D-76

[steve hyde]

...I have also used AGFA Rodinal.... works fine. I telecine all my films so I don't bother with the bleach step. I just process as negative.

[mr_x]

anybody help, please? - i am strictly 8mm

[mr_x]

well, i will know by the weekend, cos i'm going to develop the second roll of Retro-x in D-76, without solarising it. if it comes out opaque again, at least i will know that i don't know what is going on :o

lol

developed second roll / second half of b/w film project, this evening: Retro-X, ASA200 film. Developed in D-76 for 5.25 minutes @ 25ºC [recommended 7 mins @ 20ºC] ~ partial success: film has developed clearly as a negative

partial diaster - the Lomo tank i inherited from an ex-filmmaker, had obviously been damaged and repaired, at some time; during the loading stage, the central screw progressively came adrift - in the dark - loosening the radial discs and spewing film all across the spiral; when i inspected the snapped centre screw, glue could clearly be seen all around it; luckily, i got two partially damaged tanks, and the second seems to have an undamaged centre screw, or i'd be back to square one

so, 3/4 of the project gone west, but at least i have developed my first Super8-type emulsion, from a Single8 cassette ~ which is brilliant

things can only get better, from here on in - ?



R

[richard p. t.]

Well done ric,
The small bolts from the Lomo tanks are notorious for snapping. It is not uncommon for the male thread of the larger 'handle' not correctly match the female thread of the black screw. Thus excessive force has to be used to tighten the two together. Dont do this! Ideally you can get your hands on a tap and dye set and re-cut the threads. Failing that, you have to sand back the male thread until its a better fit.

Here's a tip regarding using Lomo tanks:
check the spacing between the spirals - it needs to be very close to 9mm all the way around. When they came out of the factory they could be anything - I have seen them as close as 6mm and as wide as 11. Or they can be wonky! 7mm here, 10mm there etc. You have to adjust the plastic hubs until it is correct and even all the way around on both levels. Either gently scrape away at the hub with a chisel, or build it up with plastic tape. Slowly slowly.
If set up correctly, I find they always work. But you also need to get familiar with the sound and feel of a miss wind while loading. I occasionally have to double back and re do a section. The top spiral has the advantage of allowing you to feel if the film has jumped a track. The bottom spiral has the advantage that once loaded a gentle squeeze will reveal a crunching sound if there is a miss wind. With a bottom spiral that is well spaced (ie 9mm) you will hear a sort of squelch sound when you give it a gentle squeeze. This means a good load. A cruch sound is a dud load.
Personally for bw neg in D76 I process for 6 mins at 20 deg c.
cheers,
Richard

[richard p. t.]

Hi Guys

Really helpful chat here.

I have just bought the lomo tank and I am intending to dev my own kodak plus-x 16mm b+w reversal films. I was just wondering which chemicals you used for the process? The title of this thread obviously being one of them.

Thanks

Rufus

Hi Rufus,
For bw reversal don't use d76 as it is too low contrast. You need a high contrast developer. Many people use d19 which is available in packets. Kodak specify D96a for reversal film, but you can't buy this ... and its not necessary. Use d19.

Use any fixer you can find in packets or bottles.
For bleach and clearing you will need to buy ingredients,
I use R9 bleach: Potasium Dichromate (9.5 grams/litre) and Sulphuric acid (12ml per litre of 100% or 17ml per litre of 75%) . For clearing use Sodium Sulphite (10g per litre).

Process at 20 deg C or 68 F

1st dev (6 min EXCEPT for PLUS-X 7265 see below)
Bleach 2 min
Clear 2 min
Re-Expose 2 min
Dev 6 min
Fix - specified by your fixer brand ... mine is 7 min. Don't under do it.
Good long wash (20 mins in slowly changing water)
Some people use different times for some of these steps. Up to them, but these work for me and I have processed several thousand rolls of bw super 8 in lomo tanks. but yes, the re-exp time there isn't critical ... its just what I do.

Wash between everything for 2 mins at least - preferably at 20 deg. You must not shock the film with hot water!!! Also, the cooler the wash, the less effective. If it must be cold water, you have to go long on wash times.

