For film development i've had success with Xtol and LC-29. I particularly like Xtol with 1+1 dilution. LC-29 works really well with TriX/HP5+ to give a very traditional look. Xtol is very flexible, the only downside being that you end up mixing 5L of solution from the sachet, so you have to find somewhere to store it for the few months it's good.
A dabble in MF…
- Thread starter JTC
- Start date
The debate about digitising film images comes up a lot in various photography forums. I suspect less than 0.001% of film photographers are using a full analogue process from capture to print. The scanned film images still have a unique look to them that is appealing IMO. It is true that you could probably get something similar with digital film grain simulations etc, if you enjoy faffing with imaging software. I do not enjoy the computing side of the hobby at all and like to keep it to an absolute minimum.
There is also the enjoyment of using vintage film photography equipment, which is an escape from a life where there is an iphone app for everything. I also enjoy the forced discipline of choosing my 10-36 images carefully at the point of capture rather than the chore of wading through 100’s of digital captures on a computer to find the 10 winners.
There is also the enjoyment of using vintage film photography equipment, which is an escape from a life where there is an iphone app for everything. I also enjoy the forced discipline of choosing my 10-36 images carefully at the point of capture rather than the chore of wading through 100’s of digital captures on a computer to find the 10 winners.
PaulMB
pfm Member
I too am one of that 0.001%, although I would guess that the percentage of those who develop and print traditionally is a lot higher. The shops and online dealers that I use who sell photographic papers, developers, toning chemicals, and darkroom equipment all seem to be doing good business, with a fast turnover of stock. Enlargers and enlarging lenses, if of good quality, get good prices S/H, better perhaps than 10 years go. I have had negatives scanned when I needed to make prints larger than 30x40 (12x16) or to go on the internet. You can certainly do a lot more "enhancement" digitally than in the darkroom, if the person who is using the computer knows their business. But I have some doubts about the fact that starting from a film negative will provide a certain "look." What is sometimes called the "Leica look" is essentially visible grain and high-ish contrast. I do know that a Leitz 35mm Summicron had/has a certain "look," as did, say a Nikkor 24mm (another lovely lens I used a lot). But when today people talk about the "Leica look" of the photography in a TV series like Ripley, it is really just a retro "look" produced with digital photography. And to a great extent "retro" only partly because photographs from the 1940s - 1960s actually looked like that (some did, many didn't) but because today it is accepted as "retro." Just like wing-collars on dinner jackets in films set in the 1940s and 1950s; nobody used them after about 1930, but by today's unwritten convention it gives the film a "retro" feel.
mentalp
pfm Member
+1 for Xtol at 1+1, 5l will do 20 rolls 120. I've only had it go off once on me, Haven't shot any film for a few months so the batch I made up sitting underneath the sink might be a bit dodgy now.
In the past I've had issues with blotches on FP4+ - it seemed to be a known issue and Ilford did replace unused rolls with that particuar batch number. Left me a bit wary about FP4 but never had any similar problems with Delta 100 & 400
In the past I've had issues with blotches on FP4+ - it seemed to be a known issue and Ilford did replace unused rolls with that particuar batch number. Left me a bit wary about FP4 but never had any similar problems with Delta 100 & 400
PaulMB
pfm Member
Yes, point taken. Nice to use your hands to actually move cogs and buttons and mechanical things, and actually look at what you are photographing through lenses and mirrors. The ultimate thing in that kind of "directness" is a view camera.