Yeah, you got it. When using the analyser for determining exposure, keep in mind that you want the flash exposure to be a few stops underexposed. Otherwise you'll just end up with a big muddy mass of muted grey stuff. Well, you'll make that mistake sooner or later anyway, so you'll find out anywayNo harm done it if happens; it makes it very visible what's actually happening, so it's even useful in a way.
Masking is of course far more selective and powerful, but it's also orders of magnitude more complicated and a much slower process. This pre/post flash thing is something you can try on a whim at little to no expense of materials and only a tiny time investment.
Yeah, it's the same 'technology' basically. The same diffuser you've been using for the timer will likely work just fine for pre/post flashing color paper. It helps if the diffuser is (sort of) neutrally color balanced.
BTW what’s the best source of roll paper in Europe you’ve found?
That would be great as us individuals have a rough time getting paper. I will talk to Fuji again here in Aus now that I know so much more about paper. 12 months ago I spoke to them and it was in regards to getting DPII. They were willing to do it but it comes with a “batch” every 3 months. While that is not ideal it’s doable. I wonder about B&H in NY. They have a bunch of paper that is all “special order” but don’t really know what that means in terms of time. If AUD strengthens against USD then it’s viable.That's something I'm still working on. Up to recently I used a German supplier, but I haven't been in touch with them recently and I don't know if they still find this niche sufficiently attractive to deal with tiny purchases of one/two rolls. Companies like Nordfoto also work OK, but with slightly less friendly prices than the supplier I referred to. But I have some hopes of setting up a retail channel (i.e. convincing an existing retailer) to handle custom orders from people like you and me for specific Fuji materials.
Is this the same as the pre cut sheets in boxes? They also say “Crystal archive” but I have no idea if it’s the same?
Yea, so the cut-sheet situation is as follows. In the past, Fuji used to confection cut-sheet, but they have stopped doing so. Not sure when; somewhere over the past few years this happened. If you search the forum, you'll find some conjecture/educated guesses that it was actually Harman Technology (of Ilford fame) that did this operation, and it sure seems possible to me.
In any case, today, Fuji does not cut sheets anymore. They only produce rolls. This means that any fresh cut sheet material that's being sold, is being processed from rolls into sheets by 3rd parties. These might be attic-room home operations in some cases, some of it may be manual labor, and some of it may be done by companies who do this for a living - for instance, I assume/suspect that Adox simply cut 'their' (Fuji) color paper on the paper confectioning lines they use(d) for their own papers.
In terms of what you get, it's basically what each 3rd party chooses to process. For the most part, this appears to be entry-level CA paper - the kind that we've been discussing in terms of the mottling issue. The only retailer I know of who deviates from this is Nordfoto.de, who also (in addition to plain CA) offer DPII in cut sheet boxes. Personally I think that's a smart move and my opinion is that all cut-sheet suppliers should just quit the whole CA silliness and switch over to DPII. The cost differential is manageable and I bet that 99.95% of the darkroom printers will gladly pay a few percent more for a significantly better product.
Some guy cutting sheets of velvet, maxima and fujiflex. He is on the ra4 group on Facebook. Not sure where he is, somewhere in Europe
Thanks Worth making a note of this source Looks good value. You can get a 50 box of 12x16 for £60 which if cutting into 6x8 works out at £30 per box of 100These guys in UK cut DPII as they have explicitly stated https://rapideye.uk.com/collections/accessories/products/fuji-col-12x16-g
But DPii having been mentioned as a possibly superior option to CAii apparently implies a lower-contrast Portrait paper ("P") in distinction from their general purpose slightly higher contrast commercial papers ("C" suffix
That's why CAii cut sheet is limited to 20X24 inch max size.
why people are having problems not only with mottled blacks, but even mottled skies. I don't experience any of that
And it's been cut and boxed by Fuji in the Netherlands
Just to be clear. CAII in the boxes we all buy is the new generation "digital" paper? A paper and chem supplier in Aus said of Endura it had higher silver content that gives it that pop. He was referencing Endura Vs kodak consumer paper. So what you are saying is the image forming layers in CAII gives it a "flatter" profile which reduces contrast because the image forming layers are "thinner" thereby compressing the image?The Crystal Archive paper family has no variation in terms of contrast. There is variation in terms of maximum chroma/saturation, but this is entirely a cost-based consideration, with the lower grade papers having thinner image-forming and intermediate layers
Whenever ever mottling is mentioned, the first thing I think about is condensation - either on the film or somehow on the paper at some point of time
Well, if it is paper/backing related, that would be interesting. I've still never seen it myself. Like I said earlier, CAii designation applies to more than one product. Even second-generation Fujiflex is now labeled CAii, even though the actual generational change occurred about 15 yrs ago, and was noted via the batch number first involved. But all of the CAii RC paper I have used so far has been cut sheet, not off a roll. There are other RC roll papers which Fuji makes on a thicker substrate. But the last of those I used was Super-C from a 40-inch wide roll. That now carries a different name, but is distinct from DPii.
I really doubt I'll try more of the cut sheet product. I've already done what I wanted to do with it. And I've been concentrating on Fujiflex these last two years, a really superb optical printing product. But when the Fuji US inventory rounds out a little more, there are certain other kinds of rolls I might experiment with next year. Fujiflex is made in Japan, and I had to wait five months to get it under pandemic circumstances. Prior to that, it was quick to get. I went through B&H. But the US distributor which seems to have the largest selection of Fuji RA4 paper on hand is Pakor.
I don't know if they sell to the general public or not, or are willing to ship overseas. I have a business license.
CAII in the boxes we all buy is the new generation "digital" paper?
What do I have to do: ship you a box or multiple boxes with that exact CAii description posted right on it !!
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