Awesome video Andy! Yeah, this stuff is fun to play with in MF, and LF looks incredible! Glad to see it works well!
The one thing I can maybe think of that could cause the pre-soak sheet to be slightly darker, is that maybe some of the black anti-halation dye soaked into the emulsion when you were soaking it? Just a guess though. I’ve always done a pre-rinse as opposed to a pre-soak with this film, just to keep the dyes out of the developer.
I do have some 4x5 cut from a 5” roll at the moment, but can still get it in 8x10! I don’t have any of that particular roll left, however I can get Foto-100, which I’m pretty certain is fresh Aviphot 200, cut down from Astrum. I offer sheets of either FN-64 (Aviphot 80) or Foto-100 when I buy film from them in large lots.
I’m currently working on getting some giant rolls of it from Astrum for use in a Cirkut no. 16 camera, which will probably look absolutely amazing. I’m not opposed to adding some 8x10 in there (assuming all goes well). If anyone wants some, just let me know.