Beginner 1st attempts at 120 film and pinhole plus 4x5

11 yr old daughter has took 12ish shots on the £4.30 Chinese reloadable disposable. We'll both dev the film later. She likes doing the inversions with the dev tank. If the negs dry in time we'll make some wet prints as the bathroom will be in full darkroom mode for Pinhole positive print deving.

IMG_20200301_122755555.jpg
 
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auntiemaryscanary said:
Seller has confirmed the pinhole kit is in the post and emailed the 20 page pdf instruction manual. Part of the manual - it'll be fine...View attachment 273613
Click to expand...

:wideyed:

:thinking::help::thinking::help::thinking::help:

:LOL::LOL::LOL:

Shame my old man isn't alive as he understood German very well having being based out there in the Forces.

Mum was there too for a while but I doubt she would be much help to you given how she could forget her own name if it wasn't imprinted on all of her mail! :LOL:
 
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Page 15

When the glue has dried, you can screw the tripod thread in from above as far
screw the hole so that the top of the thread is flat with the MDF board
completes.
On the underside of the base plate
the tripod pad and the sili
stick on buffer.
The silicone feet make it possible
you, the camera even without a tripod
to use.
Now the black cardboards
glued on: the engraved line
on the big cardboard (here white
marked) still shows in front. For
precise adjustment of the gaps
a cardboard (e.g. format delimiter)
to use. Please be aware that
you put the cardboard inside the
fourth lines.

Page 16

Cover plate
The illustration shows everyone
Parts you need to build the
Cover plate you need:
• plates 03 and 04
Disc 04a
• 9 mm wooden dowel
• M5x16 mm screw
• Cover screw
• Foam rubber 146 mm
• cardboard
First the one in the picture
depicted

Above is a sample of the German pdf manual translated by the t'interweb - not ideal but a start. I'll need 2 screens or a split screen at least to match the translation to the original which has the pictures.

Erm, will I have the patience?!
 
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This is bringing back memories of an Ikea daybed thing that we had pretty much thought was ideal. I downloaded the instructions before purchase and found they were 28 pages long. No sale. :eek:
 
At last 4x5 DPP pinhole success! I'm very pleased after all the disappointments...

1. Indoor, 50 min exposure, Barbie's composed by daughter.
IMG_20200428_210631306.jpg

2. Indoor, 55 min exposure
IMG_20200428_210656423.jpg

I also have 3 more Barbie's at 30 & 40 min exposures that came out fine with just difference in angle and distance from camera.

All 5 prints were again developed in the dark bag (see post #21 ) - many thanks again for assistance from my wife. Prints dried on the print glazer that was part of the £50 darkroom/enlarger purchase.

Yes dark bag deving hurtsIMG_20200428_204741124.jpg
 
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Mr Badger said:
That should keep you busy for a while, scanning all those negs and slides! (y)
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I've just had a "play" with the new scanner mainly on auto everything and impressed. Will be plenty to keep to keep me busy - my wife has already found her family slides from the 60's and 70's and asked me to do those - there is only about 500!

Tonight though I'll be trying to scan my own developed 35mm and 120 negs. FishyFish has very helpfully pointed me in the direction of his 35mm b&w neg settings. If anyone has any settings for b&w 120 that they could point me in the direction of it would be a big help.
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
I've just had a "play" with the new scanner mainly on auto everything and impressed. Will be plenty to keep to keep me busy - my wife has already found her family slides from the 60's and 70's and asked me to do those - there is only about 500!

Tonight though I'll be trying to scan my own developed 35mm and 120 negs. FishyFish has very helpfully pointed me in the direction of his 35mm b&w neg settings. If anyone has any settings for b&w 120 that they could point me in the direction of it would be a big help.
Click to expand...

The same process applies to B&W 120. The only difference is that you'll use the other negative holder to scan them. The software side of things is exactly the same. :)
 
auntiemaryscanary said:
I've just had a "play" with the new scanner mainly on auto everything and impressed. Will be plenty to keep to keep me busy - my wife has already found her family slides from the 60's and 70's and asked me to do those - there is only about 500!

Tonight though I'll be trying to scan my own developed 35mm and 120 negs. FishyFish has very helpfully pointed me in the direction of his 35mm b&w neg settings. If anyone has any settings for b&w 120 that they could point me in the direction of it would be a big help.
Click to expand...
I have the V600, which is very similar and find 3200 dpi to be the 'sweet spot' when scanning. With anything more or less, then I can see a drop off in sharpness and detail. So perhaps use that as a starting point (particularly for 35mm) and do your own squinting and analysis on two or three sample shots. Hope this is useful.
 
Well scanning - it's good and I'm very pleased with the V550. Mainly following FishyFish's guidance I've scanned b&w negs for 35mm and 120 plus a test of 35mm colour neg shot at half-frame.

I've not done any post scan photoshopping as I don't have the software however my mum is a whizz at it from her digital photography so I may send her a few select images to see what she can do.

My thoughts on scanning are thus:
1. Dust - trying to do as much as I can to reduce it
2. Neg storage and handling - I've been poor at it and need to improve and at can show on the scans.
3. It's not quick!
4. I understand why people pay to have it done when they get their films developed.

Thanks to Mr Badger and especially FishyFish for the advice. It's late so I'll post a couple of samples in the morning.
 
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As for dust, I give the workspace and scanner lid a good wipe over with a slightly damp cloth before a scanning session, waiting for everything to dry thoroughly before starting. I then use one of those large rocket blowers to blow the dust from the negative loading area (I use a clean mousemat rather than the surface of my desk), then use the blower to remove any surface dust from the top and bottom scanner glass, shut the lid, load the negs, give each side of the loaded negs and carrier a sideways blowing, lift the scanner lid and put the neg carrier in position, give the surface of the negs a quick blast with the blower and shut the lid and scan. This seems to work well to minimise dust and bits. I also give the surface of the scanner glass a careful clean every few months to prevent the accumulation of smudges, haze, etc.
 
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Well here are 2 scans from my first scanning session (it's taken me 2 days too figure out how to re-size them small enough to up load on here!). Both were taken on a slow shutter speed (1/60th) and f5.6 as it was a dull winter day. The image of the scan of the tree was shown in my #13 post but was a contact print then taken on my phone - quality a little better this time. However the top left portion of this scan shows what I think are water marks from my deving.

I'd only ever seen image 2 on the neg. Neither image has had any form of post processing. Overall I'm v pleased with the scanner but perhaps even more pleased knowing that the Lubitel 166b has the potential to take decent shots.

Any criticism or suggestions on my scanning or deving gratefully received.

Also what format is best to save the scans in? I picked tif randomly.

Edit: TIFs deleted following StephenM's comments below and low res online TIF to jpg conversions added.img051 resize 2-p1e8knle8v1980q4v5fm1o8b1afj.jpgimg015 resize 2-p1e8knl0jg1jav1hto1a1kgb11m8a.jpg
 
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Format is a question that may divide. For me, not jpg as it's a lossy format (discards information to achieve compression) and 8 bit. You - sorry, I - need 16 bits to allow editing without tonal loss. On the other hand, as you can see, to post here requires jpg files. I have to download the tiffs to view.
 
Had another developing and scanning (35mm) session today. I did high res tif scans for me and low res jpeg for emailing and interwebbing. I've been a lot more careful developing and even used wetting agent this time. Have tried to handle the negs with extreme care, there are no watermarks or fingerprints on the negs and they are now in glassine files so that's progress. I've even risked some of the pics on the main "show us your film shot" thread.
 
I've been using these to store ready mixed stop and fix (I use dev as one shot). If you fold them over slightly you can get all the air out before screwing the cap on. I got them off the internet and these are 1 litre but they come in various sizes and weren't expensive.IMG_20200606_163323348.jpg
 
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Not done anything on this in weeks however a thunderstorm stopped my allotment trip so the perfect wet weather project continued:
IMG_20200614_214728688.jpg
IMG_20200614_214953519.jpg
Mainly the "shutter" part to complete and some bits and bobs. Overall I'm very impressed with the design of the kit and the quality of the components. If there are issues with it in use I'm sure it will be due to my assembly and not the actual kit.
 