Agitation is required for all steps. Especially second dev ... but also fixer. Every step needs it. Make sure you dislodge any air bubbles in the spiral by raising it and taping it hard against the bottom of the tank (there is a lump on the bottom of the tank that receives the blow). Agitate constantly after poring in the chem for the first thirty seconds, then say 10 seconds every 30. Poor chemistry and water through the black hose, not the hole in the lid. Stick a funnel in the hose.

the re-exposure should be done with the film submerged in water. I use a white tub. I have a flood light suspended about 2 feet above it. None of this is critical, but the film has to be in water (imho) or you will see bubbles/marks on the finished film. Put the whole spiral in the bucket, dislodge the air bubbles, then keep it moving while re exposing it. Make sure you turn it all around and over. Its very easy.

These are my tips. Enjoy!

Now as for Plus-X 7265 ... this stock is a freak. Unlike the older plus-x it has to be handled differently from other bw stocks if you want to expose it at its rated asa of 100 and you aren't processing it in the new d96a (which you can't buy). So, either rate it at 50 asa in the camera (good idea) or else you have to push process it in the first developer. Try a development time of 8 and a half minutes. My advice would be to start with Tri-X.

cheers,
Richard

[mr_x]

Well done ric,
The small bolts from the Lomo tanks are notorious for snapping. It is not uncommon for the male thread of the larger 'handle' not correctly match the female thread of the black screw. Thus excessive force has to be used to tighten the two together. Dont do this! Ideally you can get your hands on a tap and dye set and re-cut the threads. Failing that, you have to sand back the male thread until its a better fit.

this must explain some of the fine abrasion marks i have noticed on the hubs?

Here's a tip regarding using Lomo tanks:
check the spacing between the spirals - it needs to be very close to 9mm all the way around. When they came out of the factory they could be anything - I have seen them as close as 6mm and as wide as 11. Or they can be wonky! 7mm here, 10mm there etc. You have to adjust the plastic hubs until it is correct and even all the way around on both levels. Either gently scrape away at the hub with a chisel, or build it up with plastic tape. Slowly slowly.
If set up correctly, I find they always work. But you also need to get familiar with the sound and feel of a miss wind while loading. I occasionally have to double back and re do a section. The top spiral has the advantage of allowing you to feel if the film has jumped a track. The bottom spiral has the advantage that once loaded a gentle squeeze will reveal a crunching sound if there is a miss wind. With a bottom spiral that is well spaced (ie 9mm) you will hear a sort of squelch sound when you give it a gentle squeeze. This means a good load. A cruch sound is a dud load.
Personally for bw neg in D76 I process for 6 mins at 20 deg c.
cheers,
Richard

am delighted that the D-76 works for the Retro-X. From trial loading the spirals - before the centre screw glitch - i think i have been lucky, in that the plastic radial discs seem to be correctly spaced and level: it was just pure bad luck that the male screw came adrift in the middle of loading; and luck that this was a 'try out' project - i developed a roll of b/w last week that i need for a big project, it would have been really disheartening if that had needed to done all over again

doubt whether i will be able to experiment with the double deck spirals till i eventually save up for a new Lomo (Russia?), since the ones i inherited are basically in bits and pieces, but at least i have a single deck to develop rolls of film on; and have learnt how to mix up relatively large quantities of D-76. Prior to this, i was limiting myself to 1 litre batches of the excellent Ilford ID-11

thanks

R

[rufus_blackwell]

Process at 20 deg C or 68 F

1st dev (6 min EXCEPT for PLUS-X 7265 see below)
Bleach 2 min
Clear 2 min
Re-Expose 2 min
Dev 6 min
Fix - specified by your fixer brand ... mine is 7 min. Don't under do it.
Good long wash (20 mins in slowly changing water)

Thanks so much Richard that is some very helpful advice. So am I correct in thinking that if I followed the above steps with 7265 plus-x film that had been shot at a rating of 50 asa would I get a correct result.

Thanks again

Rufus

Rufus

[richard p. t.]

