Processing 5X7 - hints and tips

[Matt5791]

I am going to be processing my first 5X7 soon, and I'm going to be using trays because I haven't sourced a Paterson Orbital yet or any other alternative.

What I wanted to know was:

- if anyone has any hints and tips for this;

- what is the best way to wash the neg - I am assuming to keep changing the water in a tray, agitating in between?

- Does anyone know any tips for being able to cover the tray in some way so that the light can be turned on? - someone suggested to me that another larger tray cound be turned upside down and placed over the top? - although this sounded a bit dodgy to me.

Thanks for any help,
Matt

 

[Nick Zentena]

Well light doesn't go around corners. Plus if the material is light proof putting a tray/box etc over the first tray should block the light.

Why do you want to turn the lights on?

 

[Jim Jones]

It seems much easier to properly agitate the film in a tray in the dark. The appropriate choice of developer can reduce this time. Even print developer suffices for some negatives.

 

[Matt5791]

Thinking about it - I suppose there is not a lot of point of turning the light on, because I would just have to turn it off again when I wanted to agitate the film.

Thanks for the advice

 

[Michael Kadillak]

I am going to be processing my first 5X7 soon, and I'm going to be using trays because I haven't sourced a Paterson Orbital yet or any other alternative.

What I wanted to know was:

- if anyone has any hints and tips for this;

- what is the best way to wash the neg - I am assuming to keep changing the water in a tray, agitating in between?

- Does anyone know any tips for being able to cover the tray in some way so that the light can be turned on? - someone suggested to me that another larger tray cound be turned upside down and placed over the top? - although this sounded a bit dodgy to me.

Thanks for any help,
Matt

Just came up from processing some 5x7 negatives in the darkroom using trays. First off,there is absolutely NO reason to turn on the lights in the development stage even if you could put a lid over the tray. They call it a darkroom for a reason. I have used tanks and hangers, JOBO and quasi sloshers and trays are still I feel the most economical and effective way to process sheet film in nearly every size you could shoot. I use them for 4x5 up to 12x20. Spend a small amount on an IR monocle and an external IR light source that you can bounce off of an adjacent wall and not only can you see what you are doing (ie. the urge to turn on the lights) but you can optimize your process by developing each sheet by inspection. Then you can process many different exposures at the same time. The process has been written up many times. Have fun.

Cheers!

 

[removed account4]

hi matt

i process 5x7 film in trays all the time.
i use 8x10 trays and go water- dev-water-fix-water-fix remove-water-photoflo.
i shuffle the film in the trays and don't turn the light on until the film is fixed.
sometimes i try to figure out where in am "in shuffle" so some film doesn't get developed more than others, but i never can keep count. i also use a green light to develop by inspection.

good luck!
john

 

[BBarlow690]

My advice:

Take an unused holder with film in it.
Take out the film - consider the two pieces as sacrifices for the cause
Put water in an 8x10 tray
Put 5x7 negs in one at a time, submerging each of them
Align them so the "stack" is neat
Take the bottom one out with your fingers
Put it on top and press down to submerge it - no gouging corners!
Do it again
And again
Etc.
When you feel comfortable, close your eyes and practice.
When you feel comfortable, turn off the lights so you don't cheat anymore!
Practice until you're comfortable handling 5x7 in 8x10 trays.

Total elapsed time: about 15 minutes until technique mastered and boredom escalates to near-terminal level.

Duration of lessons learned: 1 lifetime.

22 years of tray developing and I've scratched one negative - I practiced with 4x5, then with 8x10 when I got an 8x10, then again with 5x7 when I got 5x7. It was worth doing, even for this crusty old salt. Play good music and it's tolerable.

I wouldn't trust any cover to be light-tight covering a tray that might itself not be completely opaque.

Good luck! 5x7 is a wonderful format!

 

[noseoil]

You could also make some 5x7 development tubes out of black ABS plumbing line. Use 2" diameter pipe with caps and plugs to work with the lights on. Works well with pyrocat developer, stand and minimal agitation. tim

 

[sanking]

You could also make some 5x7 development tubes out of black ABS plumbing line. Use 2" diameter pipe with caps and plugs to work with the lights on. Works well with pyrocat developer, stand and minimal agitation. tim[/QUOTE

Another method for doing stand or other forms of minimal agitation with Pyrocat-HD is to put the film in open-ended PVC tubes (no caps on the ends), and then place the tubes in some type of light-tight container. I use a 11X14" Beseler print drum for this. To process I first filll the drum with developer to the desired level, then in the dark put the film in the tubes. Then you just plop all of the tubes into the drum at once and immediatley began agitation. You then agitate at the selected intervals (I use four agitation periods).

