Gast
Hello.
I recently made a purchase from FOTOIMPEX, following the sales assistant’s advice, and bought the following:
Efke KB25, Efke KB50, Orwo 125, Maco 400UP+.
Along with the chemicals A49 and LP Supra Fix.
How should I process the films using these chemicals? The sales assistant told me to perform the exposure on the Efke KB50 at 40 ASA. What is the
development time then? Should I perform dilution of the A49 at a ratio of 1:2 for all films, or just for the Efkes?
As the Impex catalogue doesn’t provide any answers to these questions, I thought I might get some help this way.
Best regards,
Olaf
MirkoBoeddecker
Olaf,
Actually, everything you need is listed on our developer chart.
For the A49 + efke, the times are given for undiluted and diluted solutions. For the FP4 (ORWO125) and HP 5 (MACO UP 400), the times plus the dilution factor are listed on the A49 chart.
As for the dilution, that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with the film.
It’s more a matter of personal preference. Some say that at 1+2, certain films don’t reach DMAX, whilst others (and I count myself among them) prefer more balanced, delicate negatives that are easier to print.
I also prefer the 1+2 dilution because it allows me to use A49 as a one-shot developer and eliminates the hassle of temperature control (bringing the mixing water to 20 degrees and it works fine as long as the developer was between 18 and 22 degrees).
This also saves me from the imprecise enlargement factors compared to using it as a stock solution.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
You can find further details here:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html
Best regards, Otto Beyer!
Gast
OK,
thanks for the tips on the developer. How do you perform the exposure on the films? At the rated ISO, or below or above that?
Thanks for your help.
Olaf
Gast
Hi Olaf
I’m an avid EFKE user, and I tend to underexpose these films rather than overexpose them; you just have to fiddle around a bit – in my experience, these films really shouldn’t
be consistently exposed for the shadows. In other words, if in doubt, expose the KB 25 as if it were 40 ISO and the KB 50 as if it were 64 or 80 ISO.
I can’t say anything about the two Ilford derivatives, as I don’t use them
Regards
Michael
MirkoBoeddecker
Olaf,
Please just perform exposure at the standard speed to start with.
The Efkes, in particular, don’t really need overexposure.
If you do expose them anyway (to get the maximum shadow detail), the development time must be adjusted accordingly (rule of thumb for the first attempt: -10% at 40 ASA).
You should aim to get good negatives at standard speed first before you start experimenting.
Best regards,
Mirko
MirkoBoeddecker
By the way, what Michael just posted at the same time as me is spot on. Better to be a bit underexposed than overexposed with Efke KB 12 and KB 50!
Mirko
Gast
Hello Mirko, hello Michael,
Thank you for your suggestions. I now have a starting point for testing.
Best regards,
Olaf
