Newbie advice needed

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Tripper

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Having owned a M6 w/ 35 asph for 5+ years and taking almost all color photo's, I have finally enrolled in a B&W community college class and will start to use the camera for for it's intended purpose!

The teacher has all but insisted we buy TMAX 100 and 400 film along with the Kodak TMAX liquid film developer. Also non-fiber based paper (whatever that means). Teacher also want's us to use 35mm SLR w/50mm lense. Since I'm not concerned with a grade and just trying to decide if I want to actually set up my own darkroom, I'm willing to politely ingore these requests.

After lurking on this forum for many month's now, and seeing the talent and knowledge, I have decided to use TRI-x w/ Rodinal (AFGA?). This combination seems to be much appreciated and will hopefully not change, as I like to shoot in low light and plan to "experiment" with pushing film to 800-1600 ISO.

Advice on this decision would be greatly appreciated along with paper types (8x10)
Brands? Grades? etc - I anticipate 40% close in street photo's 40% portriats and 20% landscapes, based on course outline.

Will time vs dilution vs agitation charts be provided with developer? How about pushing? I'm sure this has been asked before, but where can I find the *Master* chart for different film's and developers - any links?
 
If you are just getting your feet wet honestly I don't see that much of a problem accepting your instructor's recommendations. The basics of processing will translate to any film developer combination you choose, so having a strong base knowledge and starting point, which in part for you is the role of the instructor, is a good thing. I am sure the recommendations are based on his ability to provide suggestions and comments on a combination he is comfortable with and therefore feels he can make accurate and helpful critique. Resin Coated (RC) papers are more or less the norm now, so no big deal there.

An SLR and 50 vs RF and 50, I don't see that your instructor will have a problem or see there is a functional difference with you RF.

Good resources,

http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/homeng.html
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/e_main.php
 
Oops, you have a 35 Asph.

Tell him he will have to live with that, or on the other hand, you have a good reason to go out and get a 50 Summicron. 😉
 
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I think most has been answered and all I would say is that for a starting film (and advanced...) you can't beat Tri-X, but I would most likely go with what your instructor says at first...except on the SLR issue. If it's a darkroom class I can't see why the camera would matter too much.
 
i think there is a point to what your instructor is requiring and i personally suggest you go pick up a cheap manual 35mm rig with a 50. your class may dive into the science of glass and it's construction and it would be benficial for you of you had a 50 to track and witness the events. as far as the fim i definately WOULD go with what the class is shooting. in the end, you will shoot on tmax film and develop in tmax developer... you will know what tmax film does, how tmax ( an excellant developer if you are pushing ) performs and it's strengths... ie: it's awesome at providing deep shadow detail (which i really like as i tend to shoot 1 stop under in the bright sun).
in short you get a real good intro to tmax fim and developer and THEN YOU decide if it's the stuff for you. lot's of people say shoot this or shoot that but when you REALLY immerse yourself in b+w, developing your own etc. you'll want to see for yourself. go, take tmax for a spin... i personally am VERY suprised more folks don't shoot it. tmax 3200 rules!
cheers and have a lot of fun
john
 
I second what rover and backalley have said. With the camera, I'm guessing that the teacher wants to make sure that all the students are using cameras capable of being controlled manually. In other words, no point and shoots. Use the tmax and its developer so you can compare results with others. If the teacher is totally adamant about you shooting with a 50mm, and your 35 just wont do, let us know. I sure someone has an extra soviet 50 that might need a new home.

Good luck, and have fun!

Michael
 
I agree. Just go with the flow and find out from experience. I see no problem with using the Leica, but hay, that's me. If your instructor does demand an SLR, then go to the neerest Pawn 1. My teacher found a couple perfectly working Pentax SLR's w/ 50's for some students in my class for under $40. But yah, just learn as you go. Feel free to ask your teacher about anything. That's photography for you. Again, you have a friggin' nice setup.
 
Thanks for quick responses,

TMAX it is....hopefully it's still on sale at freestyle for $1.99 roll. The "apples to apples" never occured to me but makes perfect sense. I still plan to try the TX/rodinal combo on the side, and hope I can get access to the dark room when class is not in session. I probably need to get on the teachers good side for this to happen.

As far as the SLR/50mm goes, the 50 was needed because "it most closely represents how the eye sees". I always thought 50 was slightly "zoom" and 35 was slightly wide - somewhere in between is how our eye's see....but I don't know for sure.
Another issue mentioned was close up's. Maybe the 50mm has an advantage in this area?? Our first 5 projects include - diminishing scale/linear persp./differential focus/aerial persp. and overlapping forms. I would think the 35mm capable of these tasks, but the apples to apples again comes to mind. I *really* like this lense and plan to use it at least for this first project. Depending on the results, I may look at getting a 50mm, but I hope the 35mm will turn out ok.

Thanks again for quick reply's....now I need to go buy a roll or two from local shop and start shooting...........
 
The 50mm has no great advantage over the 35mm for closeup - but (assuming we're talking real macro work) the SLR does have an advantage over the RF for this type of job. Sometimes seeing through the lens is useful!

I'm sure you could borrow a classmate's SLR for that section, though - I'm sure they'll all be quite keen to play with your M6!

Jamie
 
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