Gast
:D Hi everyone,
I’ve been testing the Fomapan 200 at an exposure ratio of 1:50 and I’m really impressed with the grey tones. However, when taking my portraits, I noticed that the emulsion is peeling off in some of the photos and the sheet film also curls quite badly.
Is there a solution to this, or does Foma not actually manufacture to the ISO 9000 standard?
Should this film be used for live performances, or should one expect such problems to occur frequently?
I’d appreciate your thoughts.
Regards,
Hans-Günther
MirkoBoeddecker
Hello Hans Günther,
Just a quick question: do you mean sheet film 200 or 100?
We’ve discontinued sheet film 200 from our range for precisely that reason (warping), and Foma has since stopped producing it too.
You simply can’t get a flat sheet film to fit onto those rubbish Agfa bases.
ISO 9002: This standard has absolutely nothing to do with potential processing issues. ISO 9002 is a general quality assurance standard that says nothing about an absolute quality characteristic. The standard therefore applies relative to the product quality of the respective manufacturer applying it, and not relative to the quality of other products from other companies (even if these should be comparable). But that’s just a side note.
So far, we have not experienced any emulsion peeling with Fomapan 200 roll films, and we have developed at least 20,000 Fomapan films in our A49 (highly penetrating) lab over the last 10 years.
I therefore assume this is a processing issue.
It is possible that the HRX has such high penetration that you need to lower the processing temperature or add a hardener.
Where exactly did the problem occur, and at what temperature?
Best regards,
Mirko
cfb_de
Hi everyone,
The ISO 900x standards don’t actually have anything to do with product quality; they’re simply about ensuring that a consistent product standard can be maintained within a company through certified, documented processes (essentially a quality management system).
In other words, a company that moulds concrete lifebuoys can very well be fully ISO-certified. The fact that a concrete lifebuoy is anything but fit for purpose (and therefore has no ‘quality’) is of no concern whatsoever to the ISO auditors.
ISO 900x *does not* guarantee high product quality?! Only consistent quality. Whether that quality is consistently good or bad, or whether the product is actually suitable for any meaningful use at all – nobody cares about any of that.
Best regards and Merry Christmas,
Franz
MirkoBoeddecker
Hi Franz,
Yes, that’s one way of putting it!
But ISO 9000 or not, what interests me most right now is where the emulsion has peeled off on Hans Günther’s unit.
Has anyone else noticed this problem with the HRX track?
We’d be very interested to hear your feedback!!
Best regards,
Mirko
MirkoBoeddecker
...by the way, that's a good example of the concrete lifebuoys ;-)
Gast
Hi Mirco,
I’ve checked the film again with a magnifying glass and realised that these aren’t necessarily cases of emulsion peeling. They could also be lint on the film, which may have got there during the developing process. In some places, I’ve noticed proper little white rings. In any case, the negatives are unusable.
I also noticed whilst enlarging that the film is significantly more developed near the spool wheels. What could be causing this?
The fluff and rings, including the black spots, can’t be from water (a contaminant), as I’m very careful about that.
I’d love to use this film as my standard, but it has to be flawless. Just imagine if something like this happened to me on a long-haul holiday!
I hope someone can help me with this problem.
Until then, best regards
Hans-Günther
cfb_de
Hello Hans-Günther, hello Mirko,
@Hans-Günther: Sorry, I’ve just realised that this had already been discussed on this forum. My experience relates to the KB-200, not to sheet film. However, I stand by my explanation (bubbles on the back and the antihalation remaining there). My recommendation for a little picture online too :-)
@Mirko: Concrete just popped into my head :-) With the KB, I’ve only had good experiences with HRX so far. I’ll be ordering some from you soon too :-)
Have a lovely rest of Christmas, have fun with the stock-take (?) and a Happy New Year!
Franz
cfb_de
Hello everyone,
Hans-Günther has asked me to share a few scans of his negatives. I’m happy to do so (unfortunately, testimpex3.jpg doesn’t display properly in my browser, but the black Böpel is still recognisable).
So, here they are:
TestImpex2.jpg
TestImpex3.jpg
TestImpex4.jpg
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
Hi Mirco,
I have to completely revise what I said about the emulsion peeling off. I gave the negatives another thorough clean and only a few spots remain. I’ve noticed some streaks along the top edge – where could they have come from? And there are some light spots in the bottom left corner; I’m not sure where those have come from either.
Thanks again to Franz for setting up the negatives for me.
Best regards,
Hans-Günther
Gast
Hmmmm, that’s a tricky one.
Streaks: Possibly streaks from the wiper or the spiral.
Could also be from the camera (not scratches, but reflections).
But surely they’re not scanner reflections?
Don’t laugh – we’ve seen it all before!
It could possibly be a film issue, but then it certainly wouldn’t always be at the top of the frame across several films; sometimes it would be in the middle, sometimes at the edge, and so on.
Spots: Air bubbles in the tank or developer residue would be my first guess, but no one can say for sure.
Mirko
Gast
So if you reverse the negatives, the specks look just like ordinary dust.
There are also Newton rings visible, which is another indication of this (glass plate scanner)......
By the way, at our rental lab you can scan glass-free up to 4x5" using a high-performance scanner ;-)
Mirko
Gast
Just a quick question – do you rotate the film?
If so, the edges are often slightly more exposed. With sheet films, you can see this quite clearly when there’s sky at the edge. Do you use those black plastic clips that you have to clip into the spiral after threading the sheet film?
Micha
