Shooting Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

I have tried the Microfine from Fuji, mainly with their Neopan F (now sadly gone!) and it is indeed very similar to Microdol-X.
The Prodol is the same in most aspects to FX 37 by Crawley. This is a very good developer for films like Tri X/Neopan 400 and surprisngly for the now defunct APX 400. I have tried it with XX, but I think I need to do another trial as I wasen't that happy with the endresult. Looked a bit too thin for my taste. I usually was running it as a1:5 dilution for 8-9 minutes. Next time I will run it as 1:3 and shorten the time accordingly (6 min for starters).
Dan, thanks for the tip on the filters. That should clear up some of the crud on the film.
 
My -new- Minolta Dimage Scan Dual II arrived Saturday, so I fired it up yesterday, sure enough it works great with my new Vuescan, and started making some fairly decent scans right off the bat. So, when I get a speedy workflow figured out (not yet) I will begin posting images on Flickr.

Friday I ordered a bunch of stuff from B&H, and I decided to go with 2- one litre packages of the Microdol-X, which I will condense down into the Replenisher. Will have to figure out the ratios of water and Sodium Carbonate, from the big package, and it's not listed in METRIC. So I'll post the receipe when I figure out those ratios.

Also ordered 200' of TRI-X, to test against the XX. Still have a lot of bulk Neopan 400, some HP5+, a bit of Agfa 400 so I'm all set (film wise). I'll also spool up some of the +X Motion Picture if it -ever- stays warm around here. I'm fighting a bad cold right now, been kind of miserable, not doing much shooting for a bit.
 
I am just finishing off another 5 rolls of XX for the 8th run in Td 201. I am going to shoot some Neopan 400 for the next couple of days as the Nikon Historical Society is meeting here this coming weekend and I will be shooting with Nikon Rf's and that was waht was in the Nikon reloadables (and a M2 with XX in secret).
For that filmstock I prefer FX 37 and I will mix a couple of liters tonight or tomorrow and also do a re-run with some XX rated @400. I have tried it before and it kind of works with the 1:5/8,5 min dilution, though a bit "flat" - I might run it at the 1:3/6min instead and see if that helps push up the contrast.
I too, am waiting for that longer stretch of nice and warm weather for a +X run. Oh, one day spring and summer will come. Todays is bright and sunny, but with a biting wind though.
Beware of flu's and colds - thats what turned into pneumonia last month with me! Stay inside and inhale chemicals instead.
 
100 sheets of filter papers arrived today. Made in India, Filter Paper 18 CMS. And it works great, right now, I am filtering ADOX Borax MQ (which really now -does- look like sewage water) through the filter paper, and it comes out clear as gin, just a bit yellow. Check out all the crap in the trapped laboratory paper. Better there than on my negs! :eek:

Notice the scummy-greyish oxidation inside the old Borax MQ bottle (2 liter COKE on the left). -Kudos- to Mr. Kaplan, throw the first two-liter away, and no more residue!
 
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Just a question on the long rolls of color film at the Film Emporium.
Is the developing process C-41 or is another process needed here?
 
Raid,
Motion-picture color processing labs are around. As I recall, there is a lab in Northern Florida who specializes in processing the Eastman Motion Picture Color Film, although I have never used any of their services.

Can anybody (out there) help me think of the url of the lab? I found them not too long ago, they still make -slides- from the motion picture film. Believe it or not!
 
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Thanks for the tip.
I checked out Dale Color Labs; a CD scan of one 36-exp. roll costs $11.
 
FYI negative color motion picture stock is VERY difficult to print on paper. It is absolutely designed to ultimately produce a positive, grain tends to get really unmanagable if you try to print from it...
 
My stuff from B&H arrived today. The extra Microdol-X will make up a good amount to use with a gallon of stock developer.


Microdol-X Replenisher to use with 1- Gallon Stock Solution Dev:

Start With.......800-1000cc Hot Water
Add...........(2) 1-Litre Packets of Microdol-x (132g each)
Add................13 g Sodium Carbonate
Water to Make..1494 cc

30 ml per 135-36 roll is Kodak's recommendation.

