A series of succesful firsts..

[isaacc7]

Well, I finally got around to developing the test shots I had made any months ago I was testing out my new (to me) Gandolfi 5x7 traditional camera. I also used a new (to me again) Pentax digital spotmeter. One thing had led to another and it is only now that I got around to developing them. <br>
Well, to continue the firsts, I decided to try Rodinal for the first time I had two sheets of Foma 100 and one of Efke 100 to soup. I checked the massive dev. chart and away I went. I did the Foma film first (7 minutes at 1:50) and got.... almost perfect negs! They were very slightly underdeveloped, but nothing that can't be dealt with in printing. I was so excited I went right to the Efke film. I mixed up a new working solution of 1:50 Rodinal and developed it for 14 minutes. When I turned on the light I had an evenly fogged piece of film with nothing on it at all... Hmmm, this worries me on several levels. It's quite possible I developed the wrong pice of film, but why is it fogged and not clear? Is Efke prone to fogging? I got it around the same time I got the Foma (I think), but there's no use by date on the box. I'm going to try another test shot tomorrow and develop it the same day for a change. I also need to try some Tri-x that expired in 2004. I'm more worried about that stuff because of the higher speed and also because I like to use it in Diafine at an EI of around 1250. I'll find out tomorrow I guess...

Isaac

 

[Mongo]

Isaac-

Just a single data point here for you: I've never had Efke fog on me, and that includes sheets that have sat around for a few months before they got developed. (It also includes some 120 that went through a bunch of airport screening and then sat around for a few months.) That's not to say your film isn't defective, just that I've never had it happen to me (figure about 40 sheets of 8x10, 80 sheets of 4x5, and a couple of dozen rolls of 120). A lot of the 4x5 and the 120 was developed in Rodinal 1:50.

Hopefully this was just a fluke and all will be well for you tomorrow.

Dave

 

[isaacc7]

Yeah, I'm hoping that this was a fluke... The box is several years old, but it's been sitting in my finsihed basement which is fairly cool and dry. The Foma film doesn't seem to be any worse for wear. One other thing I noticed is that the registration in my 13x18 holder is a little odd. There is a very large unexposed stripe along the edge with the notch, maybe 1/4" whereas there isn't any border at all on the opposite edge. The film on the other side is similar except that there is just a sliver of a border on the opposite edge. This worries me a little since I'm going to be contact printing these, I'd prefer a more even border. Anyway, A couple of sheets of Efke and Tri-x will be sacrificed to the testing gods tomorrow...

 

[isaacc7]

Apo Symmar is wonderful (as usual)

BTW, just for the people that look this up later on, my 150mm APO Symar had no trouble covering 5x7. One shot had a considerable amount of front tilt and there was some very slight vingnetting, but the other shot was shot pretty much "straight" and there is no evidence of fall off in the corners. These particular images aren't too good for determining sharpness in the corners, but I'll try to check that tomorrow too.

Isaac

 

[isaacc7]

Rodinal and Tri-x, Yipeee!

OK, I finally got around to testing the tri-x and efke 100. No problems. I'm quite relieved as the tri-x expired in '04 and there doesn't seem to be any fog. This is my first time with rodinal and I have to say wow... The tri-x neg really "pops", can't wait to see how it prints.

Isaac

 

[aldevo]

Yeah, I'm hoping that this was a fluke... The box is several years old, but it's been sitting in my finsihed basement which is fairly cool and dry.

Several years old? That's probably your problem. Some emulsions do appear to have greater susceptibility to fog. Fortepan emulsions are recommended for no more than 18 months after production less they be ruined by fog. That's why retailers were very frequently out of stock - they knew if they carried lots of the stuff that they would be sitting on a time bomb.

I don't know if the Adox/Efke emulsions have the same problem, but they might.

At least a couple Fomapan emulsions are close cousins of Agfa Pan emulsions and display pretty good shelf life.