Exposing Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

[Nokton48]

It is now Ninety-two degrees F here in Central Ohio, like a steambath! So I'm thinking about what film to try next, now that it is so hot outside (and bright!)

Eastman +X Motion Picture film, EI 80, and seventy Kodak Snap-Caps (exactly enough!). I'm going to try it at EI 64 in the TD-201.

 

[Tom A]

I use an old Uni-Color agitator with Paterson 5 reel tanks. The smaller diameter stainless steel tanks wont fit on it (and I have so many more Paterson reels and tanks!).
My times were 3 min in A and 3 min in B. It looks like temperature has little or no effect (at least within the 68-72F range).
For the Plus X I would just do it at the same time initially and see what comes up. A-B developers have the advantage of not really blowing the highlights as there is just so much developer in the emulsion.
I certainly do envy you the 92 F outside (though not the humidity). In Vancouver we are having a rotten June. Low 50's and rain - forget anything below 250 asa at the moment.
Tom

 

[Tom A]

A little birdie tells me you're a "Three Nuns" smoker. I'll endeavor to find some before October, It's become pretty scarce around here lately.

For some reason Three Nuns is somehow classified as a dangerous substance and no longer imported to Canada (and I think the US). Hey, this was the smoking tobacco that was supplied to the "grunts" in the Boer war and WW!.
I did pick up 10 cans in Tokyo - If the customs had asked, Tuulikki would have claimed that she was a pipe-smoker too!
Looking forward to Kentucky!
Tom

 

[jmooney]

Travis, Goodie ,another pipe smoker! We are far and few between and in spite of all the "no smoking" propaganda - pipe smokers are actually quite long lived as we are rarely stressed!
Kentucky has some good smoking tobacco too. Must be a good shop around Louisville!
Tom

Add me to the list too....I get looks because I'm young (31) and smoke a pipe. Lane 1Q is my favorite blend. Been too hot to smoke here though lately. It's 99 and humid....yuck!!

 

[Tom A]

What I really hate, when young girls and/or women stop and exclaim "Oh, I love the smell of pipe smoke. My grandfather used to smoke a pipe!". You try to wheeeze "Damned it, I am not your grandfather!". The pipe and the combination of a battered black M2 does make you feel like a relic sometimes.
I never have found heat a problem when smoking. Driving open topped cars or motocycles however is tough. Particularly with a full face helmet! Pipe goes off like a Bessemer blast furnace and all the smoke gets caught in the helmet! Also interferes when you try to focus a M camera.

 

[Nokton48]

Tom,

Since you are a Leica expert, I'd appreciate your thoughts on my new Leitz V2 5cm f2 Summicron. I had a DR twenty years ago (never used the goggles much) so I wanted to replace it with the same glass:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=190226861096&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=009

I used to smoke a pipe, but not in twenty years. If I wanted to go to Louisville, could I smoke a good cigar? I have a couple of real Cubans I've been saving for the right occasion.

 

[Tom A]

The classic Summicron is a good lens. Contrast is a bit flatter than the newer Summicrons, but it certainly has the resolution. You will need the hood though, as it tends to flare in direct light.
It is also a great looking lens. It matches the look of a chrome M2/M3 perfectly. With the Leica clip on hood I find that the aperture ring is difficult to grab so I tend to use screw-in hoods instead.
Unscrew the lenshead and check that the # on the front ring is the same as the one engraved or scratched into the flange inside the barrel. They were "matched" at the factory.
Ah, Cohibas/ Monte Christo's etc - of course freely available here in Canada (at a price!). I am a confirmed pipe-smoker though. The cigars are nice, but takes too long to finish off.
In 2002 I met Raoul Corrales in Havana and his doctor had told him to restrict himself to 3 cigars/day. Tough for a cuban! He circumvented this by cutting up his Monte Christo A's into small chunks and stuffing them in his pipe! I tried it and it was a memorable smoke. Made your toes curl!

 

[sockeyed]

Please take note of Tom's pipe-smoking technique. See how he keeps his eyes above the cloud of smoke to scope out photo opportunities? That's the sign of a true master.

 

[jmooney]

Hey Tom,

If you don't mind. Since were on the subject of recently aquired lenses...I won this auction the other night, it's my first Leica lens (my M6 still hasn't arrived yet!) what do you think?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140237993563&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=004

I am planning on sending it to Sherry Krauter for a CLA.

I also just won a 35 Color Skopar PII, I have plans for a Pre-ASPH 'cron but that will have to wait a while. The M6, 50 Lux and the CV have done serious damage to the camera fund.

