joshua_son

Im using illford bw IV multigrade rc deluxe paper. No filters. It is

glossed on one side and not the other so im pretty positive the

glossed side is the right side of the paper to point the enlarger

at. I am also using dektol 1:2. I guess I will just have to acxept

the long times as a quirk of this enlarger until I can get a nicer

one

Ok Noel, thanks for the advice. Does exposure time have more

affect on the developing than the developer itself? If I expose

the paper for a minute and a half I get a decent exposure with

some negatives. Others have needed longer than that, I see

people using times of just 20-30 seconds and it leads me to

believe that A. They have a brighter bulb in their enlarger thus

leading to shorter exposure times, or B. They are getting much

more out of the developer than I am. I leave it in the dektol for

about 3-4 minutes usually.

By exposing the negative at half box speed do you mean in

camera when actually taking the shot to treat iso 400 film as if it

is 200? I did notice that in some instances on this neopan roll

that shots which should have been well exposed came out at

very thin negatives. And my developing time was fight on the

dot. Whereas the tmax I developed at iso 400 came out much

better. Some of the neopans was good but others where pretty

much unsalvageably thin.

I am using 8x10 papers but im about to buy a box of 5x7 once I

can get a hundred sheets so cheaply. I plan on actually

shooting film for some portraits and weddings alongside my

digital so I will be in the blackroom alot practicing.

I have it hooked directly to a timer, I set a time and it comes on

and exposes it for that long. I assume the shiny side of the

paper is the one I am supposed to be exposing. The brand of

my enlarger is hansa. Its not super expensive. Just a basic rig

Well I got a second roll developed. Some neopan 400. Now im

trying to figure out my paper exposure times. It seems like alot

of people only expose for 12 to 30 seconds? When I did strip

test with the aperture set to f8 it took about a minute and 45

seconds to get a good exposure. How much does does your

developer affecf the print? Im using dektol 1:2

Ok so I checked all my developer and the problem was some

fixer left in the tank. Went through a roll today at the park and it

developed :) my first roll of film ever. And no I did not squeal like

a school girl...well a little. I let them dry out with little issue then

it was to the enlarger with them. I tinkered around with times

and such a little but the one thing I keep noticing is white spots

on the photos. They correspond with little hard dots on the

negative. I assume that this is due to my having mishandled the

film in some way. Anyone know where I screwed up? Sorry to

keep asking questions but im young and inexperienced.<div></div>

Thats probably what happened then. I didn't clean it out not

thinking about it. Ill try again with another roll tonight. Good

thing I put the used chemical in a separate bottle.

Oops sorry about the typo. It was hp5. I ruined that roll by

improperly loading the reel. (Dont ask). The roll that came out

completely clear was kodak trix400. I just checked my xtol from

the same bottle like you suggested ( I stored it in 5 1 liter

bottles) and it definitely is still alive and well. I also checked the

shutter on my ae1 to make sure that it is working and it is

working normally. When winding I get the squeal but other than

that all is well.

I know I didnt use fixer first. I have my fixer in a gallon jug and

my xtol in 1 liter bottles. The only way fixer was in there was if

some was still in the tank from my last roll I developed a few

minutes beforehand. I didnt rinse it out but had dumped it.

Could the small amount of kodafix in the tank from the previous

roll kill the xtol before it could develop the new one? If so I think

I have my answer.....stupid me lol.

John,

If the tank still had a little fixer left in it from the last roll of film

would that have killed it? I have all my bottles very clearly

marked so I didn't mess up there. But I don't think I rinsed the

tank out as it didn't come to mind...im using the liquid kodafix

diluted to film solution. I understand if I made a stupid mistake

as its my first time. Just want to get it right for the next roll. The

one im now afraid to develop has some shots from a recent trip

to Mexico. I might put off developing it and shoot a few rolls of

another film to practice on..

No markings at all. There is one section about 3 or 4 inches

long on one end that is pretty dark then on the other end about

8 or 9 inches that is darker than the rest of the film but not as

dark as the three inches at the other end.

Hopefully that makes sense.

<p>Hello.</p>

<p>I just recently got into film shooting. Im from a small town and nobody I know shoots film or ever has before except for the grouchy owner of the local photo shop. I went for bw film in a canon ae1 since I already had lenses for the fd system. I shot my first 2 rolls of film (illford hp4 iso 400 and trix400 pushed to 1600) and went to develop them tonight. I just finished mixing my xtol and diluting my stop bath and fixer all from kodak. I majorly screwed up the development on the hp5 (loaded the reel wrong) but when I went to develop the roll of trix400 it came out totally blank! I used xtol 1:1 and followed kodaks recommended 12 minute development time for film pushed to 1600. I am absolutely positive that my shutter works, I didn't accidentally use fixer first, amd my developer should have been 20 degrees c. It has me really confused and im wondering what it could be? Surely the developer couldnt have died within an hour of mixing it? I put it in 5 1 liter pet bottles. </p>

<p>Really hope some more experienced individuals can help me out with this. If I left out any important info let me know. I did this all in a dark room lit only by a safety light. Maybe I left the fixer in too long?</p>