by randall

I have had very indifferent outcomes with HP5. Lot's of 'grit' on the negs. They show up as white spots on the scanned negs. I initially put that down to grit in the tap water, so tried with my last roll, filtered water. And yes a pre-wash - I have always done this, just worried about evenness of saturation of the developer. And got lots of spotting, and indeed, some parts of the neg that were just white, as if there was no emulsion. I used Ilfosol 3. Fresh fixer, again with filtered water. Just exploring things, but has anyone else had quality control issues with HP5 and its emulsion coating? Or am I doing something wrong. Next step is distilled water throughout, but that makes film even more prohibitive, cost wise. I haven't had the same problem, or at least, not so dramatically, with FP4. Any advice appreciated. regards, Arthur (apiarist1)

I'm probably not the right person to answer but, in my experience, I have had spotting with Ilfosol 3 and HP5. It wasn't so bad that I couldn't fix in PS after scanning. I'm using DD-X now and there is hardly any spotting. Problem I had with Ilfolsol 3 was that I developed a roll one week and everything was good. A week later I developed another roll and the negatives were very thin as if there was almost no development. I was following all the temperatures, time, and agitation correctly. With a little research I found that Ilfosol 3 has a sudden death when it reaches shelf life. It had turned yellow and that probably should have been my warning. Now I try to only mix enough chemicals to use over a few days instead of a whole gallon.

@ Randall -- We try very hard to keep all fluids the same temperature,

I'm very careful with temperatures now as the water from the tap comes out at about 75 degrees as do my chemicals stored in the cabinet. I use tap water. The quality of tap water in Hawaii is very good. Although I hear that some use distilled water, I haven't yet. Depending on where you buy it, one could pay anywhere from $1 to $3 a gallon for distilled water. All my chemicals get their time in the refrigerator until they hit 68 degrees before I use them now.

Hi, I don't know if you mean that you're "relatively new" to processing, overall, or only to use of a presoak.

I have been developing for a couple years now. I learned everything from the internet. The first several rolls I developed I would, per internet instructions, rinse a couple times before adding chemicals to the tank. I was disappointed with the results. I found out later that my scanning of the negatives was the main problem and have now solved that issue. Additionally, I wasn't paying attention to temperatures at all. For the past six months or so I have been shooting more film than digital. I can see on the internet that one can achieve as sharp a result wit film as with digital and this is my goal. I have found that the film type makes a significant difference in the outcome and began experimenting with different films. I like HP5 but Delta 100 seems to be sharper. I guess the best advise is to follow the film's box instructions with developing and that pre-soak is just internet folklore.

There are myths and lore about what you should or should not do when developing film. Modern films use gelatin as the binder that fastens the light sensitive goodies to the film base. Gelatin is chosen because it is transparent, flexible, has low solubility, and because it swells significantly when wet. This action breaks open the structure allowing the developer to infuse. We agitate to stir the pot; spent developer is expelled, fresh moves in. It takes time for this swelling and the infusion. If the developer is energetic developing time will be short, a pre-soak becomes beneficial encouraging a more uniform infusion.

 

When film is machine processed, a pre-soak is sometimes used. Chemicals are added to temporally harden the film so it can tolerate the igors of a roller transport system. Additionally, in cine film, we soften the annihilation coat to allow easy removal.

 

In my opinion, it is dubious that a pre-soak will have any impact on grain. On the other hand, it is unlikely that a pre-soak will harm.

Thank you for the explanation. Very informative to me. If I do use a pre-soak, how long and want temperature should I use? Also, if the pre-soak softens the gelatin and allows the chemicals to get to the film base quicker or more effectively, would that alter the development times? As you can probably tell, I'm relatively new at this. I'm following the times, agitation, and temperatures indicated in the Massive Dev app.

I purchased this camera a few years ago as an open box sale from the Navy Exchange Pearl Harbor, HI. All items in the box except for the manual were still sealed. That being the case, I'm confident I was the first to get my grubby paws on the camera. I used it as my primary camera for about a year until I purchased a D810. It then became my backup body. About 9 months into the D810, I was washed off the reef into the ocean with the D810, tripod, and 16-35 f/2.8 lens. The D810 and lens became paper weights. I then switched to a Sony mirrorless system, keeping the D800 as a backup. After a while I realized that the D800 and all my Nikon lenses were just being stored in my humidity controlled dry box and not hardly used at all. I have since sold all my pro lenses and only have the D800 body remaining. It is in excellent condition and comes with box, manuals, battery, charger, body cap, and the various cords that were in the box when new. It has 24,244 shutter actuations. I got this number from the shot of the money shown in the pic below. ver used the strap and can't seem to find it right now. I know I have it somewhere and still looking. If I can find the strap it will be included also. No guarantee on the strap for now. I can also promise that if you do purchase this camera and I come across the strap a few months from now I will send it to you. Finally, take a look at the pics and take your time to determine if this is the right camera for you. I'm currently resolving a dispute with eBay and a buyer that didn't pay. I think this will be resolved by 8 July.

Enough of the history and drama. Here are pics of the camera. I accept PayPal. The price includes shipping within USA via USPS Priority Mail with tracking and signature required. If you're an international buyer, contact me and we can probably work something out on the shipping. Bottom line is that I'm not trying squeeze you for a little more cash by charging an outrageous amount for shipping. Believe me, this happens to us here in Hawaii all the time. Sometimes it costs us more for the shipping than the item being purchased. Often, businesses refuse to ship to Hawaii and Alaska.

