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FP4+ Mushy Grain

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If the OP thinks that the grain from the FP4+/HC110 combination looks bigger and mushier than the grain from the TMax100/HC110 combination, then I would recommend that the OP use the TMax100/HC110 combination. Shouldn't really be a controversy that TMax100 is a finer grain film than FP4+. Really the question should be what is the best developer for TMax100.
 
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If 8L is enough for you, this will do the job as well or better.
1694974867844.png
 
Yes, but I like lab glassware (even when it’s not actually glass). Chemistry is one of my hobbies and have probably about $5000-$10000 in glassware in my lab.
 
SodaAnt said:
I’d like to try a Betterscanning holder, but the company appears to be defunct. They don’t respond to orders and don’t answer emails.
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A Betterscanning holder will not increase the resolution of the scanner.
 
faberryman said:
A Betterscanning holder will not increase the resolution of the scanner.
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Obviously. The Epson holders are poorly designed (especially the 120 and 4x5 holders) and I’ve been looking for a better replacement without success for some time now.
 
SodaAnt said:
Yes, but I like lab glassware (even when it’s not actually glass).
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So what is lab glassware in relation to your link which takes me to what appears to be a plastic beaker that is no different from the the one I mentioned and the even bigger one Matt mentioned?

Just curious

Thanks

pentaxuser
 
A 5L pack of Xtol will dissolve in 2.5L of water. Easier storage, just dilute accordingly.
 
pentaxuser said:
So what is lab glassware in relation to your link which takes me to what appears to be a plastic beaker that is no different from the the one I mentioned and the even bigger one Matt mentioned?
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Lab glassware is a broad term that encompasses lots of things used in, typically, chemistry labs. Beakers, graduated cylinders, distillation condensors, pipettes, volumetric flasks, separation funnels, etc. Oh, and a 60Mhz NMR spectrometer.

Sure, I could buy a big orange bucket from Home Depot, but I prefer tools suited to the task. In this case, it’s mixing up 5L batches of a developer. The beaker I linked to is already graduated and will fit on one of my magnetic stirrers. It’s also smaller than one of those buckets and will take up less room in my lab.

I know some people prefer cheap, quick and dirty solutions to tasks like this, but I don’t.
 
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SodaAnt said:
I’d like to try a Betterscanning holder, but the company appears to be defunct. They don’t respond to orders and don’t answer emails.
Click to expand...

What I would read from that is that the game has moved on. And it's DSLR or mirrorless cameras that have taken the high ground for 'scanning' negatives. It's a shame for Betterscanning, but businesses and niche enterprises come and go in a technology war.

On the other hand their are now many companies making negative holders for camera scanning so when one fails like Betterscanning another emerges. And while I'm being brave saying it I think the war has finally been won, if you have your macro lens, a copy stand, and a light source, the only thing from now on that may ever need upgrading is a camera (that you can also use as a camera, unlike a scanner!). And given 24mp full frame is all that's needed to fully record a 35mm negative (or a few more megapixels for 'scanning' various MF ratios because of the sensor crop factor), the 'war' between a dedicated scanner vs camera can be declared over.

And for anybody tempted to say 'my Flextight', yes we'll all rush out and buy one, or can we, or would we, or ask 'are you now living in the past' ?
 
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I keep a variety of buckets on hand in the shop. But there are a couple of issues with them when it comes to photo chemistry. The nickel plated bails or handles rust pretty fast in a darkroom sink environment. Second, when they do come with volume markings, those are often wildly off, and are not a realistic substitute for high quality graduated cylinders when it comes to accurate measuring.

Glassware in California? I'm just a few blocks from the infamous Hayward fault. But I made sure to buy a house with solid rock down below, not fill or even mudstone like much of "geologic Jello" in this area; so the shock waves go through really fast. The I oriented my labware shelving north to south, the same direction the fault shifts, so have never had a problem. But any kind of potentially flammable chemical or solvent is kept outside the building in a different area, and never in glass, just in case.

What really was spooky was the Govt germ warfare research lab once in the heart of SF, with all those petri dishes. Few people knew that lab even existed. Then it got relocated to an unstable hillside in a different county, and still adjacent to a known earthquake fault! Glad those days are ever.

But based on the bucket illustration Matt provided, don't think I'll ever use maple syrup again. I'd prefer a bucket made out of virgin polyethylene instead of recycled tires. Hard to say what "food grade" means in Canadian. If it's the same kind of food wolves, wolverines, and ravens are willing to eat in Winter, think I'll pass.
 
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SodaAnt said:
Lab glassware is a broad term that encompasses lots of things used in, typically, chemistry labs. Beakers, graduated cylinders, distillation condensors, pipettes, volumetric flasks, separation funnels, etc.

Sure, I could buy a big orange bucket from Home Depot, but I prefer tools suited to the task. In this case, it’s mixing up 5L batches of a developer. The beaker I linked to is already graduated and will fit on one of my magnetic stirrers. It’s also smaller than one of those buckets and will take up less room in my lab.

