[Leica] Re: Slightly OT: C-41 b&w films

["Eric" <ericm@pobox.com>]

Oliver:

>In my current location, the turn-around time for professional b&w processing
>is at least a week and involves two 60-mile round trips. I would appreciate
>hearing from LUGers who currently print their b&w images primarily with
>inkjet printers and papers, regarding their experience with chromogenic b&w
>films (C-41 process). Are there nontrivial differences between XP2, TCN and
>Portra?

I really only have experience with XP2.  I've shot one roll of TCN.

Like others have mentioned, highlights are easy to blow with XP2.  Here are
some of my scans:

http://canid.com/pics/boos_car.jpg
http://canid.com/pics/jbm_col.jpg
http://canid.com/pics/jbm_smile_2.jpg

>How do the results of scanning these films differ from scanning
>current generation silver based film? Do they look different? Do they have a
>shorter scale? 

I much prefer Neopan in Xtol to XP2.

What pushed me over the edge is that I can easily develop my own Xtol
without a dedicated darkroom.  I can't develop my own XP2 easily.  When I
started scanning at 4000 dpi, I started spending an inordinate amount of
time retouching minute scratches on the negatives.  I've had one
"catastrophe" in several years of having a photo shop process my C41 film.
Unfortunately, that involved the first rolls I had taken after the birth of
my daughter.  

The negative of my wife and kidlet in the hospital bed
<http://canid.com/pics/jbm_col.jpg> has several scratches.  Grr.

I lost a few frames, including my mom's holding newly born granddaughter in
the hospital.  Double grr.  

That's when I decided that I needed to do my own.  If anybody was going to
screw up my images, it was going to be me.  Too stressful dealing with
bumbling idiots.  :)

I'd urge you to look into doing your own development.  Embedded dust and
scratches on my negatives are relics of the past.


Eric
- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html