mathomas
Well-known
OK, I know the obvious answer is to do them myself. I process my own 35mm (dev/scan), but I don't have a MF film scanner. So, I drop my 120 film at the lab (an independent photo shop) for dev and scan. They do a beautiful job with color, but my B&W results almost always come out "extra-crispy". Sometimes they are so contrasty that I really can't do much with them.
So, what can I do to ameliorate this problem? My MF rigs are both Fujis and have those great, contrasty, sharp Fuji lenses. I have found that the lab generally does a OK job with Delta 400. Am I stuck shooting Delta 400 forever? Are the other emulsions that are fairly low-contrast? Should I get MF camera(s) that have low-contrast lenses? Should I ask the lab to "pull" 1/2 stop? Etc?
Thanks in advance for any ideas (other than buying a MF film scanner 🙂).
Here are a couple of examples from the same day, but different rolls (these were some of the least contrasty scans, and I've worked on these files considerably). The camera is a Fuji GA645Zi.
Delta 400 (more contrasty roll than usual):
Tri-X:
So, what can I do to ameliorate this problem? My MF rigs are both Fujis and have those great, contrasty, sharp Fuji lenses. I have found that the lab generally does a OK job with Delta 400. Am I stuck shooting Delta 400 forever? Are the other emulsions that are fairly low-contrast? Should I get MF camera(s) that have low-contrast lenses? Should I ask the lab to "pull" 1/2 stop? Etc?
Thanks in advance for any ideas (other than buying a MF film scanner 🙂).
Here are a couple of examples from the same day, but different rolls (these were some of the least contrasty scans, and I've worked on these files considerably). The camera is a Fuji GA645Zi.
Delta 400 (more contrasty roll than usual):

Tri-X:

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