I know some people prefer cheap, quick and dirty solutions to tasks like this, but I don’t.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Can I ask: is that "my lab" as in you own it or just work in it? Clearly you want to work with the best stuff and that's fine but what happens if you don't find that Xtol gives you what you want with FP4+ . $55 is then a lot of money for very little or no reward, isn't it? Might the money not be better spent on a cheap and dirty bucket which will do the job and spend the rest on TMax 100 which you know works better

Just a thought

pentaxuser
 
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DREW WILEY said:
I keep a variety of buckets on hand in the shop. But there are a couple of issues with them when it comes to photo chemistry. The nickel plated bails or handles rust pretty fast in a darkroom sink environment. Second, when they do come with volume markings, those are often wildly off, and are not a realistic substitute for high quality graduated cylinders when it comes to accurate measuring.
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I use buckets for mixing Formulary 130. I use smaller graduates to measure the water. (BTW cheap 8 cup Pyrex measuring cups work like a charm and are easy to keep clean)
 
SodaAnt said:
The beaker I linked to is already graduated and will fit on one of my magnetic stirrers. It’s also smaller than one of those buckets and will take up less room in my lab.
Click to expand...

You must have a really big magnetic stirrer :smile:. And as that link indicates they are sold in case lots of two, you must have a friend who thinks like you do 😲 😉. I could be wrong, because the dimensions listed on the Canadian Tire website are so poorly listed, but I think that your labware container and the pail are about the same size.
On the cheap, quick and dirty side of the coin, I use the container that I mix X-Tol in to store some other things between mixing sessions. I think it started life as being designed for use as a pet food storage container. But a couple of bucks and a visit to the thrift store, and I was able to give it a new life.
 
Sounds like some good points you have made Matt in #167 but it seems as if Drew takes a dim view of a Canadian bucket made out of recycled tires and I must admit that I don't like the sound of "tires" whatever they are 😁

My bucket was only used for storage of fatballs which we feed to the birds so nothing as dangerous feeding wolves. I hope the cost of a private operation in the U.S. to extract a tongue from the side of a cheek is quite cheap😁😁

pentaxuser
 
SodaAnt said:
Viewing the negatives on a light box with a 15x loupe. Compared it to negatives of the same subject on TMax 100 (also developed in HC-110 B).
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I'm not certain that looking at a magnified negative delivers a fully decisive analysis of grain quality. Remember the grain in the final positive image originates from the spaces between the grains of the negative. Actually looking for the spaces between grains and then mentally flipping those spaces from light to dark to form a "positive" judgement has always been too difficult for me. I've got to print a negative to be sure of what I'll get.
 
pentaxuser said:
Sounds like some good points you have made Matt in #167 but it seems as if Drew takes a dim view of a Canadian bucket made out of recycled tires and I must admit that I don't like the sound of "tires" whatever they are 😁
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Careful with that. Remember that Canadian Tire is our church, just as Tim Horton is where we get our sacred elixir of life. 🙂
 
Basic buckets. We'd buy 5-gal poly buckets a couple thousand at a time with our own color and logo on them. Add a lid which functions as a seat, and I'd use em for all kinds of things. Studio lighting storage, odds n ends of plumbing fittings, camping supplies, different grab n go ranch tool kits. Have several in the truck right now. Those are too big for the modest volumes of darkroom chem I mix up at a time, because I never re-use or replenish anything. But I do have a few 2 gal ones in the sink area.

I had no idea what Tim Horton meant, so looked it up. Egad! At least the carrion the ravens eat would be a lot healthier. That looks as bad as US junk food. Why not just cross over the border, get a big greasy Philly cheese steak, have a heart attack, and be done with it?
 
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pentaxuser said:
Thanks for the reply. Can I ask: is that "my lab" as in you own it or just work in it? Clearly you want to work with the best stuff and that's fine but what happens if you don't find that Xtol gives you what you want with FP4+ . $55 is then a lot of money for very little or no reward, isn't it? Might the money not be better spent on a cheap and dirty bucket which will do the job and spend the rest on TMax 100 which you know works better
Click to expand...
Yes, it’s my lab. I have graduate degrees in chemistry, but no longer work in that field, so I do it as a hobby instead. My lab isn’t as extensive as many professional labs, but it is very well equipped, with a fume hood, sinks, gas lines for Bunsen burners, vacuum line (water aspirators are a bad idea in areas with frequent droughts), etc.

In the grand scheme of things $55 isn’t that much, and I can use it for other things in the lab.
 
SodaAnt said:
Yes, it’s my lab. I have graduate degrees in chemistry, but no longer work in that field, so I do it as a hobby instead. My lab isn’t as extensive as many professional labs, but it is very well equipped, with a fume hood, sinks, gas lines for Bunsen burners, vacuum line (water aspirators are a bad idea in areas with frequent droughts), etc.

In the grand scheme of things $55 isn’t that much, and I can use it for other things in the lab.
Click to expand...

......any chance to budget for that new scanner 😉 ?
 
MattKing said:
If 8L is enough for you, this will do the job as well or better.
View attachment 349163
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I use a 5 gallon [US not Imperial] paint bucket and marked it on the inside with a 4 liter and 5 liter level. But Canadian Tire, how prefect! All the Canadians spend their Saturday mornings there for some reason.
 
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