Kodak RA-4 chemistry -- need for starter?

markbarendt · Nov 30, 2010

mikecnichols said:
I'm about to start doing RA4 processing, and am trying to figure everything out. For ease of use and experimentation, I'm using Ultrafine 8x10 papers with the Arista RA4 2L kit. I won't get to start for another 2 weeks, but would like to have "theory" down before practice. I understand Developer and blix, but I'm not sure what to use for a stop bath. I'm assuming water is the bath since it is before the blix. I want to make sure of this as I want to make sure I have all the correct chemicals if I need more than the Dev and blix. I do have B&W chems too, if they are interchangeable in this process (though I am doubting this is the case). Thanks for any help.

The Arista times are fine, yes the B&W stop works fine I use Kodak's indicator stop now.

I have had better results since I started using a stop bath.

mikecnichols · Nov 30, 2010

markbarendt said:
The Arista times are fine, yes the B&W stop works fine I use Kodak's indicator stop now.

I have had better results since I started using a stop bath.

Thanks for the info....I am definitely itching to start printing. My plan is to experiment and hone my technique a little on the Arista kit and Ultrafine paper and then move on to the Kodak chems and Fuji CA paper.

markbarendt · Dec 1, 2010

One other thing I do is a two bath wash after the blix.

When I was using trays, about the time the blix finished I'd flip on the lights and toss the paper into wash tray 1 and I could actually watch the plumes of blix come off the paper, maybe 30 seconds there to get the big chunks off then into the final wash.

mikecnichols · Jan 20, 2011

Well, I finally got some paper (Fuji CA Type II, Matte) today and will experiment tonight after work! I'm a little nervous since I have yet to use this enlarger for anything, but I think I've figured out the basics. The only thing I'm having a problem with is the timer, so I'll have to manually turn it on and off I think. I need to figure that out, but it is minor for now.

I'll post results when I can.

mikecnichols · Jan 21, 2011

mikecnichols said:
Well, I finally got some paper (Fuji CA Type II, Matte) today and will experiment tonight after work! I'm a little nervous since I have yet to use this enlarger for anything, but I think I've figured out the basics. The only thing I'm having a problem with is the timer, so I'll have to manually turn it on and off I think. I need to figure that out, but it is minor for now.

I'll post results when I can.

I was successful tonight! I did have a problem with part of the print not developing all the way and I realized quickly that the drum base was not level. Once I leveled it, it fixed the problem completely! I'll post a scan in the morning.

mikecnichols · Jan 21, 2011

Not a very color sample, but it came out well I think!

perkeleellinen · Jan 21, 2011

Mike, is that you first ever colour print?

mikecnichols · Jan 21, 2011

perkeleellinen said:
Mike, is that you first ever colour print?

Yes, I'm going to do something a little more "colorful" tonight. This is from my lastest roll of film and was easy to grab from.

The print is printed on Fuji CA Type II.

Enlarger: Beseler 23DGA Dichro
Lens: El Nikkor 1:4 50mm at 5.6
Exposure: 4 second

Filtration: 50M & 40Y

perkeleellinen · Jan 21, 2011

In that case, well done! Great to pull colour prints out the darkroom isn't it?

mikecnichols · Jan 21, 2011

perkeleellinen said:
In that case, well done! Great to pull colour prints out the darkroom isn't it?

Thank you! Yes it is! I started mixing chemistry at around 10:30pm last night and pulled that print out of the drum at around 1:30am. I'm very excited at the possibilities now!

EdSawyer · Jan 21, 2011

love color printing

I love color printing in the darkroom too. I have been stocking up on Kodak Endura lately (have a couple thousand sheets at this point), it keeps pretty well even though some of it is expired. So far, I haven't had to switch to rolls or Fuji CA but good to see it works ok if/when I do switch.

I used to use Ciba tubes/roller base, but have a fujimoto CP-31 now. Once the filtration is dialed in, I can churn out about 10-15 8x10s an hour, of diffferent photos. (throughput would be 3-4x that if it was all the same shot). Clean-up on the fujimoto takes a while but it's still a lot less work than using the Ciba drums and such.

-Ed

mikecnichols · Jan 22, 2011

I printed a couple more tonight. I'll post scans in the morning. I have a couple of questions, as I was experimenting a little and I'd like to know how to correctly analyze the results.

mikecnichols · Jan 22, 2011

Here are the two images I printed last night. The scans were a bit "cooler" than what I printed, especially with the first one. I digitally fixed this so that the scans represent what the actual prints look like.

Okay, as for my questions for analyzing. What I did to print these was to take the first image I printed and did an integrated reading with my PM2L Color Analyzer and based the filter settings as such. The first shot I exposed for 5 seconds as I had based from the first print. The second one, I thought I'd experiment with a longer exposure which ended up being 8 seconds. Now, what I would like to ask is what should I take from the prints I received? Obviously, 8 seconds was too long as the image is a little too dark for my tastes. The print did have a cool look to it when I would rather have a warmer look. The leaves on the rock should be more red-brown than they are. From here, what should I do to adjust? I'm still figuring out how to manipulate the color filtration. Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

MattKing · Jan 22, 2011

I see a bit of blue or cyan-blue in the prints. If I were you I would do some test strips with a variety of red and yellow adjustments.

The subjects themselves may not be the best to learn on. It looks to me that the foreground is probably illuminated by open shade, while the background is illuminated by sun.

If I were you I would try to take some test shots of subjects with known colours, in even light. If you can have something like a colour chart in the scene, that would help to.

Photo Engineer · Jan 22, 2011

Use a MacBeth color checker or something like that, and match it up in a well lighted print. Once you do that and stick to the same film, you will have less than a 10 correction between R, M and Y. Probably even less!

PE

mikecnichols · Jan 22, 2011

Thanks for the advice!

perkeleellinen · Jan 23, 2011

I don't have any special colour checkers so when I first print a new type of film I make sure I've got a photo of a person in one frame in normal light. This is usually my wife and I find I can balance the colour quite well by looking for casts on her skin. Once I've found a 'base' value for a film, the difference between frames is very small and often there is no difference.

Photo Engineer · Jan 23, 2011

The Kodak Color Handbook has a color chart in it. It is still in print AFAIK.

Kodak also offers small color charts (intended for digital) which work very well for analog and are quite economical.

PE

mikecnichols · Jan 23, 2011

Photo Engineer said:
The Kodak Color Handbook has a color chart in it. It is still in print AFAIK.

Kodak also offers small color charts (intended for digital) which work very well for analog and are quite economical.

PE

Thanks, I'll look in my handbook....hopefully I can find one there.

Kodak RA-4 chemistry -- need for starter?

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