Tri-X just out of Diafine

[lido]

I just hung my first Tri-X in Diafine roll to dry. Shot part of it at 400, part of it at 3200 and the rest at 800 ISO. On first inspection, both 400 and 800 shots look awesome, while 3200 ones are pretty thin. I would love to get those 3200s scanned in, I took them at the Santa Claus parade in Aurora, ON at 8:30 pm.

Now I'm sitting impatiently, waiting for it to dry so that I can start working on them. Sometimes I wish I could afford one of those film dryer cabinets :bang:

I'll post some pict tonight or tomorrow if anyone is interested to see what came out.

 

[kaiyen]

1 - 3200 is a bit too fast even for diafine.

2 - if you want to set up a faster dryer system, either build a hair-dryer based, on-the-reel setup or which will get you done in about 10 minutes, or get a garment bag long enough for a roll (harder to find than you think) and put some filtered computer fans at the top running to a timer. That'll get you done in about 30 minutes.

allan

 

[T_om]

3200? Um...

Too fast, even for Diafine. Given what you say above, you will probably find your shots at 800 should be the best on the roll, but everyone has different ideas (as well as exposure meters) about exactly what ISO they *think* they shoot.

I like TX at about 1250.

Just keep trying until you get what works for YOUR particular workflow sorted out.

Tom

 

[bmattock]

Looking forward to seeing the scans!

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

I don't understand how Tri-X can be out of Diafine.

Nevertheless, I agree with everyone else's observation, 3200 may be a bit too far for Tri-X developed with Diafine. You may get decent results with Diafine rated at ISO 1600, but it better be a very contrasty scene. I think its sweet spot with Diafine is ISO 1000.

 

[lido]

So here are the results

So here are the results

Here are the scans. The four dark ones are from the parade, shot at 3200 ISO with my Bessa R and CV 35/2.5 Classic. No filter was used on the lens. The glare from headlights looks interesting. The shot of the berries on the tree is Tri-X at 400 and the one of my son beside the snowman is 800.

All the pictures are raw scans with no post processing in Photoshop except for resizing. They were scanned on Nikon CoolScan LS 2000 with Vuescan. I think 3200 ones are quite usable, and if I had any worth printing, I would not hesitate to hang them on my wall.

Let me know what you think.

 

[lido]

the one that would not fit 😉

 

[peterc]

They seem to have worked quite well. I think the winter scenes work best of the bunch.
By the way, do you need any accessories for the LS2000? Mine bit the dust so I have some bits hanging around.

Peter

 

[Kin Lau]

I played with the levels on #1, to see the boy's face better. Hope you don't mind.

3200 in this case looks usable.

 

[lido]

Thanks for the offer Peter, but I got all of them, even 250 slide feeder. I only use strip film feeder and ocasionally single slide adapter.

I see you are in Aurora. I am in King City, we should get toghether some time and practice camera and coffee shots 😉.

 

[peterc]

we should get toghether some time and practice camera and coffee shots 😉.

Sounds like a plan.

Cheers,
Peter

 

[lido]

I played with the levels on #1, to see the boy's face better. Hope you don't mind.

3200 in this case looks usable.

Yes, much better. I don't mind at all, Kin. I didn't want to spend any time processing them as I don't think they are worth it.

But at least I know I can push Tri-X this far if I have to and be able to get something usable out it.

 

[Doug]

Doug, you seem to have some longitudinal streaks on the film, noticeable on the 3200 shots, particularly the drummers. If you scanned with a glass neg carrier, it might be a pair of newtons rings, or it could be wash residue of some kind that stayed behind in the drying. I think these are not noticeable on the shots that got more exposure, simply due to the greater neg density.

 

[lido]

Quite possible, Doug. I use distilled water for chemicals but do final wash in well water (no municipal water in my area). I often have to clean my negs in Photoshop to remove water stains although I soak them in PhotoFlo.

 

[taffer]

They look good to me 🙂, I use the same combo (Tri-X, CV 35/2.5, Diafine) very often, exposed around 1000-1600, yep with 3200 in those dark conditions you'll get very thin negs and you'll have a hard time saving the shadows.

 

[T_om]

Looks good, and as others have said... 3200 is a bit much.

Some say Diafine gives no contrast in low contrast scenes. This is not a problem with scans however. Here is your 'trees' shot with a simple curves adjustment. Full range from dead black to stark white.... no problem.

Tom

 

[lido]

Hey T_om, thanks for taking the time to adjust the shot, looks much better. You are the prime suspect in getting me to try this as you told me where to get Diafine some time ago.

 

[kmack]

How do you control the grain?
All of my attempts with Diafine and Tri-X shot from 1000 to 1200 have resulted in very very crunchy negitives.

 

[lido]

How do you control the grain?
All of my attempts with Diafine and Tri-X shot from 1000 to 1200 have resulted in very very crunchy negitives.

I haven't even tried to control it. Those are raw scans. Don't know if this makes a difference, but here is the whole workflow:

1. Diafine A for about 6 minutes, agitate as the box suggests, gentle 5 sec every 1 minute.

2. Diafine B for about 6 minutes, same agitation as above.

3. 30 sec wash in running water.

4. Fix for 9-10 mins in Kodak fixer.

5. Wash for 30 secs in running water.

6. Hypo clearing agent for 2 mins.

7. Wash in running water for 5-10 mins.

8. Soak in PhotoFlo for about 30 secs.

I made sure to keep constant temperature of all baths at 20'C.

 

[kmack]

I haven't even tried to control it. Those are raw scans. Don't know if this makes a difference, but here is the whole workflow:

1. Diafine A for about 6 minutes, agitate as the box suggests, gentle 5 sec every 1 minute.

2. Diafine B for about 6 minutes, same agitation as above.

3. 30 sec wash in running water.

4. Fix for 9-10 mins in Kodak fixer.

5. Wash for 30 secs in running water.

6. Hypo clearing agent for 2 mins.

7. Wash in running water for 5-10 mins.

8. Soak in PhotoFlo for about 30 secs.

I made sure to keep constant temperature of all baths at 20'C.

Thanks Doug, There are two differences between our work flow.

1. I have been using the recommended time of 3 minutes rather than 6.
2. No Hypo.

Time to grab some more Tri-X and give it another go.