Diafine ?

Here it is, the frame #1, my very own (and much beloved) Black Pearl !

HP5+, 1/8 at f/8. Minolta SRT w/50-1.7. Souped in Diafine for 3+? - 3+? mins :)

Edit: and... THANKS SO MUCH everybody who gave me help and advice about this, as well as those ones who 'pushed' me to do it ! :D
 
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Congratulations, Oscar, you did it!!

Nice looking results too. Beautiful camera, but what's a Black Pearl??

Gene
 
Thanks Gene !! One thing is for sure, b&w processing IS fun ! :D

Black Pearl ? The name of the pirate ghost ship in 'Pirates of the Caribbean', and only another nickname to this black Kiev. Her ex-owner still calls her 'black beauty' or 'femme fatale' ;)
 
Not yet but soon as I am in the midst of some heavy work commitment at the moment. :(
 
Photo looks very good, Oscar! Now, how do you like Diafine? Was it as easy as we said? :)
 
Doug said:
Photo looks very good, Oscar! Now, how do you like Diafine? Was it as easy as we said? :)
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Doug, indeed... it is! Opening the film cartdridge and loading the film reel is a lot easier than I thought (I've been told it's not THAT easy with 120 film though). I didn't pay too much attention to time but got sure myself it was souped in each bath for at least the 3 necessary minutes (it was around 5 probably).

'Amateur' agitation, the tank leaked a bit, but nothing serious.

After the second bath, I gave it a plain water wash for about 30 seconds, probably that water was a bit cooler than chemicals. Then, around 5 minutes fix. I took the reel out and couldn't see any 'milkyness' so I guessed it was fixed ok. Again rinse with plain water. Then a final bath in photo-flo and the squeegee thing.

After that, put them to dry hanging in the shower and cut frame 1 to scan, I've cut the rest this morning.

What surprised me is the almost non-existant chemical odour, I was expecting it to be a lot worse.

According to datasheets, HP5 should be exposed at 800 for optimal results with diafine, and only after taking this roll I realized I was overexposing it, but was a perfect 'test' roll for my first processing.
 
taffer said:
Then, around 5 minutes fix. I took the reel out and couldn't see any 'milkyness' so I guessed it was fixed ok. Again rinse with plain water. Then a final bath in photo-flo and the squeegee thing.
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I'm glad you found it easier than expected! Loading the film on the stainless steel reel can be difficult; indeed it can work smoothly, and then mysteriously balky another time. 120 film can be awkward because the larger film is just floppier. The little Instamatic 110 film is often a pain to load because the 16mm reel has the guide spiral only on one side (just spokes on the other).

In any case, there's a rather unintuitive trick that helps: Instead of pulling the film tight as you rotate the reel, at each rotation push the film badkwards a little so that it's loose in the spiral track. And be alert to a kind of crackling noise that signals the film has jumped the rails! I run my finger gently along the film on the reel to feel for any irregularity that would indicate a tracking problem. After some experience you get a sense of what feels and sounds normal.

It would be best for the temperatures to be nearly the same for all baths, to avoid "shock" to the film while it's wet.

One question arises, though, about your wash cycle after fixing... you mentioned just a rinse. It's important to thoroughly wash all that fixer out of the film before drying. Maybe even start with a "hypo clearing agent" which is a fixer-neutralizer, and then washing can be done quicker.

Glad you're having fun! :)
 
Todd, or anyone here in Houston know where I might some Diafine locally? I've tried Houston Camera Exchange and Camera Co-Op but they say they don't have any, I don't even think they knew what I was talking about.

Thanks,

Scott
 
Doug said:
I'm glad you found it easier than expected! Loading the film on the stainless steel reel can be difficult; indeed it can work smoothly, and then mysteriously balky another time. 120 film can be awkward because the larger film is just floppier. The little Instamatic 110 film is often a pain to load because the 16mm reel has the guide spiral only on one side (just spokes on the other).

In any case, there's a rather unintuitive trick that helps: Instead of pulling the film tight as you rotate the reel, at each rotation push the film badkwards a little so that it's loose in the spiral track. And be alert to a kind of crackling noise that signals the film has jumped the rails! I run my finger gently along the film on the reel to feel for any irregularity that would indicate a tracking problem. After some experience you get a sense of what feels and sounds normal.

It would be best for the temperatures to be nearly the same for all baths, to avoid "shock" to the film while it's wet.

One question arises, though, about your wash cycle after fixing... you mentioned just a rinse. It's important to thoroughly wash all that fixer out of the film before drying. Maybe even start with a "hypo clearing agent" which is a fixer-neutralizer, and then washing can be done quicker.

Glad you're having fun! :)
Click to expand...

Again thanks a lot for all your help Doug ! :)

The reels on the AP tank are plastic, pretty much identical to that ones on the Paterson System 4 (saw some photos) that must be visiting China at this time :(

When loading the reel, I paused also to gently pass my finger along the loaded film to check for irregularities, seems it was a good idea.

As for chemicals, now I have a 5 liter water can filled so the stop/wash it's also at room temperature. About fixer, I gave it a pretty consistent wash/rinse after it as read somewhere that it's one of the strongest chemicals. So then Hypo clearing is recommended in the intermediate wash between fixer and the last bath with wetting agent ?

My current active roll is XP2 but the next one will be Neopan 400 (recommended at 640 for Diafine), so, let's see how that one turns out !!

Oscar
 
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Congratulations on your chemical feat, Oscar! I'm really green with envy!

Now... I must start doing my homework. Doing my own developing will take a bit longer; I must get tenure first! :(

But I'm really glad we're seeing a lot of people grow photographically. It only shows how very nurturing this crowd really is!! :)
 
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