first try CMS 20 II and Adotech 2 developer

[destroya]

Let me get this out of the way first. I was given the film and developer, from a friend who is rich and friendly. He told me to give it a try. I have been very happy with the films I use but hey, free film that is supposed to be great, why not give it a try.

Of course I was skeptical of using a document film or whatever type of film this is. The results I have seen are soot and chalk, ultra high contrast with nothing in between. But my friend said, you gotta try this film! I did a little digging and people claim that it can be developed as a normal pictorial use film if you use their developer. I have heard this story before, so why should it change now? I gotta admit, after scanning them (will be wet printing them in late january) the results shocked me. yeh the film is a little higher in contrast, but the negs seem very similar to pan f. the tonal range is very good and the sharpness, wow. the grain? what grain. the first 35mm film I ever scanned that had no grain on a 300% zoom. Cant wait to print them.

So I must say, that this film in the matched developer, the claims seem to be true as far as I can tell. I have 4 more rolls to try. But I figured that the high contrast scenes would be a problem for the film and I was wrong. I only brought 2 rolls with me as i was planning on using my pentax 67ii for all my shots and to just try the CMS film. but the dreaded pentax 67 e-20 error (caused, guessing from cold weather and static electricity, odd as its the only cameras I have ever used that has given my issues in the cold weather) made using that camera not possible. its just too bad that this films developer is so expensive, but given the results it seems to be a specaial situation combo so maybe not that bad. I just have to wait to see a print to judge if the cost is worth more film.

anyway here are 3 quick scans from my Yosemite day trip yesterday.

john

 

[HiHoSilver]

Destroya, I'm glad you posted this. I want to try this film also, but don't want to buy $34 of developer to try a single roll - which locally is $11.50 (cheaper on digital truth website). 'Was thinking of trying the alt process LC+C cafenol, which showed good results. It seems to give very fine detail if the contrast can be held in check.

 

[gone]

Great pics. Hard to go wrong w/ that subject matter :]

There seems to be something a little funny going on w/ the middle tone tree area on the right side of the first photo. Might just be a result of scanning, or localized glare.

 

[georg16nik]

Good job!
Be prepared for great prints, as only enlarger can cut tru CMS 20 and deliver the Gods.
It's good to have smart friends.

Happy Holidays!

 

[JW PHOTO]

destroya,
I think these look very good as far as contrast and the type scene. I'll be curious as to what grade they will wet print at. Films like this are hard for many folks to use or get to like because they allow no weak link in the process. If you have a weak link somewhere then you might just as well be using Tmax 100 - Across - Fp4+ and get the advantage of speed. With the first two I have a hard time finding grain in any reasonable enlargement. Now, if you have the tight scene, the best lens, the proper developer and good darkroom developing skills you'll get negatives that make you go "wow". I think you found the "wow", but I'm pretty darn sure you didn't shoot this with a Holga. I think I might just get a couple of rolls in 120 and respool to 620 for my old Kodak Medalist II. I believe that lens could handle the film just fine and the 6x9 negative would make my 8x10 view camera obsolete, almost. Cost does make this film/developer a film for special occasions and not everyday use that's for sure, but hey it's just another tool in the tool box. John W

 

[Ashfaque]

Beautiful subject matter. Having them as slides would be even more amazing!

Anyway, I have a few rolls of this. But not the developer as I couldn't justify the cost (even though I love supporting SPUR). So I made a list of alternative potential developers (mainly from APUG and Flickr). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to try them yet due to work load. If anyone wants the list (and exchange some ideas) please pm me.

Bests,

Ashfaque

 

[destroya]

not sure about the right side of the first pict. I will judge them when printed as scanning can be hit and miss. I did shoot a few rolls of 6x7 acros and rollei retro 80s before the pentax quit on me. the 35mm cms seems to me, on the light table, to match them in quality. it was strange light for the day. clear with a few patchy clouds turned to fog and snow later in the day. really harsh light. I expected the CMS film to really block up but it did not, it delivered in spades. I have not developed the velvia 50 sides I took with the mamiya 6, and that will give me a good baseline to judge the other shots against. wqhen trying out a new film I try to shoot some slide film to check the original scene against the new film results. but as i said before, the sms matched the acros and RR80s pretty well.

this was just a test, not an endorsement of the film. Im always willing to try out new things, especially things that seem to have a highly regarded reputation from some. just have to wait for a print to get the final results.

 

[Hatchetman]

Great photos!

 

[Alan9940]

I, too, have found that the CMS 20 II/Adotech II combo has much improved over the prior incarnation. I have shot a number of rolls and been very pleased with the results when souped in Adotech II.

destroya - You don't mention what EI you exposed at, but I use EI 12 for very bright sun (read high contrast) desert scenes. IMO it's important to follow Adox's agitation suggestion for this film/developer combo as specified in the technical document on this film. My testing has revealed that normal contrast negs with full tonal range can be achieved. And, as you said, what grain?

Kind regards,
Alan

 

[OptiKen]

Wow. Incredible sharpness

 

[destroya]

i shot the film at 16 based on the pdf i got from adox.

john

 

[RobC]

can you do a 20x or 30x print enlargement of a section and then scan the print and post it so we can see how good this film really is?

 

[Athiril]

Adotech II also provides a very little bit of base fog so it's not perfectly clear, this helps it run through minilabs (clear base films need to be manually advanced frame by frame).




This is in a split bath developer I made up at the time, had another with a test/line chart, its not hard to exceed 150 lp/mm with this film.

 

[scheimfluger_77]

Wowzers!