I just happened to notice last night, after I sent this message,
that the Plus-X wasn't C-41 process film. I think the shop where I
bought it will process it, though.
I still don't have a dark room or supplies -- nor a tank or dark bag --
to work with, so I'll have to have all my film processed for the time
being. But, once I get to the point where I feel I can get enough good
shots with film to justify the investment, I'll probably start doing my
own development.
BTW -- I did note that the date stamp on the Plus-X box is 01/2010. I
assume that's the expiration date and not the date of manufacture. With
that in mind, I can't help wondering if it's still worth shooting. The
shop had it on a shelf, not refrigerated at all. I assume there's some
leeway with the expiration dates, but a year sounds a bit much.
Thanks for the pointers WRT the developing chemicals. I'll archive this
email for use at a later date.
-- Walt
On 2/9/2011 12:55 AM, John Coyle wrote:
Hi Walt - I used to use Plus-X extensively, and always developed it myself
in Acutol or Microdol-X. Acutol gives very fine grain and high acutance (as
the name implies) with lovely smooth tone gradation. Microdol-X is designed
to give very sharp negatives, perhaps a little more grain and contrast than
Acutol. I normally rated it at 200ASA, but it's worth testing a roll or two
with your own gear to see what suits you best. To save film, you could
expose half-dozen frames on a roll at 80, 125 and 200 ASA for each set ,
then develop the roll normally to see which works best.
You can push Plus-X quite hard, but the quality begins to drop off at over
400ASA, I found.
I never much liked 400CN, couldn't seem to get really black and white negs,
always a little tinge of colour left.
Haven't used UltraMax, so can't help you there!
HTH
John Coyle
Brisbane, Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of
Walter Gilbert
Sent: Wednesday, 9 February 2011 2:23 PM
To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List
Subject: Advice solicitation for analog shooting
So, I now have this K1000 and a decent array of lenses to use on it.
Having finally figured out how to properly operate the camera after wasting
one roll of Fuji Superia X-tra 400 due to the fact that I opened the back of
the camera prematurely thinking I had it completely wound (didn't realize I
had to press the button on the bottom plate), and nearly wasting a roll of
Kodak Plus-X 125 by not properly affixing it to the advance mechanism
(didn't securely set the notches onto the teeth), I think it's time I ask
for a little guidance before I proceed any further.
I have three different types of film and thought I'd ask the experienced
film shooters if there's anything I can do to get better images out of them
-- any quirks or characteristics I should be mindful of, or specific uses or
conditions any of them particularly excel at. I have the following:
2 rolls Plus-X 125
3 rolls BW400CN
4 rolls UltraMax 400
What do I need to know from here?
Thanks!
Walt
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