4x5 processing success!

[EcoLeica]

My camera guy is pretty honest, he was goin to sell it for a lot more. Yeah it has all the tilt fucntions and whatnot, its an old monorail camera. Im not sure about the backs, but it has been set up for 4X5 linoff double dark back and a 6X9 roll film back.

Its one really old kodak lens that goes up to f45. He seems to think that will be fine, tho ill most likely buy another one down the track.

 

[dagabel]

Hey Ash, what a timely post. I've been thinking about leaping into 4x5 as well, but before I do, I want to make sure I can afford the consequences (i.e., developing and scanning my own B&W negs; $3 - $5 US per image for Velvia and processing is just not in the cards right now). I've just started developing my 35mm RF work in Diafine, so I'd like to continue down that path if I can.

I don't yet have a good feel for the best workflow with Diafine and daylight tanks for LF (tubes, rollers, which tanks, how much agitation, etc.), but there's a wealth of info over on the LF forum. I just haven't waded through it all yet!

Also, I'll have to come up with a cost-effective scanning solution. Right now I'm using my father's Minolta Scan Dual III, so I'll need to obtain a reasonable flat bed scanner.

Thanks for sharing your experience!

Duane

 

[Rico]

I've been thinking about LF for a few years. Rather than mess with 4x5, I'm tempted to adopt 8x10 right off. This size is nice for prints, and you don't need an enlarger. Contact prints have awesome tonality!

 

[Buze]

I've been shooting 4x5 with a crown graphic (a proper rangefinder camera ! 😀) for a few months. It's LOTS of fun! Can't beleive I lived without movements all this time 😀 A 4x5 slide (Velvia 100) is a slap in the face.. You then look at the 6x9 ones and they look tiny ! 😀

I also now do some "alternative printing" so I can contact print my 4x5 negs on various self-made coated paper, for interesting results.

Here's a 4x5 neg, contact printed on a "Vandyke" coated watercolor paper with a UV box as a light source, then toned in Selenium. Fun!

 

[Ash]

Hey, I totally agree 10x8 is awesome. I made a few negs back months ago before I bought the half-plate - i only bought the Ross Xpress lens to go on the 10x8, then realised it's great for longer focal length on 4x5 as well. Agreed, 35mm looks like an ant compared to 4x5, and 4x5 looks like a midget next to a giant 10x8 🙂

 

[JoeV]

Nice work using an 'improvised lens'.

For those of you thinking of doing something similar, I've had great results with adapting the objective lens from a 7x50 binocular. I found an el-cheapo binocular; the objective lens just unscrews from the body. I fashioned a lensboard for my Speed Graphic from model aircraft plywood.

I've used the lens wide open, for extreme bokeh effects, and also stopped down to F/50, where it's sharp enough to cover 5"x7".

My avatar image is an example using this lens.

 

[Screwy]

No luck finding the article , It was a long shot tbh as the Model engineer has been going for over 100 years and has been weekly,fortnightly and during the war years monthly or not at all and I have a near complete collection (Yes my bedroom ceilings do sag😀 )
spotted These two links on another forum that might be of interest though .

Link One

Link Two

 

[Ash]

Both links are the same, but thanks all the same - very useful for another project in mind 🙂

((I'm going to build my own 4x5 enlarging head, since I can't afford a Devere!! 😀 ))

 

[JoeV]

re: Pinholes in Film

re: Pinholes in Film

... You can see pinholes in the neg as I STILL haven't found and remedied the cause.

My experience with processing sheet film has been that pinholes can be caused by the sudden pH shock of moving the film from a base solution of developer to an acidic stop bath. It has something to do with hydrogen evolution (bubbles of hydrogen gas form in the emulsion due to the violent reaction between base and acid, blowing off a small spot of emulsion as a result). One preventative measure is to use a water bath between developer and stop; some folks just dispense with the acidic stop bath altogether, or dilute it much more than normal.

Of course, if you have lots of dust specks on the film, prior to it being exposed in-camera, it would also look like pinholes; but pinholes are usually bigger.

 

[Ash]

Thanks JoeV. I've ceased usage of Stop and I'm hoping that it will save the negs from further pinholes.