sepiareverb
genius and moron
Well Roger beat me to this (again): Incident metering for slides hands down.
For B&W I'd suggest PanF+ first (from your list), only because Silvermax and the Rollei films are of unclear longevity- Silvermax has sold VERY well, but Mirko at ADOX has a lot on his plate. I have a lot of Silvermax on ice here, as I'm not convinced that there will be a second run anytime soon. Especially given the response to news of Adox 100 coming back in all formats, and the strong desire for an Adox 25 speed film.
For fine tuning B&W development I recommend running a roll where you over and underexpose by 1/2 stop steps from +2 through to -2, using several scenes in various lighting. Run at the recommended time and see what looks best at your final destination (scan or print). Then run some films at that ISO/dev time and see what tweaks you might need to make- shorter or longer development, more or less agitation etc. I have times for all the films I use, arrived at after several tweaks over a few rolls. I no longer need to think about it. Just got Silvermax dialed in this way with both the dedicated developer and with Rodinal with six rolls total- and no real cumbersome note-keeping. The range of exposures are clear to read, the adjustments are simple to see as well. I'd suggest changes of development time by 10% increments.
I've made silver prints of negatives from people who usually scan- the negative that apparently scans well is a nightmare in the darkroom, and vice versa. Getting exposure & development down to where it gets YOU what you want with a minimum of work from exposure to final destination is going to be totally different than what works for me- but some simple experimentation should make it pretty easy.
For B&W I'd suggest PanF+ first (from your list), only because Silvermax and the Rollei films are of unclear longevity- Silvermax has sold VERY well, but Mirko at ADOX has a lot on his plate. I have a lot of Silvermax on ice here, as I'm not convinced that there will be a second run anytime soon. Especially given the response to news of Adox 100 coming back in all formats, and the strong desire for an Adox 25 speed film.
For fine tuning B&W development I recommend running a roll where you over and underexpose by 1/2 stop steps from +2 through to -2, using several scenes in various lighting. Run at the recommended time and see what looks best at your final destination (scan or print). Then run some films at that ISO/dev time and see what tweaks you might need to make- shorter or longer development, more or less agitation etc. I have times for all the films I use, arrived at after several tweaks over a few rolls. I no longer need to think about it. Just got Silvermax dialed in this way with both the dedicated developer and with Rodinal with six rolls total- and no real cumbersome note-keeping. The range of exposures are clear to read, the adjustments are simple to see as well. I'd suggest changes of development time by 10% increments.
I've made silver prints of negatives from people who usually scan- the negative that apparently scans well is a nightmare in the darkroom, and vice versa. Getting exposure & development down to where it gets YOU what you want with a minimum of work from exposure to final destination is going to be totally different than what works for me- but some simple experimentation should make it pretty easy.
Godfrey
somewhat colored
I experiment a lot but with only a couple of films at a given time, and my interest is to expose and develop the best negatives for scanning. (B&W only .. I don't do color with film anymore.)
What I've found over the years is this:
- scanning wants the thinnest negative that has all the detail you want expressed without blocked up highs.
- developing time builds density. Agitation builds contrast.
- equalizing temperature for all development steps makes the biggest difference to consistently. Fresh chemistry too.
For my purposes, I underexpose a stop with most films (ASA 200 instead of 100 for example). I set up all the chemistry and water a day before I process and let them all stabilize to room temperature in the 68-74F range. I mix the developer down to a one shot strength, look up the times for that, and add a minute. I like developing times in the 8-14 minute range.
I pre-wet the film and then process with very very minimal agitation every two minutes. Water rinse for stop. Same deal on fix. Ten changes of water to wash, a dip in wetting agent, and dry til done.
For any given film this has produced very scannable negatives presuming proper exposure.
So proper exposure: when not in a rush I use an incident light meter and meter for the light falling on the most important part of the subject. When in a rush, I try to pick an average middle gray zone with a reflected light meter of that same part of the scene. When in a real rush, I rely upon remembering the settings I used with a similar situation at a previous time, set that and shoot.
It's amazing how accurate a trained memory can be. I use a meter for about every 1 in 10 exposures...
G
What I've found over the years is this:
- scanning wants the thinnest negative that has all the detail you want expressed without blocked up highs.
- developing time builds density. Agitation builds contrast.
- equalizing temperature for all development steps makes the biggest difference to consistently. Fresh chemistry too.
For my purposes, I underexpose a stop with most films (ASA 200 instead of 100 for example). I set up all the chemistry and water a day before I process and let them all stabilize to room temperature in the 68-74F range. I mix the developer down to a one shot strength, look up the times for that, and add a minute. I like developing times in the 8-14 minute range.
I pre-wet the film and then process with very very minimal agitation every two minutes. Water rinse for stop. Same deal on fix. Ten changes of water to wash, a dip in wetting agent, and dry til done.
For any given film this has produced very scannable negatives presuming proper exposure.
So proper exposure: when not in a rush I use an incident light meter and meter for the light falling on the most important part of the subject. When in a rush, I try to pick an average middle gray zone with a reflected light meter of that same part of the scene. When in a real rush, I rely upon remembering the settings I used with a similar situation at a previous time, set that and shoot.
It's amazing how accurate a trained memory can be. I use a meter for about every 1 in 10 exposures...
G
charjohncarter
Veteran
What really freaks (and this is B&W) me out is after all the films that have come and gone; I have ended up with two that just don't seem to go with each other. First, Tmax100 which I shoot a 50 and I have tones everywhere. Second, and this is the semi shocker to me is TriX which I shoot at 200 (the tones, because I didn't have the IN years ago to tell me that I was doing it wrong), well the TriX tones aren't as great as the Tmax100 but still more than respectable. So, find a film that looks good for you. And just be happy that you have a scanner histogram or PS histogram mode to fine tune your negatives.
The only film, and this is personal because of my previous libidinous life, was Verichrome in a Brownie Hawkeye Flash that I love and am sorry it is gone.
Tmax100, Konica C35 (completely auto):
TriX, again as above 35mm:
The only film, and this is personal because of my previous libidinous life, was Verichrome in a Brownie Hawkeye Flash that I love and am sorry it is gone.
Tmax100, Konica C35 (completely auto):
TriX, again as above 35mm: