Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/01/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]B Entus wrote: >High contrast low light conditions came up in the Neopan : Resofine thread- >How about (very) low light and low contrast- >does anyone have reliable film and developer combinations? >Supplemental lighting is not an option here, and difficult even to give >more exposure. >(So far I have tried both Delta 3200 and TMZ, various times in TMAX >developer (and a recent try with Xtol 1:1)- negatives remain thin/flat and >hard to print) For my jazz project, I spent about a year down at a jazz bar photographing and trying to print the (often almost unprintable) negatives. Neopan 1600 in Xtol might be what you're looking for. Alternatively, try Tri X pushed to 1600 in Xtol 1:2 if you think this would give you sufficient shadow detail. The pushing will mean the negatives will be higher contrast. What are the conditions? Where is the light coming from? Are you shooting at full aperture? Can you shoot at a slower shutter speed if you steady the camera somehow? I found a tabletop tripod on my M6, resting on my shoulder, was very effective. As for printing the negatives, I found a few techniques quite useful for very thin negatives - chiefly, split grade printing and flashing (or partial flashing). I'm happy to go into this, if it would help. If you are desperate, there are a few other techniques listed in the Film Developing Cookbook - chiefly hydrogen peroxide (essentially suspending the film over a steaming hydrogen peroxide bath during the development to 'bleach' the shadows) or latensification (exposing the film to a safelight at 10 feet for 15 - 40 minutes before developing). Not for the faint hearted and not sure how well they work with modern films such as TMax, Delta and Neopan. Regards Gareth Jolly - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html