-Dan, Now I have 200' of TRI-X to play with, for the first time in nearly fifteen years.
 
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Ok, at long last, some more XX results, this time in Fujidol-E.. an interesting developer, and seems to tame the grain of XX a fair amount. Anyone know what this stuff is supposed to resemble? I've heard too many things to have an accurate gauge. I've added most of these the the XX pool on Flickr, and there are more to come. Here's the link:

XX/Fujidol-E

The experiment with XX & Microfine proved to be universally uninspiring. Maybe this stuff would be better with a different film (perhaps Neopan 1600?)? I'm probably doing something drastically wrong, and shouldn't be blaming this combo prematurely. The shots were almost 100% content-free, aesthetically speaking, but i took a hit for the team and posted a few so at least we'd have it on record. ;) Here they are:

XX/Microfine

Tom A said:
I have tried the Microfine from Fuji, mainly with their Neopan F (now sadly gone!) and it is indeed very similar to Microdol-X.
Click to expand...
Definitely sad about the Neopan F.. i never even got to try the stuff! One thing that Fuji hasn't discontinued is the HRII Minicopy (iso 6!!). What a weird film - super-contrasty and zero grain! Feels very strange to be able to shoot at f1.4 at high noon on a perfectly sunny day.. :) I'll post a new thread on this stuff once i've figured it out a bit better, but if you're curious, here's a handful to check out:

Fuji HRII Minicopy

--c--
 
Cale, I haven't tried the Minicopy from Fuji. Looks really good! I will see if I can lay my hands on some for some sunny weather shooting this summer.
The Neopan F was very much an improved version of Panatomix X. great tonality and very smooth image. Someone in japan once told me that it was a movie-emulsion that was later modified for still shooting. Too bad that it is gone. The Minicopy is a bit slower (understatement of the year!), but sinec the dissappearance of APX 25 and Tech Pan, there is really very little ultra sharp fine grain stuff around.
Kodak has a "transfer" film supposedly that will do 1000 l/mm at a blazing 0,1 asa (Noctilux at f1 and 1 sec on a sunny day on the beach). Maybe a bit too slow though.
 
For those who use the Td 201 for XX. Good news - you can squeeze at least 50 rolls through a 2000ml batch of developer. I felt lazy and had 10 rolls cluttering up my darkroom, so I added 1 min to A (4 min) and 1 min to B )also 4 min) and no problem. The negatives got "punched" up a bit from the extra 1 min in A, but no loss of shadow detail.
I also did run some Neopan 400 and a wayward roll of Tri X through. Looked fine as negs and scanned well.
Now my next project is to assemble my Focomat IIc and fix the Bowden cable on it. There are about 5-600 files of 6x6 and 6x9 negs that have been left alone since I got rid of my last IIc in 2002.
Too bad they dont make Double X in 120!!!!
 
Went back in my files and dug out some XX shot in 2004 and processed in PCK. I was trying to establish a procedure for the film with times and speed in that developer.
Best result seems to be 7min with 2 turns/60 seconds and standard rating of 250 asa. A bit harsher contrast than with the Td 201, but more defined grain and thus it looks sharper!
 
Finally plucked a fully exposed roll of XX out of one of my Minoltas yesterday. Five or six more rolls are in various other bodies. I'm ready to run with TD-201, it's mixed, and I've discovered twenty various rolls of 120 film in a corner of my studio, that's been piling up for awhile. I'm still running my original 2000ml of the ADOX Borax, I'm going to use it until I run out of the replenisher (50+ rolls) and then start over. I think I've run about forty (roughly) at this point. Using the laboratory filter paper really cleans up the ADOX.

Tom, I just loaded my Kindermann 70mm tank with 15' of Plus-X Aerographic, shot through one of my Hasselblads, which I'm going to do in the ADOX, or the TD-201. Haven't decided yet. Wish they made XX in 70mm Type-2 Perfed. I'd load up.
 
