Speaking of approach, here's my general suggestion:
1. identify what is important (not just useful)
2. determine if it's worth tackling
3. define your goal based on 1 and 2
4. identify challenges (loosely separate from trivial things that require little work to achieve)
5. do research, consult literature and experts, anything it takes to gather relevant information/data to deal with #4
6. consider all possible alternate options and narrow down to the best
7. test, test, test
8. scrap it and start over, unless the result is up to expectation of #3.
Do not add things without knowing what the objective is.
Do not change things without knowing what the objective is.
Do not use things without confirming they are effective and robust.
If you dont identify a problem, you will not solve anything.
If you dont define an objective, you will not achieve anything.
If you dont identify whats important, your work wont be important.
If you dont determine whats worthwhile, your work wont be worth much.
Creativity plays role in steps 1 through 6. You have to be critical of your work in steps 7 and 8. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourself.
I use a 6x7 format camera and enlarge Delta 3200 to 10x15, 13x18 and 18x24, what do I care about grain? Sure, using 135 format with its faster lenses would gain me 2 stops, but I really like the 6x7 view finder for night shots.
Here are my pet projects:Rudeofus: You're doing night shots? And shooting into the sun?
Have you tried adding anti foggants to your recipe? Ron has recommended KBr and benzotriazole before and at least KBr is easy to get.Unfortunately, fog is higher (with TMY-2 anyway).
I have gotten everything from that recipe except for Sodium metaborate. I did get Borax and NaOH and have the strong feeling I can use these two instead but I'm not sure. Can someone confirm this or show me another way how to make metaborate from Borax?Sodium metaborate ......... 1.2 g (1.05g is needed to convert the ascorbic)
I have gotten everything from that recipe except for Sodium metaborate. I did get Borax and NaOH and have the strong feeling I can use these two instead but I'm not sure. Can someone confirm this or show me another way how to make metaborate from Borax?
There are examples of poorly buffered developer concentrates. For example, the catechol-caustic formulae that were once popular. D-23 and that old standby D-76 are poorly buffered.
Thanks, Brad. Does this reaction happen automagically or does the Borax needs some help (heat, pH level, catalyst, ...) with decomposing into smaller compounds?
As I mentioned before, I don't think little Rudeofus with his admittedly highly limited knowledge of chemistry overall and photochemistry in particular will revolutionize film developers.
- We don't have to beat XTOL. 99.99% of all users may judge Rudeofus-01 as complete disaster because it lasts 1 hour, develops few films[...]
Ryuji says that solvent-effect is not proportional to dev-time, but I'll at least try a new concentrate that cuts the (separately added) sulfite in half and doubles dev-time and see what it looks like. It seems that when I try something, I often get a "surprise". :confused:
Ryuji: A few posts ago, you said that using TEA as the sole carrier in a concentrate is a poor idea. Yet PC-TEA uses this approach. What specific problems occur with doing that? If it's not feasible for a specific reason I'm interested in, then I'll drop that pursuit.
Thanks for this. I've printed it out and stuck it to the wall of my cube. It reminds me a little of of George Box's explanation of the scientific process(*).
(*) George Box, Stuart Hunter and William G. Hunter, Statistics for Experimenters, Wiley & Sons, 1978
Here are my pet projects:
Xtol and DD-X give me one extra stop compared to my HC-110. If I find something which gives me a 2-3 stops of extra shadow detail at the expense of a lot of extra grain, I'd happily take it. Before anyone says you can't get 2-3 extra stops of shadow detail: Gerald Koch means (there was a url link here which no longer exists), the detail must be somewhere in the film already.
I hold a doctor's degree in EE and so believe me I have seen&done science and know the difference between my blindfolded dive into the field of photo chemistry versus real research work. And let's be honest: having family, kids and a job is not a good starting point for a new entry into a different science field anyway, one evening of dark room work is all I get per week. Luckily I don't have to deliver on my (photographic) promises and definitely not in a tight time frame (which makes photography so much more entertaining than my real job). I will probably start with Mark's last recipe and try it on that roll of Tri-X which I have shot @ISO1600, let's see what that film does after 12 minutes in that soup and let's compare it to the Tri-X @ ISO800 in HC-110.What Im saying is that experiments only give you tiny dots in the vast knowledge space. Understanding the theories allows you to interpret the tiny dots so that you can get a lot more meaning out of it, while minimizing the risk of putting yourself in pitfalls. That is learning.
PS: For all those poor souls who would also like to try Mark's mixture but metaborate substituted with borax&lye in a 250 ml tank, here are the (hopefully) correct quantities:
I'd still like to find out at some point what I need to do to a developer so I can shape the shoulder of the characteristic curve in the high density range, and of course it would be interesting why Rodinal/HC110 yield slower film than Xtol/DD-X.
Creating a shoulder in curve is not an easy thing, because that is dictated by the emulsion. Films that have gentle shoulder are TMZ, D3200, Neopan 400 and D400, roughly in the order, from strong shoulder to weaker shoulder.
Chemistry question again: Does the order in which components are added matter? For example:
Order 1:
sodium metaborate
ascorbic acid
sodium sulfite
Order 2:
sodium sulfite
ascorbic acid
sodium metaborate
I know that order 1 will convert the ascorbic acid into sodium ascorbate, with sulfite added afterwards.
Will I get this same end-result with order 2?
Order 1 is what Rudeofus will get using a concentrate, and order 2 is what I suggested he do adding components directly to water. And that got me thinking if sulfite first-versus-last makes a difference...
Mark Overton
D-76 suffers an increase in pH due to oxidation. This has been known for a very long time. Various modifications have been proposed to the original formula to provide better buffering such as D-76d which contains 8 g/l each of borax and boric acid. The change in activity led me to abandon the use of D-76 decades ago. I personally would not describe this developer as being reasonably buffered.
That particular case, everything is reversible reaction and nothing leaves the system so it doesn't matter as long as the end product and pH meet your needs.
Thanks, Thomas, I am fully aware that "stand development" (I put it in quotes because agitation does take place every so often) combined with weak dilutions can reduce contrast in a neg. The important point is, though, that not all developers respond to this in the same way, I would imagine a strongly buffered developer does this much less than a poorly buffered counter part, all other things the same. Rodinal is known to work extremely well with stand development. Its other big plus is that it is very well characterised after so many decades of heavy use. There are, however, hopefully some additional ways of achieving a flatter curve in the highlights which also work with devs more suitable for e.g. Delta 3200 (I have nothing against TMZ except that it doesn't come in 120 format).(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
This will help you shape your tone curve.
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