Now fo the pics:

Recovering from cervical spine surgery with a two level ACDF, I haven't been able to get out of the house. With that restriction I developed the last roll of HP5 shot while in Japan last April. Nice thing about the surgery is that I can actually feel the film as I roll it onto the spool. Photos from Atami which is about 2 hours by train from Tokyo. Atami is a resort town known for hot springs and was a get away town for famous Japanese authors. All created with Leica M6, Voigtlander Color-Sckopar 35 f/2.5, HP5, DD-X, and scanned on Epson 850.

Natural hot spring foot bath outside the Atami train station. People enjoy a foot bath while waiting for the train.

Two cute girls. My niece and her daughter.

A restaurant where we had lunch

It's a small world. Went to the Kailua Farmers Market and met Fabio. We were talking and soon discovered that he went to boot camp with my son in San Diego. They served in the same unit and did two combat tours in Iraq together. Both are out of the Corps pursuing other interests now.

Leica M6, HP5, DD-X, Epson 850.

Aloha, I'm a bit late to the party this week. I was playing with EBay last week and ended up winning a bid on a black Rollei 35 SE. I have had a burning desire for one of these for the past two years. When it arrived I was pleasantly surprised by the condition. No scratches or dents, mechanically functioning, and only slight brassing on the advance lever. I went to the drug store and purchased three LR44 and one LR43 batteries to replace the dead mercury cell. I was concerned with the 6.2v vs 5.7v mercury cell but, that seems to work fine. I tested the light readings from the camera with my Sekonic L758DR and they were either exact or very close. The meter is a bit of a pain as it seems to require fairly bright light to read. Guessing the exposure or using the Sekonic proved to be a lot quicker than fiddling with the camera's meter. My greatest challenge was estimating the distance for zone focus. Ok, now for some pics from my Sunday morning hike. I was impressed with the sharpness of the 40mm Sonnar lens. Shot on HP5, Ilfotec DD-X, and scanned emulsion side down on Epson 850.

Raindrops

Old Pali Road

Old Pali Road (Same composition I posted last week with the Zorki 4)

Tree Flower (2.8 at 3ft)

After seeing Bill Bowes' FED at the farmer's market last week, I decided to get my Zorki 4 working again. Spent several hours Friday evening doing a "quick" CLA. Hardest part was getting the slow shutter speed governor wound and correctly positioned. All is well now. Here's a shot from my Sunday morning hike on the Old Pali Road. Zorki 4, Jupiter 8, HP5, f/4, 60, Ilfotec DD-X, Epson 850. I turned off ICE and unsharpen mask in the scanning software.

Koolau. Leica M6, Voigtlander 35, Tri-X 400, D-76, Epson 850, I scanned this using Epson Scan with Digital ICE spot/dust removal. The dust was removed but I think it makes the picture a bit soft also. Aloha.

Here's one shot yesterday morning at Ala Moana Park with the Hasselblad 501CM, Zeiss 80 f/2.8. I had a roll of JCH 400. I'm sure it's something else rebranded. Seems to have a lot of grain.

Ran into Bill Bowes this morning in Kailua. Good to meet you Bill!

Looking at the Pali. Hoomaluhia Gardens, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Hasselblad 501CM, Zeiss Planar 80 f2.8, Ilford Delta 100, Ilfotec DD-X, Epson 850.

Pattern is identical.......

Identical on all 36 frames. Now I need to decide if I want to invest in repairs or stick with my Leicas and Hasselblad.

My father gave me my grandfather's cameras. An Ihagee Exakta Varex IIa, an older version Ihagee EXA, and a 1929 Voighlander 9X13. I cleaned up, exercised the shutter, and shot a test oll of Ultrafine Extreme 100 through the Varex and came up with this. What is causing the white spots. The seem to be in the same pattern on all shots. I'm guessing light leaks through the curtain? I don't think the lens had anything to do with this.

I'll have to keep a close eye on my new batch of developer. I'm trying Ilfotec DD-X for the first time. I'm quite pleased with the results. I had almost no white developer spots. This could be due to the longer developing time (12 min vs. 5 min) and more agitation. Regardless it looks good to me.

Visit to the Hoomaluhia Gardens. Hasselblad 501CM, Zeiss Planar 80mm f/2.8, Ilford Delta 100, Ilfotec DD-X (1+4), Epson 850.

I developed a roll in Ilfosol 3 (1-9) and the negatives came out very thin. I know they were exposed properly and have no issues with the camera. I think the problem is that the chemicals are old. However, I developed a roll of 35mm last week with the same batch of chemicals and everything was fine. To scan the negative I had to adjust the levels to bring out the picture. It came out ok but very flat. I can hardly make out the writing on the edge of the negatives. Just to be sure, I shot a roll yesterday and developed with Ilfotec DD-X (1-4) with normal results. If chemicals past the shelf life is correct, how can I know this before developing? I did notice that the Ilfosol was dark yellow. Is this an indicator? Here is an example of what I'm seeing with a shot of the negative and the resulting scan.

Kalama Beach, Kailua, Hawaii

Hasselblad 501CM, Zeiss Planar 80 f/2.8, Ilford Delta 100, Ilfosol 3 (1-9), Epson 850.

If the BMW had been in a downtown parking lot I would suggest two parking tickets: an improper parking citation for each space.

I have always thought that BMWs are entitled to two parking stalls.