At last all finished!IMG_20200618_103656599.jpg
It's a very well thought out kit and you can tell from the design (and via the translated from German manual) that it went through many changes and improvements before it reached the kit I bought.
IMG_20200618_103746460.jpg
It's got 2 simple dividers inside to swap between 6x6 and 6x9 fomats and has 2 red viewing holes to see the frame numbers for each format. The frame numbers are loads easier to see than on my Lubitel 166b.
IMG_20200618_103947162.jpg
The rear also has a clever exposure calculator that seems to include reciprocal failure.

I've got a roll of old backing paper in at the moment to get used to it but a further brush up on exposure times then off to use up a 120 film in, gulp, 8 shots!
 
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I'm really, really struggling to get 120 film onto the spiral. I seem to get about halfway in and then the film "sticks" and starts coming off the spiral resulting in this:IMG_20201004_173901023.jpg

I'm spending about 20 mins in the dark bag and the film is starting to get damp (from my perspiration, ugh) which isn't helping.

This has happened with the last 2 120 films I've tried to load on the spiral. In the end I have to make do with what ever is on the spiral and wrap the rest of the film round round the outside of the spiral and thet put that in the tank as is.

I can manage to do 35mm in the dark bag and using old film out the bag. Spirals are new and dry when I try 120. Any advice to get the 120 on the spiral? Is it worth sacrificing a cheap 120 film and practicing in daylight?
 
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That looks like an AP reel you have there? I find those much easier to load than my Perterson reels, not that that is much help to you!

Some film stocks are easier to load than other, I've found. Some have a lot more flex, which can make them more difficult to get started, but the AP reel helps with its larger guides. My method is, once I've fed the start of the roll through the guides, to gently grab it on the other side and ease it past the ball-bearings. Then I can start winding it on, which I do carefully and without unwinding too much film at a time.

If you're struggling and getting hot and sweaty, put the film into the developing tank and seal the lid. That way you can remove your hands, have a cup of tea (or a scotch), and then have another attempt when you've cooled down. As long as the film is sealed in the tank it will be fine.
 
FishyFish said:
That looks like an AP reel you have there? I find those much easier to load than my Perterson reels, not that that is much help to you!

Some film stocks are easier to load than other, I've found. Some have a lot more flex, which can make them more difficult to get started, but the AP reel helps with its larger guides. My method is, once I've fed the start of the roll through the guides, to gently grab it on the other side and ease it past the ball-bearings. Then I can start winding it on, which I do carefully and without unwinding too much film at a time.

If you're struggling and getting hot and sweaty, put the film into the developing tank and seal the lid. That way you can remove your hands, have a cup of tea (or a scotch), and then have another attempt when you've cooled down. As long as the film is sealed in the tank it will be fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks fishyfish. Yes it is an AP reel and tank. Film is FP4.The kids and I had another practice with some scrap 35mm and we all managed that no problems!

So I had another go with the 120 after a break with neither tea or scotch (but roast lamb). I was still struggling but when I slowed right down I got it fully on the reel. Unfortunately the dev'd film has battle scars. .IMG_20201004_200849058.jpgIMG_20201004_194347902.jpg

Certainly more practice required:(
 
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Shugpug said:
Sounds about right!

I'm envious of your trips as well - mine isn't rigid enough to support the shutter speeds I typically get from my Intrepid on the centre column without getting a lot of softness - legs only for me!!
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Thank you but I've no idea what I'm doing really! Tripod extension just seemed enough to get me above the height of the bridge wall...

There was that much to concentrate on especially setting it all up. I think I need some sort of better and more organised bag. My ever forgiving wife was pulled into "hold this please" and "pass that please" duties.

However the overall weight of the equipment wasn't as bad as I was expecting but my wife had a separate bag with the sandwiches and flask!
 
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I would suggest a stronger tripod or at least not using the centre pole, basically you just end up with a heavy camera on a wobbly stick. And as a wise man once said "there's no such thing as bad light, merely the wrong subject" :)
 
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