Eastman 5399: Dev or ISO?

[Harlequin565]

So I ordered this off eBay for £20 for 100ft. Figure I can easily get 20 rolls out of it (and this eBay seller is generous when cutting from longer rolls) so £1/roll is worth a gamble.

Before buying I read this thread: http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=13346 which indicated that it's possible to get a usable negative off B&W chems.

Soooooo I now have a long reel and a question about dev times... When you're not sure of the ISO and you have no clue for development, how can you tell (from the resulting negative) where your errors lie?

My understanding... (pls correct my assumption if wrong - I'm three beers into my Saturday!!)
Incorrect ISO:
ISO too low = over exposed neg
ISO too high = under exposed neg

Incorrect Dev:
Over developed = over exposed neg
Under developed = under exposed neg (thin negative)

Is there a way to tell whether you've over exposed because a) you set the ISO too low or b) you over developed? I can throw some short rolls into cans and as per the thread, am going to set the ISO to 12 or 25, then develop as per my finger in the air. When the resulting negs turn out crap - I'm looking for guidance on what to tweak.

TIA, and apologies for my ignorance.

 

[StephenM]

ISO too high - no shadow detail
ISO too low - blocked highlights

Dev under - low contrast
Dev over - high contrast

There are books that illustrate what to look for, and from memory an Ilford file with the same information.

I'd suggest using a strip to peg down the ISO first. Use as a rough rule of thumb that after 3-4 minutes development, shadow detail won't increase (much) but contrast will build up. For the first test, pick a development time of say 10 mins, expose the same average contrast subject at different ISOs and pick the best from the strip. The strip should also then let you see if you're under or over developed.

If you have an enlarger, a test strip from a blank clear frame will let you see what exposure gives a maximum black. Using this exposure for the "correct" ISO negative should let you assess the contrast. Alternatively, using this method on all the frames from the first strip will reveal under and over exposure.

I am assuming no densitometer or substitute.

 

[Harlequin565]

Thanks Stephen.

ISO too high - no shadow detail
ISO too low - blocked highlights

Dev under - low contrast
Dev over - high contrast

This kind of rule of thumb stuff is really useful.

 

[VirtualAdept]

Thanks Stephen.



This kind of rule of thumb stuff is really useful.

Ya know, I've been naffing about with film for years now, and there's a few sites I've used when trying to figure out if I've fluffed exposure or developing and my understanding of it was never that great... but that little bit completely solved the mystery lol

 

[Harlequin565]

Sooooooooooooooo...



Series of images shot at 6-12-25-50 and 100 ISO respectively.
Developed in HC-110(B) for 9 minutes.

Close examination of the scans would indicate that they all look pretty muddy. I think I'd up the dev to 13 minutes base next time. Looking at the exposures, ISO 25 looks pretty good so I'll keep the same ISO range unless anyone has a better suggestion. Sharpness is hard to determine but it looks ok with some judicious sharpening. I was shooting this with my T90 at around 1/30sec with the 50mm f/1.4 which for most of the shots was at the low aperture end because of the low ISO. I'm crap at focussing FD lenses and have wobbly hands, but the under exposed stuff (probably around the f/4 mark) looks much better.

I think I'll perform the same test with a longer dev, but to be honest, the apparent shotgun damage makes the film unusable for anything other than testing to see whether a camera works or not. Shame really because it has a nice glow to it over exposed. Could be a nice creative film.

 

[excalibur2]

I'm crap at focussing FD lenses

Well might help......I find wearing glasses with old cameras is a PITA so found the viewfinder dioptre attachment for Nikon EM\FG (fairly rare) cameras fits the T90 and now enjoy using the T90 even more

 

[mmorko]

Interesring. I do have the same film from the same ebayer. I have now a starting point. Mybidea is to dev it at beginning with caffenol or xtol (what i fo have on hands now). Will try first caffenol about 14 minutes probably. I have already shot a short roll at iso 16.

Thanks for sharing