I'm desperate (developing film)

[martin s]

Hey,

I tried to get a properly exposed / developed for 2 weeks now, I developed about 15 films myself (Neopan 400, Tri-X, FP4 and HP5).

They're all waay too dark, even the frames I purposely overexposed. I use Ultrafin (Tetenal) since that's what I can buy in my local store. I could get Ultrafin Plus, too. The ration is 1:10, the recommended development time 4.5 minutes.

A few scanned examples, I also tried 9/12 minutes w/ agitation every minute, they all look the same.

Ilford FP4, 19 Minutes, agitated every minute

Neopan 400, 4.5 Minutes, Agitate every 3 seconds

I think it's not the camera, since they look the same taken with the Mamiya DX 1000 and the Canon A-1. Those were taken w/ the m6 / Nokton 35mm f1.4.

I'd appreciate any help, any hint.

martin

 

[sevo]

Maybe you expect something wrong? B&W negatives do not look like slides, but rather lighter than color negative. In any case, the details seem to be all there, and there is probably something wrong with your printing or scanning rather than with the negatives themselves.

 

[mfogiel]

Way too dark ? You mean the negatives are very much transparent? The photos submitted look ok to me, apart the contrast and curve adjustments which are lacking, but this is done in Photoshop anyway... If they are thin, there is a chance that you developer is outdated, or that you are using not enough developer per film, or that your thermometer is broken and you are using an excessively cold solution.

 

[Roger Hicks]

What's too dark? The negs or the prints?

Can you see shadow detail on the negs?

Cheers,

R.

 

[martin s]

Guys, thanks! I really didn't know what they were supposed to look like, I kind of expected something slide-like. I actually was able to correct them in Photoshop, I just thought I'd rather have them look good straight from the scanner. I'm relieved 🙂

martin

 

[FrankS]

Hey,

I tried to get a properly exposed / developed for 2 weeks now, I developed about 15 films myself (Neopan 400, Tri-X, FP4 and HP5).

They're all waay too dark, even the frames I purposely overexposed. I use Ultrafin (Tetenal) since that's what I can buy in my local store. I could get Ultrafin Plus, too. The ration is 1:10, the recommended development time 4.5 minutes.

A few scanned examples, I also tried 9/12 minutes w/ agitation every minute, they all look the same.

Ilford FP4, 19 Minutes, agitated every minute

Neopan 400, 4.5 Minutes, Agitate every 3 seconds

I think it's not the camera, since they look the same taken with the Mamiya DX 1000 and the Canon A-1. Those were taken w/ the m6 / Nokton 35mm f1.4.

I'd appreciate any help, any hint.
martin

Hi Martin,

It sounds like you need to think negatively. If you over-expose slide film, the image on the film will be lighter. If you over-expose negative film, the (negative) image on the film will be darker (giving a lighter positive print.)

Also, if the recommended development time is 4.5 minutes and you develop longer (9-12 minutes) the negs will be over-developed and darker/denser. Also, if the recommended agitation schedule is every minute and you agitate every 3 seconds, the film will be over-developed and darker/denser.

 

[martin s]

Yeah now that you mention it - I mixed that up, too. Thanks a lot for telling me, I probably would've went in the wrong direction for at least a few weeks.

martin

 

[charjohncarter]

I'm like everyone else, what is dark; print, scan or negative. This is one done with auto-levels: