Exposing Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

See #1617 above ^^^

Film Cores from 100' bulk film. The packaging (black plastic lighttight bag) and 100' film can are great for storage. I load my film on a formica table in my basement darkroom. Works better than a changing bag for me, but not everyone has room for this type of setup.
 
Nokton48 said:
See #1617 above ^^^

Film Cores from 100' bulk film. The packaging (black plastic lighttight bag) and 100' film can are great for storage. I load my film on a formica table in my basement darkroom. Works better than a changing bag for me, but not everyone has room for this type of setup.
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Thanks for the tip! I saw the post you reference above and it is pretty clear.
Just one question. What is the difference between the cores and that bigger reel? Wonder if that reel would fit into my loader... if not I am pretty much screwed I think.

The core will work but how do I keep the film straight on it when putting it on? I might have access to a darkroom but definitely not to a loader mechanism that would help with the spooling.

Thanks,
Ben
 
bence8810 said:
What is the difference between the cores and that bigger reel? Wonder if that reel would fit into my loader... if not I am pretty much screwed I think.
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Hey Ben,

I have always used the metal black Kodak reels, rather than the cores, the reels are so much easier to load. Mine came with 100' rolls of Tri-X, just save everything that comes with it (can, inner lightproof bag, etc). I have five or six Watson loaders and I have never had a problem with the Kodak reel fitting. I would however make sure it fits before you go into the dark, another individual here recently posted that they needed to trim the inside of the loader to make the reel fit, or put the knob on looser. Myself I would not want the loose knob, just remove a bit of the inside material (with a dremel tool) or sandpaper if the reel is rubbing anywhere inside. But I have never had that problem with any of my loaders. So you should be OK. I do not like the daylight loaders with the felt light traps; too much chance of scratching film! I lay the 400' XX and Kodak Daylight Reel on my table, tape it, and wind the the film on the reels (by hand) until the reel is completely full, the total length is not that critical. Scissors go in back pocket so I don't lose them in the dark! Just don't overload the reel or it won't go in the loader! Wind it tightly but don't cinch it, and keep your fingers off the emulsion side. I can load eighteen or nineteen 36 exposure rolls of XX from a full Kodak 100' daylight reel.

Very tedious but not difficult at all. But I am not in a hurry and the final product is worth it to me. Watson loaders work well and are cheap and plentiful. I got three or four of them because friends wanted to give them away.
 
I also found my negatives to be very dense when metering at 250 and developing according to any of the various formulas on the Massive Dev Chart or wherever. So I just meter it at 400 and use whatever is listed for developing at 250. The one I've been using most often recently is ID-11 (same as D-76) at 1+1 for 10 minutes.

The "correct" way to respool the film is with a set of rewinds, a pair of split reels, and some cores. But the little 1" cores that come with bulk still film won't fit on split reels, so you need to use 2" cores, which then leaves you not quite able to get 100' on and still fit it into a normal bulk loader. I get about 95' on a roll, then have a 20' roll left over after doing 4 big rolls.

Split reels unscrew into two halves, so you can put the original 400' roll of Double-X on one half, screw the other half into it, then poof! your film is on a standard reel with sides and the film won't go everywhere as you're handling it and unreeling it. Similarly with an empty 2" core on another split reel, you can wind the 95' of film onto it with sides to constrain it, then unscrew the halves to get the film out again to put in the bulk loader or bag/can. If you spool onto one of those metal daylight spools, you can just mount that directly on the rewind and spool the film onto it.

All that stuff is a bit of investment if all you're trying to do is break up one 400' roll in your lifetime, and the "do it by hand laying sideways on a clean formica surface" method works fine too!

Duncan
 
Dan,
Comes a time when I need to clear my head and just ask for a bright line rule to use as a base for all my XX shooting.

I have an order in for HC110. I have about 25 rolls of XX to shoot as soon as the Sakura shooting is done. What is the base rule for ISO in outdoor situations and for indoor shooting with XX? So far it seems about right the way I set it up but it has been limited by my lack of shooting the past year... It seems to be all over the place based on everyone's experiences. But for someone who has only shot less than 10 rolls and is just now developing his own, should I just start with 200 indoors and 250 outdoors?
 
Thought I should post back - the film made it here and I have already split two 100ft rolls off of one 400ft pack.

I sourced a small piece of plywood from a local DIY store and drove two 100mm long and relatively thick nails through it. On one nail goes the 400 roll and on the other the center core for the 100ft roll (thanks Ned for sending them!). Below the core I placed a cardboard cutout that is the exact size I need to fit into my loader so I can feel the gap between it and the film and know when to cut the film.

Here are some pictures of the process, it went rather smooth but it took me 30 minutes of continuous winding which left my right arm numb for a period of time thereafter.

The 400 reel is very stable and was easy to take out of the plastic bag and place on the plywood. The end of the film is taped with a rather long piece of tape that I ended up sticking on my left arm so I can retrieve it when putting it back away. I also cut small pieces off of that tape to use for the smaller 100ft rolls I made.

Just to be on the safe side I did this in my darkroom which isn't 100% dark but good enough for wet printing. Thought it'd be better should I need to remove my hand(s) from the darkbag for whatever reason. 30 minutes is a long time without hands 🙂

Ben

1600ft of magic looks like this:

DoubleX_01_sm.JPG


The plywood and the nails:

DoubleX_02_sm.JPG


Here you'll see all what I used, the darkbag and the plywood with the two nails driven through it. You see the little cardboard cutout I made and the center core on the right hand side nail. I also had gloves (which are surprisingly hard to wear if you don't see your hands!!!). I used the gloves when spooling the roll onto the core but had to take them off for attaching the film into the core - for that I needed to feel my fingertips to be precise. As I loaded two 100ft rolls I also had another tin canister which isn't shown on the picture. The first one I loaded I left open in the darkbag so I'd know which of the two it was. The 2nd one was closed with the core and black plastic bag inside it.

DoubleX_03_sm.JPG


And finally the finished product - two tins of 100ft film sealed and ready to be used.

DoubleX_04_sm.JPG
 
Well I have ordered a case of (the real deal) Harvey's 777 and also a case of 777 Replenisher.
Bluegrass Packaging has it in stock right now. $154.23 for four gallons of each including $25 UPS.

You call them then send a check. 1-502-425-6442


Will be interesting to see the results with XX.
 
Nokton48 said:
Well I have ordered a case of (the real deal) Harvey's 777 and also a case of 777 Replenisher.
Bluegrass Packaging has it in stock right now. $154.23 for four gallons of each including $25 UPS.

You call them then send a check. 1-502-425-6442


Will be interesting to see the results with XX.
Click to expand...

Whoa! I thought you were talking about whiskey or something!!! 😛

Can you fill me in about Harvey's 777?
 
14027515019_4cdf153b43_c.jpg


The Harvey 777 works very well with the XX. This is after the 'ripening" process, and maybe 20 rolls in. Leica M2/M-Nokton 50mm f1.5. Film was rated at around 320 iso - sunny f16 so not that precise.
I did go through a batch of 777 last year - did more than 100 + rolls in a gallon batch.
 
When "seasoned" for a while, it looks like whiskey 😀

I'll split some of it with you, if you want. Four gallons is a lot for me.
 
Here is an article on it by Fred De Van.
I know Fred and have corresponded with him. He is quite a character.
He used to work for LIFE magazine & was Art Director for Road & Track, plus you name it.
Fred & I share a deep and unabiding love of the pro motorized Minolta SR-M cameras.
Harvey's 777 was favored by Cartier Bresson and W. Eugene Smith, among many others.

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Harvey/harvey.html
 
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