Thanks and take care,

Jim

 

[Tom A]

Jim, the Summilux is a classic early Leica lens. Yours is a very early one and it has its own signature. Not the sharpest of them at f1.4 - but stopped down to about 2.8-f4 it will do good job. It was a lens whose lineage goes back to the Summarit 50f1.5 and the Xenon 50f1.5. Leica had to scramble to come up with a modern 50f1.4 as both Nikon and Canon had released 50f1.4's by 1958. The Nikkor 50 f1.4 is optically a better lens than the early Summilux, but the latter has a very nice "bokeh" - you know, that fuzzy stuff outside of the plane of sharpness. Great portrait lens at 1.4 - very flattering.
The 35f2.5 VC II is a close competition with the pre-Asph 35f2. Tiny little lens, but very good. The extra money spent on a Pre-asph Summicron 35 is only really "name" buying apart from that 1/2 stop speed! I know that it is heresy, but I prefer the 35f2.5 VC II! In your shoes, I would forego the pre-asph 35 and spring for a 35f1.4 Nokton or even a 35f1.2 VC for low light work instead (and you will probably be ahead of the monetary game this way).
Some of the new VC and Zeiss ZM lenses are better than Leica's current line-up! Leica has massaged these designs for a long time and both VC and Zeiss started with "clean" slates and were not constrained by old designs or mounts.
Enjoy the M6 and the 35/50 combo. Truth be told - that is just about all we need with a M anyway!

 

[sockeyed]

I've processed another two rolls of Super XX (thanks again, Tom!), souped in D-76 1:1 for 9 minutes. Great tonality and detail (and also a reminder to me that my CV 25mm f/4 is a stellar lens). Here's a simple snap taken in a laneway near my house as a sample:

 

[pschauss]

Was that a direct scan from the film or from a print?

 

[sockeyed]

A scan from a neg, using a KM Scan Dual IV and lightly tweaked and slightly cropped in Lightroom.

I am in the process of rebuilding my darkroom so that I can start making wet prints again.

 

[Travis L.]

Just souped a few more rolls in D-76 1:1, I increased the time to 10 min.

 

[jmooney]

Travis: Nice shots, I love that old bike!

TomA: Thanks for the info on the lens. I have the M6 and CV35 in my hands and shot a roll of C41 B&W to check function and all is ok.

I just bought a few rolls of 5222 off of eBay so I'll be shooting that in the coming weeks and plan to process in D76. I also have a CPE2+ on the way, has anyone processed the DoubleX in a Jobo? Anything I need to look out for?

Take care,

Jim

 

[lkgroup]

Jim,

I use a Jobo to process my XX film. I used the adox developer that has been talked about on this tread which I think worked very well. It is compounded so you need to add 20 % to D-76 times. I just used the D-76 times which were 20% less, and this balanced the turning motion.

I now am using the split developer TD-201. I love it 3min in bath A and B at 72 degrees. It gives a very scanable negative. I haven't printed in the darkroom for about 3 years so i don't know how they would print. It gives a flat neg which is easy to scan and adjust in Print Shop.

Give the Jobo a try and experiment and I'm sure you will have great success.

Leo

 

[Nokton48]

I just finished two more rolls of XX, and two Presto400, which I tried in the TD-201. I like the results! The two-bath TD-201 does definately limit how much overexposure of the film blows out the highend. Especially the Fuji, that comes out nearly jet-black dmax in ADOX Borax MQ. Not so in TD-201, it "tames' the high values, they seem to be self-limiting, which makes sense. I used 4 minutes in A, and four minutes in B, constant agitation in a four-reel Nikor tank, at 18C. I layed the tank down part of the time, and rolled it, like a rolling pin. I think Bill Pierce would approve 😀😀😀

Nice to have both developers with XX. I really want to do a direct comparison A-B test. Both seem to have their uses!

 

[Tom A]

I am still working with Pyrocat HD. The semi stand developing seems to work very well with Tri X and NP 400. Just did 5 reels of XX today. Hanging up to dry they look a bit thinner than I expected (60sec cont. agit and 2 turns at 5 min and 10 min and 15min in total). Looks like it should be a couple of minutes added to it. Will try to scan some of it tomorrow.

 

[Nokton48]

Can anybody recommend a good formulated mix for regular Fixer to use with the XX? I've got the Thiosulphate, the Sulphite, etc. How about something classic like Kodak F-5? What do you guys reccommend?

 

[Tom A]

I tend to use Kodafix. It makes a gallon of film fix and will do between 60-70 rolls (or 5-6 weeks - whichever comes first). I hate mixing fix from powder! It is dusty and messy, so I stock up on Kodafix when I see it and usually keep 12-18 bottles in stock.
Of course, with Kodak's distribution in Canada being taken over by Zippo Lighters!!! (I kid you not) - supply is getting a bit spotty and the stores are even reluctant to order it - even in 12 or 24 packs!
Agitating fixer is boring, so I tend to run it on my Uni Color roller for whatever time I see fit. Usually 7-9 minutes for the first 30 rolls and then 10-11 minutes for the rest. I have the roller hooked up to a Gralab 300 timer with the "audible" signal on. The entire neigbour hood knows when fixing is done - are they ever loud!