be able to get it used.<br>

Let me know if this helps.<br>

Enjoy!<br>

Ron Taylor</p>

<p>Frank..<br>

I have serious doubts about the practicality of this family of lenses being re purposed.<br>

I have attached an image of a 6" fl Zeiss RMK being serviced to help make my point.<br>

<br />The camera body weighed about 85# (the lens was at least 60%), the separate film magazine another 35#-50# depending on how much film was loaded (max 500'). The camera required about 10 amperes at 24 VDC. The square black upper assembly in the image is the film plane, there are 8 reference points (feducials), 4 in the corners and 4 on the sides of the film plane that form precise geometric references for photogrammectric use of the imagery in measuring horizontal and vertical values on the surface of the planet. The round cylinder is the objective lens cluster, it stuck through a hole in the belly of the aircraft. The "objective" lens cluster was about 8" in diameter, the "image" lens cluster was about 9" in diameter, the center of thetop of the image lens was about 1-1/2" from the film plane. The filters were 7" square, weighed about 7# each and cost about $7,000.00 each.<br>

I don't know where the glass in the lenses came from but I am certain that Zeiss ground and coated their own lenses, an interesting side note is that Zeiss had their own foundry and used gun steel for the lens housings, I was told that they waited a year after casting before machining the steel housings. <br>

By the way, if you are curious about the use of satellite imagery, here is the URL for a free E book by NASA that I find FABULOUS!<br>

http://www.nasa.gov/connect/ebooks/earth_art_detail.html<br>

Enjoy!<br>

Ron Taylor</p><div></div>

<p>Frank..<br>

The Metrogons required a vignetting filter with at least 3 stops center density in order to produce a useable image across the 9X9 format. In an effort to reduce the distortions in the image, the Planogon was developed, the back element was 6" square and looked like a piece of flat glass. It still lacked meaningful resolution in the corners and was abandoned when Zeiss developed the f5.6 pleogon.<br>

I worked with the Zeiss Pleogon cameras. The focal lengths were 8-1/4", 6", and 3-1/3" focal lengths. The lenses were mounted in a dedicated camera body, if you want more than one focal length, you bought another complete camera. My f4.0 6" camera had a area weighted average resolution of 83 lp/mm with a peak resolution in the center of the lens of 113 lp/mm. The lens had a maximum aperture of f4, normal operation was between f5.6 and f8. We never shot wide open due to a loss of sharpness in the corners f4.0 = 80 lp/mm, f8= 95lp/mm. In 2004 a 5 year old f4.0 Zeiss without magazine or mount was worth $60,000, the same $ amount it sold for new.<br>

The Swiss company, Wild, made a single camera body with interchangeable lenses which included the shutter, aperture and feducial frame as a single unit, each lens assembly cost about the same as a Zeiss. Optically the brands were competitive but we Zeiss users maintained that Ziess lenses were sharper.<br>

Hope this isn't too far off topic.<br>

Ron Taylor</p>

<p>Frank.<br>

My preference for general shooting would be the 1:5.6 Schneider, I expect more shift & tilt from the faster lens. All the 1:9 lenses I have worked with had a smaller circle of illumination than the faster lenses. As for the Metrogon, I have a B&L 1:6.3 153mm Metrogon that came out of a 9" X9" Fairchild aerial camera, it uses a waterhouse stop for the aperture with a spring powered leaf shutter between the lens clusters. It was a member of the first lens family that was able to cover a 9" X9" format for aerial mapping, the distortion was terrible and the resolution at the corners was barely 5LP/MM. The only reason I haven't thrown it in the trash is purely sentimental, since I worked in the aerial mapping industry for 25 years. The interesting point for me is that the wide angle aerial camera lens was created by the Americans but perfected by the Germans (Zeiss) and the Swiss (wild). Even an old Angulon will out perform the Metrogon.<br>

Ron Taylor</p>

<p>1. The delta water temp control does not actually regulate water temp if the image is accurate, product reviews indicate that it is a thermometer with a ball valve only. Mechanical water temp controls use a pair of pistons controlled by a diaphragm to blend hot and cold water such as a powers valve, this is not the beast. <br>

2. The Fischer temp control unit will likely bid higher than the start price, it appears to hold less than a gallon of liquid and still requires a good thermometer to be set accurately.<br>

3. If you have modern faucets with (1/4 turn to full on) the water temp when mixed will be consistent, until the water heater starts refilling.<br>

