Projecting Reverse Process B&W or from B&W prints

[68degrees]

I didnt know what forum to post this in so I put it in general. Pleas forgive me if I overlooked a more suitable category.

Im curious about projecting black and white. Would it look better on a projection screen to reverse process black and white film and make positive black and white slides or to make black and white prints from negatives and project them with an opaque projector? Ive seen Beseler opaque projectors on ebay. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks
Gary

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

A good B&W slide seen on a screen can be mind blowing but exposure is critical.

There's a lot of info about it on Ilford's website. Try here:-

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=90&t=Developing+Black+and+white+film

Regards, David

 

[sepiareverb]

Agreed David. A good B&W slide is quite something projected. DR5 will reverse process most B&W films, or you can do it yourself.

 

[68degrees]

Ok but how do you think it would compare to a small black and white print from b&w negative projected with an opaque projector?

 

[Dwig]

Projecting a true B&W slide, whether it is a well done reveral process image or a high quality dupe from a negative done on the proper film stock, will yield a much better projected image than any opaque projector will deliver, even from the best prints.

 

[68degrees]

Thank you Dwig! Thats what I wanted to know.

 

[HHPhoto]

Projecting a true B&W slide, whether it is a well done reveral process image or a high quality dupe from a negative done on the proper film stock, will yield a much better projected image than any opaque projector will deliver, even from the best prints.

+1, exactly.

Real BW slides projected with a good projection lens are absolutely outstanding. Unsurpassed in its brillance.
For best results in projection use a BW film with a clear base, like Agfa Scala 200X, Foma R, Agfa Copex Rapid, Rollei Retro 80S, Rollei Superpan 200, Retro 400S Rollei Infrared, Adox Silvermax or Delta 100 rollfilm 120.

Cheers, Jan

 

[68degrees]

+1, exactly.

Real BW slides projected with a good projection lens are absolutely outstanding. Unsurpassed in its brillance.
For best results in projection use a BW film with a clear base, like Agfa Scala 200X, Foma R, Agfa Copex Rapid, Rollei Retro 80S, Rollei Superpan 200, Retro 400S Rollei Infrared, Adox Silvermax or Delta 100 rollfilm 120.

Cheers, Jan

Thanks Jan, what about Ilford FP4 does that have a clear base. The info sheet says it can be reverse processed.

Also where do you get your chemicals? B&H only sells those chems in the store not online.

 

[David Hughes]

Thanks Jan, what about Ilford FP4 does that have a clear base. The info sheet says it can be reverse processed.

Also where do you get your chemicals? B&H only sells those chems in the store not online.

Hi,

I stopped home processing when I retired a long time ago and so can't offer any clues about buying the chemicals.

As for the film, all of them have a very faint colour to the base. The FP4 Plus base is very slightly blue and I'd imagine it would act like a "Daylight" filter with a projector bulb*. All B&W old fashioned films have a slight colour to the film, it's the anti-halo dye/whatever left behind. I guess a longer wash would eliminate it as much as possible.

Regards, David.

* years ago we used to use large cheap light blue gelatine sheets in front of the lights to give a daylight effect...

 

[68degrees]

Hi,

I stopped home processing when I retired a long time ago and so can't offer any clues about buying the chemicals.

As for the film, all of them have a very faint colour to the base. The FP4 Plus base is very slightly blue and I'd imagine it would act like a "Daylight" filter with a projector bulb*. All B&W old fashioned films have a slight colour to the film, it's the anti-halo dye/whatever left behind. I guess a longer wash would eliminate it as much as possible.

Regards, David.

* years ago we used to use large cheap light blue gelatine sheets in front of the lights to give a daylight effect...

Thank you!

 

[Dwig]

Halation is a major problem with film (and plates). All normal camera films have some anti-halation provisions. Only a few scientific/technical films avoid such things. There are two primary approaches and most camera films, other than transparency films, use both:

1. An opaque, or nearly so, layer between the light sensitive emulsion and the film base. This washes out or is cleared in the processing. It often leaves a faint bluish or purplish tint which generally fades with exposure to UV light.
   
2. A grey tint to the base

The former doesn't generally impact transparencies. The latter, very common in B&W films and denser in higher ISO films, it a problem and will reduce the brilliance of the projected slides.