Process at 20 deg C or 68 F

1st dev (6 min EXCEPT for PLUS-X 7265 see below)
Bleach 2 min
Clear 2 min
Re-Expose 2 min
Dev 6 min
Fix - specified by your fixer brand ... mine is 7 min. Don't under do it.
Good long wash (20 mins in slowly changing water)

Thanks so much Richard that is some very helpful advice. So am I correct in thinking that if I followed the above steps with 7265 plus-x film that had been shot at a rating of 50 asa would I get a correct result.

Thanks again

Rufus

Rufus

Yes, all things being equal. You will have to work out some of your procedures however. And times might well need refining - specifically the first developer time. this is the critical one regarding final density. Do a test with a half length of film (50' or whatever). I time from when the chemistry first starts to go in, to when the rinse water hits.
If you want to email me directly with any questions when you get going, feel free to do so. richard@nanolab.com.au
cheers,
Richard

[mr_x]

hi,

here is the result of the Retro-X experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQrS8QNHD70

what is the best file format for web uploads, please?

thanks

R

[fogo]

Hi Rufus,

we're very privileged to have Richard PT posting here and sharing his considerable knowledge on this subject. A member search of his posts will throw up all kinds of useful processing tips.

Also check out Kodak's own website and spec sheets, all of their recommended chemicals and methods can be found on their site (using google if nec).

Another excellent couple of references are 'The Darkroom Cookbook' (Stephen Anchell) and 'The Film Developing Cookbook' (Anchell / Troop) (try amazon for used copies), the titles of which are pretty self explanatory and are packed with useful info on developing generally.

hope this helps,

fogo

[mattias]

I'm certain that the E6 ektachrome films and black and white reversal motion picture films don't have rim-jet antihalation backing

there are other color reversals than e6, there are other black and white reversals than kodak's, and there are other backings than rem-jet.

/matt

[mr_x]

...check out Kodak's own website and spec sheets, all of their recommended chemicals and methods can be found on their site (using google if nec).

Another excellent couple of references are 'The Darkroom Cookbook' (Stephen Anchell) and 'The Film Developing Cookbook' (Anchell / Troop) (try amazon for used copies), the titles of which are pretty self explanatory and are packed with useful info on developing generally.

good reading matter:) - please also perhaps check out 'Recipes for Disaster' from the lamentably late Helen Hill

http://www.angoleiro.com/cine_texts/rec ... r_hill.pdf

[rufus_blackwell]

Hi Mr X

I find the best settings for the web are Quicktimes using the h.264 codec. H.264 holds colours much better than the others.

If you are doing it on a mac these are the settings I use (should be the same if you are using quicktime on a PC).

H.264 compressor
Keyframes set to Automatic
Data rate set to Automatic
Quality somewhere around medium is good, do a few tests at different levels depending on the content you can get away with more or less.
Select best quality multi pass rendering.

Tick prepare for internet streaming otherwise the video will not appear until fully downloaded.

If you have audio use the AAC Codec set to 44khz

Hope that helps

Rufus

[rufus_blackwell]

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone for all the helpful information.

Shot my fist roll on saturday at a party with a mega powerful torch for light. Probably nothing on it but hey.

Can't wait to get it back to the lab (bathroom).

Anyway I know a thing or two about the digital side of things cos I'm a vfx artist. If you have any queries fire away.

I will keep you posted as to the results.

Thanks

Rufus

[mr_x]

I find the best settings for the web are Quicktimes using the h.264 codec. H.264 holds colours much better than the others.

If you are doing it on a mac these are the settings I use (should be the same if you are using quicktime on a PC).

H.264 compressor
Keyframes set to Automatic
Data rate set to Automatic
Quality somewhere around medium is good, do a few tests at different levels depending on the content you can get away with more or less.
Select best quality multi pass rendering.

Tick prepare for internet streaming otherwise the video will not appear until fully downloaded.

If you have audio use the AAC Codec set to 44khz

thanks Rufus - wow - you are seriously ahead of me! i had no idea you could select from all these variables? do these appear on the web upload page, or would i find them within the software, please? i do work on Mac now and then, but my home pc is Windows; i know QuickTime works on both systems; i use Pinnacle edit software to compress videos, and to a lesser extent, Roxio Buzz

bests

R