david l.

Ron, I'd be very interested in any observations/thoughts that you might have regarding continuous agitation and acutance. I was under the impression that "edge effects" are the result of diffusion within the emulsion, and thus agitation, which is a surface action, would have little or no effect - especially given that modern emulsions are significantly thinner than older ones. My source on this somewhat fuzzy area is work of Strobel et al. I'm primarily interested in the effects on T-Max.

Never had a problem loading 120, 220, or 35mm film with the Jobo adjustable reel for 2500 series thanks. Never.

Kristen,

Yes, I too at first found the Contax film back very difficult to remove (and to get back on!). As you have probably discovered, removal of the film back is controlled by a round button, shaped like a fat comma, located on the top of the back itself. To properly remove the back you must simultaneously apply two motions to the release button. This two-way motion is the hardest part to master. First, the button must be rotated slightly (to get it out of its ?locked? position) AND second, the button must be pressed FIRMLY inward (this inward motion moves the ?latches? in the back that attach the back to the camera). To see how everything works together, take a look at the back once you have it off the camera. Rotate and push the release button on the back. You will see the little metal ?latches? in the back move. Imagine the back is on the camera. As these latches move they will decouple from the hooks on the camera back. If you look at the camera back and the film back you can see how the latches and hooks line up. In a nutshell, you need to press HARD to get those latches in the film back to move. Don't get frustrated...the 645 is a wonderful camera. Also, make sure the dark slide is all the way in! Hope this helps.

Ditto Ellis' comment on the Polaroid. Also, keep in mind that converging verticals are less of an issue when photographing a single tree because there are no true verticals to begin with (the tree's trunk is tapered).

Thanks Ron! I've seen some color in my c-41 stabilizer, so I'll be more vigilant with the washes in between steps. Thanks also for helping get rid of the formaldehyde in the e-6 process. Its one of the reasons I only use Kodak soup for e-6.

Rowland, Thanks for the clarification on the composition of the final rinse. One question with regard to the Kodak e-6 chemistry - Does the final rinse add to stability of the image? Or to put it more practically, can this step be skipped without any long term effects to the film? JOBO does not recommend using wetting agents in their drums - which I use to process 120 and 8x10. Putting aside issues with spotting, it would help if I can skip this step. Thanks

Andre, There's no problem with a long (3-4 minutes) soaking time if you are using Kodak's e-6 kit because the formaldehyde and stabilizing agents are in the Pre-Bleach, not the Final Rinse (Kodak reformulated these a couple years ago). The Final Rinse is nothing but a surfactant. That being said, there's no advantage to a long soak either.

Gabriel Orozco.

Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, and Rineke Dykstra (although I believe she uses MF much of the time).

Neil,

Hate to ask an obvious quesiton, but have you made any prints yet? TMX and TMY negs usually look "thin" compared to other emulsions. Your development time and temps are correct...if you used the RS at 1:4.

George,

 

What c-41 process are you using? I use Kodak's C-41 kit and the final step (the stabilizer/final rinse) is clear before the film goes in and a very light pink when the film comes out. I don't know about other processes.

No. They're German. The Bechers, Stuth, Gursky, Ruff, Esser, Hofer, Demand.

Along with the long exposure times, AZO is not panchromatic ( I think its only sensitive to UV) Things might look a little weird, but it's still worth a try!

Doug, the 150 SSHM will not cover 8x10.

I too use a 150SSXL on my 8x10 and agree entirely with Eric's comments. Its a wonderful lens for this format. The only thing I would add is that a center filter is required (or at least a very good idea) if you are shooting color. In B&W the light drop off is less bothersome because you can burn in the edges.

Sean, Thanks much for the Link link! Too bad I won't be in the area for the grand opening. I just hope the prints are strongly secured to the gallery walls....ya never know, Conchita might show up.

150 SS XL

Unfortunately, A Photographer's Place is gone. RIP. The only other photography only place I can think of is the International Center of Photography bookstore.

What brand/model of "automatic" camera was he using? If they were viewfinders, then he probably didn't take off the lens cap.

Yale

Paul, The 645 manual is on line as a PDF. You need to go to the Kyocera website www.kyocera.com Click on "Consumer- Cameras/Digital Cameras", Click on "North America", then click on "Manuals" and enter 645

Still need more info. Are you using the 3005 on a CPA or CPP processor or something else. What are your development steps, chemistry, times and temperature? My first observation is that your volumes seem very high - I've never used more than 1000cc with the 3005. If you are not using the drum on a CPP or CPA processor, the high chemistry volumes may be causing the sheets to shift. This is only a first guess.

Dan, Your results are very odd. Over the years I've used a 3005 drum and a CPP-2 to develop well over 1000 sheets of 8x10 T-max 100 and I've never had a problem like the one you've described. I very much doubt a problem with the drum itself. My suggestion....Don't push the film all the way to the bottom of the drum!!! I usually try to leave it about a quarter to half an inch from the bottom. The chemistry needs to flow through the antihalation channels from both sides of the film. It really cant do that if its up tight against the bottom of the drum. And make sure your film covers both channels - a rolled up 8x10 piece of film will leave about a half inch gap between edges. Just make sure the antihaltion channel isn't in the gap. I also use a 5 minute presoak. Hope this helps

Glossy for B&W, matte for color.

For about 4 years now I've been loading my 8x10 film holders in a Harrison Pup Tent using a different infrared detector...my fingers. (It took about 25 minutes of practice with a discarded piece of flim to get the detector calibrated.)