Ack! Help with IR (or near-IR) films

[Meesterjojo]

howdy!

First allow me to explain a few things: 1) I'm new to film. I've been shooting digital for 6 years, but 1.5) recall photography in highschool. 2) I've also only recently discovered the fun/joy/bliss of developing ones own shots. Weee! 3) I was (again- also) recently gifted with (1) Hasselblad 503CXI w/ 80mm Zeiss lens and CW winder with IR remote; (2) Mamiya RZ67, with 3 backs (and other assorted fun-bits).

...4) I've recently discovered SFX 200 from Ilford.

Now, I have an old Canon 20D which I use for IR- Hoya R72 filter+tripod+shutter remote+30 seconds= bingo.

This doesn't seem to work so well in regards to film. Unfortunately I can't find anything on the net, nor does the owner of the studio I work for (part-time) , who gifted me the above items, have any idea.

Today I shot my first roll of SFX 200 in the 'blad. Every shot I would select would get an ISO 200 @f/16 snap, and a long exposure at ISO 64 f/16 for 20 secs.

I reckoned that something would have developed- but nothing, pure black.

Now, I'm thinking it's my chems: Ifosol S+warm water (no problems with other BW film with water @78 F).

Need more info to help me? I appreciate any advice.

Yes, I have scoured the net, these forums, etc. My main concerns are 1) I over exposed while shooting (20 seconds? hmm works digital); or more likely 2) my developer choice is not so good for this film (especially at 5 minutes dev time, which per Ilford's funny little charts, I should compensate for warmer water).

I'm sure my guerrilla technique will offend someone (it's the net after all), but again, any help (beyond telling me to get proper schooling) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


Oh, I reaaaaally enjoy this as a hobby- I can't believe I never thought of picking up a medium format/film camera sooner!

 

[MattKing]

Meesterjojo:

1st, welcome to APUG.

2nd, you should consider introducing yourself in the "Introduction" forum.

3rd, those are great gifts, and:

4th, have you looked through the following thread, and in particular the threads listed in it:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Although that thread is stated to be about the Rollie film, the other threads listed cover others. The digitaltruth website links that are referred to in one or more of the links were ones that I found very informative.

For clarity, what is your procedure for metering? Are you metering through the R72 filter, or, are you metering without the filter, but adjusting the ISO down to take into account the filter factor?

I used the latter method for my recent experiments with the Rollie film. I used a hand held meter set to ISO 6, and bracket one stop either way. It seemed to work well.

Best of luck, and have fun!

Matt

P.S. you are using the R72 filter (or something similar), aren't you?

 

[Toffle]

Meesterjojo:


I used the latter method for my recent experiments with the Rollie film. I used a hand held meter set to ISO 6, and bracket one stop either way. It seemed to work well.

Best of luck, and have fun!

Matt

P.S. you are using the R72 filter (or something similar), aren't you?

I have had quite consistent results metering at ISO 6 with SFX. It is actually a quite forgiving film to work with.

It does sound like your exposures are way off the dial. Yesterday I shot SFX in bright sunlight for 1/4s @f-16. I haven't developed this yet, but it is pretty much in line with my past experiences with this film.

Welcome back to film, by the way.

Cheers,

 

[Mike Richards]

"20 seconds? hmm works digital" Digital sensors typically have an IR cut filter in front of them to improve image sharpness; thus they are designed to be only minimally sensitive to IR and need long exposures with an IR pass filter in place. SFX is designed for some IR sensitivity so does not need such a long exposure. You also need a filter on the Hassy to get the IR effect, else you have an ordinary, grainy ISO 200 black and white film with SFX. Tom's exposure of 1/4 sec @f-16 seems like a good starting point for the Hoya R72/SFX combo. If you bracket around that, you should get some decent exposures. And developing at 78F is generally not a good idea, even with time compensation; you will not get as good image quality (contrast, grain, tonality, etc.) as you can get around 68F.

And congratulations on your gifts. It's very nice to have someone new get hooked on film and medium format photography.