graded paper--how much better is it?

[Bob Carnie]

Hi Tom

I saw the same show , it was Migrations, I used this show as a turning point for my own printing , as I thought that Mr Salgado would use the best European printer money could buy. When I walked into the room I felt comfortable with the show, but I did notice this difference which I have never heard from others.
Salgado is a hero of mine and I understand he is doing landscapes with a larger camera now. I cannot wait to see his new work, I have all of his books and am really impressed with the man and his work.
I will definately use this paper and give it a go , even though I wish those bastards at Kodak would get a grip and start producing the good products of the past.
My last Kodak rep here in Toronto had a MBA in marketing on his card and knew absolutely f ... all about photography, George Eastman should be turning in his grave, if he knew the Morons making the decisions at Kodak now.
Tom had a few beers while I printed all day so I'm going to stop my rant but I think anyone working seriously in this craft should be upset with the Major manufactures and their silly decisons.

 

[ann]

i would love to try the Legacy paper but it was not available in the US and haven't seen any one here carry it.

 

[AlanC]

Hello Bob Carnie,
Thanks for your reply to my query about your printing methods. I will look up your earlier posts with interest.

Alan Clark

 

[WarEaglemtn]

"Fred Picker said that a good way to compare VC to graded is expose a sheet of #2 grade, then a sheet of VC but with no filtration, ie as a grade 2; then compare. He said the VC would look like mud."

Fred also said a number of other foolish things.

 

[dancqu]

Strickly speaking, a sharper focus is possible. How much so
depends upon the paper and the lens.

An important item in my mind is darkroom lighting. With it's
narrow spectrum of sensitivity graded papers allow a very nice
level of lighting. That alone may be reason enough to drop VC.

 

[Donald Miller]

VC papers are not always grade 2 without filtration: especially as one maker's Grade-2 or not the same as another's. To make a comparison you need to make the best prints you can get on each paper and then compare them - this may well require dialling a different grade for the VC paper. You would have to repeat this for a number of different negatives. Then, you can see if you favour one over the other.

Cheers, Bob.

I would agree with the premise of this post. However, I would go on to say that the only way to evaluate a given graded paper to a given VC paper would be to expose both papers to a calibrated step wedge at the same equivalent contrast. From that the exposures of both papers should be read with a reflection densitometer to arrive at the exposure scale, the dmin, and the dmax readings. From those parameters a valid comparison could be made. Anything else is pure conjecture.

 

[Rolleijoe]

So many questions, and equally so many answers. I had been using Ilford MC. But a friend in Germany sent me about 4 boxes of AGFA BROVIRA-SPEED grade 3, and the difference was amazing. (Plus using Zeiss lenses to shoot with and Schneider to enlarge with didn't hurt). Over the years, I know have my films down to the same process, and it definitely makes printing easier, and printing on graded paper (at least for me) is even faster, because now I don't have to reach for diff filters, and constantly make test strips.

YMMV

Rolleijoe