scott walton

Diafine is a 2 bath developer that works great without a problem with higher temps (within reason). You will have the sharp grain (high acutance) of Rodinal with perfect negatives every time. Water is fine as an intermittent step but your fixer will last longer if you do use a stop bath. If you use Diafine, it is preferred to not use stop.

B/W films need filtration to render the sky. A yellow will give a subtle effect, an orange will be more pronounced (natural looking) and a red or a yellow/green will be more so. It has to do with the wavelength of the color blue that the sky is. B/W films aren't sensitive to these colors and have to be altered. This is the easy way of doing it being that you aren't developing your own film! A 20% pull will help in most cases but through a lab you will pay 50% (at least) more for this.

A polarizer will help a little (key word here is a little). As far as chromogenic films, Ilford XP2 super is a very nice film and second choice is Kodak's new version. Ilford has made XP2 for years and essentially Kodak came up with this as a way to print on color paper effectively thereby giving the illusion on B/W so to wrap this up, I would use Ilford's XP2 Super.

D76 works nicely but for ease of operation, I too recommend Diafine!!!

I use it for straight developing my 4x5's and love the tones/fine grain. You really cannot mess up with Diafine.

As stated, yes! I have used a gallon version for over a year and only replenished due to carry over with Bath A. When it gets cloudy you can put it through a coffee filter to filter out any sediment. What I usually do is get a gallon kit and a Qt kit and use the Qt kit to replenish. Been doing this for years!

Technidol is a very low contrast developer so if you were to do some clip tests, I would advise to have a high contrast situation like bright sun and deep shadows to begin with. Otherwise your going to come up with some really flat negs. It is similiar to POTA which is a real soft developer also.

Using the LFN idea, been doing it that way for years myself, but also try using a pre wash water bath. This will pre wet your film and should clear things up.

You might talk with your optomitrist to see what power diopter you could get. It would take the need for glasses out of the equation...

Try "ROR" or 91% alcohol but I think it has gone into the emulsion and the only way to recover is to scan, do the photoshop thing and out put to an 8k slide file.

Yes but the repeatability won't be as good as would 1/2 stops be. Using chromes, as you are not, would be a difference but with negatives you won't have any problem... better to air on the side of over exposure.

Start getting into platinum printing which is a contact process...

If they are worth keeping, I would wash/Perma Wash and wash thoroughly!!! Better to air on the side of safety and over wash but not so much as the emulsion starts to peel.

A copy set up will be the least expensive. A roll of pro slide film is around 8-12 USD and to process 4-8 USD. Making a slide with vericolor print film (using the negative) a lab will charge you about $10-12 each and they do look great. A slide made from a digital file (8k) isn't cheap either but they do look very good. The good part of doing it this way is that you can make all the corrections (providing you are calibrated... ask the lab) and then the lab just outputs. I recall that the pricing is about the same as the vericolor print slides.

Nice job! A great way to bracket those panoramics too.

Years ago, in school, I started off with a Cambo SCX and a Fujinon 210. It is a heavy camera but the movements are all geared and precise. The Cambo SC's are good too but a lot less with the features. I still have my 210 and love it! Fuji makes a 90mm f8 but I went with the 5.6... a bit more expensive but very worth it. After that I picked up a 150.. and use it alot more than my 135. The 90mm 150mm and the 210mm range is almost all you need to start out with but your prof likes the 135... 4x5's are just a box but I would recommend getting one with a graflex back instead of a spring back. This way you can easily use roll film adapters when needed and other accessories!!!

I have gotten alot off ebay but it would help for you to see it, feel it and that to see what your getting...

He is the LF Wizard and a really decent man to boot! This is why he has the reputation that he has!!!

Like Chris states, add some Benzo which you can buy in liquid form that is called Liquid Othrazite. Definitely boost the developing time and use Acufine, Diafine or HC110 to name a few.

I use Diafine alot and love the high acutance of it compared to the DD23. When I shoot TMX, I do use the DD23 because I like the added density but Diafine works great for the non t-grained films... it is alot sharper due to it's high acutance. The beauty of 2 baths is that they are compensating, which is that they only develop the highlights to their prime. The shadow detail is great in both and by using either you can easily get complaisant because of their ease.

Personally I use Bronica SQA's and at work RB's but I do prefer my Linhof III for personal shooting both B/W and color.

I had toyed with the idea of the Bronica 645 but was bothered by the viewfinder... holding the camera horizontally and having a vertical shot... I typically shoot with the SQA's for personal stuff and at work, RB's. I too think, if you can swing the Mamiya 7, this would be a better system but it is only my opinion.

I had the old 778 (I think that was the designation) 1 degree spot with flash mode and I too used it hard and had great success with it! I have the Pentax digispot for my landscape work now because with most of my "pretty pics" I don't need strobe work.

I LOVE my Linhof Tec III but if I were to do it again, I love the look of the Zone cameras.

Agreeing with Ken Lee, I use a B+W yellow/green filter awhole lot more because of it's great tones that it renders...

Nate, you have gotten alot of good advise here! LF is alot more expensive but when you look at how many shots you will be taking and how much you will learn by shooting upside down and backwards... it really evens out. There is no such thing as a motor drive for large format. It is precise, calculated and slow. With this in mind, you will learn to be VERY selective and do EVERYTHING before you put the film holder in as in your 35mm shooting also. Many years ago, I started off with a 210mm as my first lens. To this day I still love that aspect. To give you a little insight, from 150-210 is a "normal" lens like your 50mm on 35mm. A 90mm is similiar to your 28mm with 35mm. This is where "generally" people start out with lens selections but that doesn't have to be the rule. Try going here if your handy with wood... http://www.benderphoto.com/ and think of making one yourself. This could very much be part of the learning joy for you and puts in a whole new realm for you being that you built one yourself! The Speed/Crown Graphics are also good cameras to start out with as are older Calumets that you could find on Ebay on a regular basis...Just some thing to think about. Don't be to intimidated. Large format is great and is very worth pursuing.

Typically a red cast on a Polaroid is when you pull the medium apart to soon. If your outside and it is cold, put it inside your jacket or you'll have to add considerable time to the development. If your in the studio, put it close to a hot light and let it cure. I have done this many times with great success. Polaroid Pro 100 B/W should be cheaper though.

Try using an acetate filter with and without the holder. I would first tape an acetate to the pinhole.