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Ouch. I remember (not fondly) the SO 115 (Tech pan precursor) that I used to shoot with my ELM 70mm set up. You process it and then you have to contend with 15 feet of wet and very flimsy film that kept sticking together or sticking to you!!
The Td 201 works better than the Adox with the XX. A bit more forgiving.
You might want to try the Plus X Aerographic with the Adox rather than the Td 201. It is a thinner emulsion and I find that sometimes there is not enough of A in it to develope fully in B.
I am going to mix up some Pyrocat HD tonight and run some stuff through it in the next day or so. I have 1/2 dozen rolls of NP 400 initially and then I will have some XX later- still trying to use up the loaded Nikon cassettes first and then reload with XX in both Leica and Nikon cassettes.
 
1st impressions

1st impressions

first off, thanks for the wealth of knowledge you guys are compiling here. I read somewhere in this thread something about just with the changing times in industry and technology there will be a huge amount of knowledge lost in the next few generations. I suppose its just the course of nature but its still a very true and very disappointing thought. I guess we just have to hope that new inroads will be made and that the art or science of photography isn't abandoned, just shifted a few degrees. Regardless if this information maybe archaic now or in the future, I'm glad its still accessible!

*edit* test test test. answered my own questions. second round looks much better, will post results soon. Diluted the photo-flo considerably (as someone else had mentioned) closer to 1:300 and no streaking, negs look clean.

Any specifics on agitation with d76? I've been going 15sec initial, 3ish seconds every 30sec.

My friends got a Jobo Autolab sitting in a box, might be time to get her fired up... anyone have any good/bad experiences with these? looks fairly customizable.
 
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Sean-

Good to see that you are home safely from you trip. I heard your name more than a few times on NPR a few weeks ago.

I've found that a quick 5 mins in a Hypo Clearing agent (Kodak) after your standard fix/rinse really helps with the base fog.

I'm sure many of us will be chiming in to answer your other questions.

Be sure to check out the Eastman 5222 / Kodak XX Flickr group as well.
 
I just ran a roll of XX through Pyrocat HD. I had 4 rolls of Neopan 400 and chucked a roll of XX in with it. The Neopan, rated 320 need about 13 minutes in the Pyrocat HD. The XX was rated as per usual at 250. It looks a bit overcooked, but by no means blown. If you are going to try it - I recommend that you try 11-11,5 minutes (70F) and 60 sec cont. agitation initially and then 3 "flips" every 60 seconds. I will try to scan some tomorrow. I will also shoot some more XX over the weekend and do a second run at 11 min. I suspect that with continious agitation throughout the timing is probably 9 min or thereabouts. Pyro has a tendency to streak with continious agitation so more trials have to be done.
Next project is to load up another 70 IXMOO's with XX and also start thawing out the lone 400ft of +X and load that one too. One day the sun will come out!
 
Posted some shots from the lone roll of XX in Pyrocat HD 13 min. I needed to drop the contrast quite a bit in Lightroom to make them palatable! 10-11 min is probably closer to correct time.
A friend in Chicago who has been using Pyrocat HD for a long time, suggested a different approach. Establish basic time - say 10 minutes and then run the next batch adding 50% to the time with 60 sec initial agitation and then a semi stand developing procedure. Let is sit for 5 min, gently agitate and let sit for another 5 min, gently agitate. In the case of XX, probably at 6 min and 11 minutes. Richard says it gives improved adjacany effect and nice looking negs. Someting we should try out.
Oh well. only 5 rolls of Neopan to finish and then it is back to XX wholeheartedly!
 
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I came in late to this, but it is very very interesting. Many of my friends here in Taiwan are using motion picture films, mostly to save money. The ones that are common here are, i believe, kodak 250D, 500T, and 50D...I take it these are different from the ones being discussed in this thread. so, i'd just like to ask (and this seemed like a good thread to do it in, i hope) if has anybody had any experience with these? We are very fortunate to have a few professional developers in town that will develop this for the public. it looks like 500T, which is set for 3200K lighting might be good for shooting outdoors on a dreary overcast day (i.e., the entire winter here in taipei...)
 
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