<br />So..<br>

I agree with the others, get a large tray like a kitty litter tray and a good thermometer which will probably set you back an easy $25.00. Do a dry run just watching the temp of the water drop over time (work in a heated space to minimize temp drop). I have processed hundreds of rolls of E-6 and C-41 without expensive automated temp control.<br>

One other thought about C-41 kits, don't let them sit around more than a couple weeks, I have had severe grain problems with old developers.<br>

<br />Simple will be more rewarding in the long run, take your time and have fun!</p>

<p>Ron Taylor.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>David...<br>

Generally speaking you should have your water at 125 to 150 deg F. before mixing. If you are working with a powder packet, slowly add all the contents while briskly stirring. Remember that you don't want to introduce excessive air (oxygen) into the mixture so avoid creating foam as you mix. My favorite mixing wand is a length of PVC pipe (3/4" diameter will do) with a series (3-4) -1/2" holes clustered at the bottom. Continue stirring until the solution is clear with no crystals suspended. Developers should be stored in dark bottles. If you can find a can of dust off type compressed gas, (nitrogen only) you can displace the air in the top of the bottle for longer keeping before capping. Always record the date you mixed the solution and when it was used and for the amount of film or paper processed. <br>

I can provide a formula for divided D-76, if you have a gram scale.<br>

<br />Ron Taylor</p>

<p>Get a set of 8X10 plastic print trays and use them to develop your film and paper. Due to the larger surface area to wet, I recommend pre-soaking your film before going into the developer, which is one shot due to oxidation. I have a set of tanks for 8X10 hangers that only require 1 gallon each, but I have never seen another set. <br>

If temperature control due to the large surface area in a tray in darkness is an issue, try divided D-76, ( some call it pan-thermic) you can get the formula on line as well as packets of premixed powders from the Photographers Formulary web site, http://stores.photoformulary.com/StoreFront.bok. <br>

I use Divided d-76 for all my B&W shooting. <br>

I have been using a 20" X 20" sheet of 1/4" thick plate glass for decades, making a couple corners out of layers of tape on the base or counter to keep paper and film aligned reduces the frustration.<br>

Enjoy your journey!!<br>

<br />Ron Taylor.</p>

<p>An easy way to test your bellows is to load a holder with 1 sheet of B &W film, take the camera outside into daylight and insert the holder, cap the shutter and pull the dark slide out. Hand hold the camera and rotate it in all directions to be sure the entire bellows gets direct sunlight on it at least twice. Develop the sheet film for 150% of normal for the temp you have. If there are any fog streaks that show the silhouette of the holder or parts thereof, replace the bellows. This method also works for testing shutters and lens boards.<br>

I learned the hard way many years ago to number my film holders. I cut small V notches in the inside panel on the hinge flap at the end of the holder to image the film holder number with each exposure, the notches on the left indicate 5, 10, 15, etc. notches on the right are 1-5, makes a problem holder easy to find most of the time.</p>

<p>John..<br>

You have a process camera lens. The red dot Goerz lenses were considered to be the top tier of close conjugate ratio lenses. Some people say they don't handle infinity focus subject matter, they work best between 20% and 500%. Apochromats were designed to be used where the image and object planes are parallel, they have little to no distortion. Their depth of field is minimal. Generally speaking, if you encounter a lens with a maximum aperture of f11, the lens is designed for copy work. You should find a pin sticking up in a groove around the approximate middle of the barrel that can be rotated to reveal a slot to drop a filter in near the iris. By the way, I still own the same lens, without the brass band. it is deadly sharp when closed down, I think of it as a slow telephoto.<br>

Ron Taylor</p>

<p>Stanislav..<br>

You have the general concept OK. I normally shoot TXP at ISO= 320 but have been known to range from 300 to 650 depending on subject and lighting. I suggest you set up your camera on a scene similar to what you plan to shoot (sun behind you) and expose 3 sets of images, each with ISO= 200,300,400,500,600. develop one set at label time & temp, one set at -10%, the last set at +10%. Now contact print each set on #2 paper using a mask to compensate for density shifting, develop for at least 1:15 min in Dektol. Pay most attention to the shadow detail, then to highlight detail. Take notes. TXP can capture more than can be routinely printed on paper so don't waste too much time examining the pretty negatives, let the paper tell the story. Next make an enlargement from the best negative. More notes. This process will help get your feet on the ground and save frustration later. Repeat as needed.</p>