In over 25 years of devleoping 5X7 film I have used many types of devlelopment methods, and this is by far my favorite when ease of operation and quality of final results (great apparent sharpness, even development and no scratches) is weighed.

BTW, the PVC tubes are preferable for the above method than ABS plastic since they don't float, assuring that the ends of the film stay in the developer. You can use ABS but the tubes will need to be slightly longer to account for the fact that this plastic floats and part of the tube will be out of the air (and the film out of the developer).

I like the idea of developing by inspection with the IR goggles as Michael mentioned, but this method would only be practical for me with large film that I could develop one sheet because I find the risk of scratches just too great when procesing many sheets at the same time.

Sandy King

 

[gainer]

Just came up from processing some 5x7 negatives in the darkroom using trays. First off,there is absolutely NO reason to turn on the lights in the development stage even if you could put a lid over the tray. They call it a darkroom for a reason. I have used tanks and hangers, JOBO and quasi sloshers and trays are still I feel the most economical and effective way to process sheet film in nearly every size you could shoot. I use them for 4x5 up to 12x20. Spend a small amount on an IR monocle and an external IR light source that you can bounce off of an adjacent wall and not only can you see what you are doing (ie. the urge to turn on the lights) but you can optimize your process by developing each sheet by inspection. Then you can process many different exposures at the same time. The process has been written up many times. Have fun.

Cheers!

I use a paper safe as a developing tray. The lid is light tight. Obviously it is dedicated to this task, but even cheap ones work. Get the kind that has a full length lid. Freestyle has them. It is good for stand development when you have other things to do that need light. For more than one sheet at a time, you will have to make or otherwise procure some kind of separators.

 

[Matt5791]

Thanks for all the advice.

I have now shot and processed 4 sheets.

These are the first sheets of film I have ever shot in LF - so, as I expected, the first two were a disaster. I focused the camera and made an exposure. I then thought I would just check the focus, took out the film holder and then I forgot which side I had exposed and I had also forgotton which way round I had put the dark slide (yes I know I should folow strict procedure, but so many things to think about when using a new format for the first time) - anyway I had a 50/50 chance of selecting the right side and I got it wrong, so after my first processing session I ended up with one blank sheet and one with a double exposure.

Second attempt went much better and I have a pair of reasonable negatives.

Matt.

 

[Vaughn]

Double exposure...

A negative I used for my final portfolio for a photo class was an accidental double exposure on 4x5 -- both images were looking up a creek. Another one of Half Dome did not work out -- one was vertical, the other hortizontal!

Eventually, one develops a system of habits to avoid such things. For example, I always check the f/stop and then fire the shutter once before removing the darkslide -- it keeps me from leaving the lens open as I remove the darkslide...or exposing a scene meant to be f/64 at f/5.6! I've done that enough times already.

Then there was the one hour exposure I made one cold night...then I could not find the darkslide! After a long search, I found that I had forgotten to remove it in the first place! At least I could still use the piece of film! :rolleyes:

Vaughn

 

[Donald Miller]

You could also make some 5x7 development tubes out of black ABS plumbing line. Use 2" diameter pipe with caps and plugs to work with the lights on. Works well with pyrocat developer, stand and minimal agitation. tim[/QUOTE

Another method for doing stand or other forms of minimal agitation with Pyrocat-HD is to put the film in open-ended PVC tubes (no caps on the ends), and then place the tubes in some type of light-tight container. I use a 11X14" Beseler print drum for this. To process I first filll the drum with developer to the desired level, then in the dark put the film in the tubes. Then you just plop all of the tubes into the drum at once and immediatley began agitation. You then agitate at the selected intervals (I use four agitation periods).

In over 25 years of devleoping 5X7 film I have used many types of devlelopment methods, and this is by far my favorite when ease of operation and quality of final results (great apparent sharpness, even development and no scratches) is weighed.

BTW, the PVC tubes are preferable for the above method than ABS plastic since they don't float, assuring that the ends of the film stay in the developer. You can use ABS but the tubes will need to be slightly longer to account for the fact that this plastic floats and part of the tube will be out of the air (and the film out of the developer).

I like the idea of developing by inspection with the IR goggles as Michael mentioned, but this method would only be practical for me with large film that I could develop one sheet because I find the risk of scratches just too great when procesing many sheets at the same time.

Sandy King

While it is true that ABS will float, I have found that I can stand my tubes on end in a water bath and they remain on the bottom. My tubes are of a design (with an extension) that allows the full sheet of film to be covered with developer when I stand develop. The extension can then be removed without needing to fish around to extract the film from the tube.

I just find that the chance of damage is too great with tray development. I tray developed for years so this is not something that is due to inexperience with doing it that way.