rherz
Hello,
How should one go about tackling the problem above: Fuji hasn’t listed the A49 in the Acros datasheet (which I didn’t expect anyway) and Calbe isn’t responding to the query (Germany’s terrible customer service). We’d actually be happy with a simple: “We don’t know.”
So what does one do now, when there’s absolutely no clue as to the development?
I’d be grateful for any tips.
Best regards,
Robert
MirkoBoeddecker
Hello Robert,
Please don’t be angry with Calbe for not having tested the film yet.
This has nothing to do with poor customer service. Rather, the entire amateur photography sector, including at Calbe, is purely a loss-making venture run for prestige.
The A49 would actually have to cost many times more if it were to be marketed under such ideal conditions, as even a customer helpline would have to be paid for (I’d estimate around €40 per pack in high-wage Germany).
This market is now surviving on mere fractions of what was once a ‘healthy’ turnover, and in Germany, every time a screwdriver is used, it costs a good €15.
This really has more to do with commercial necessity than with laissez-faire....
We’re absolutely delighted that Calbe still produces the A49 for us at all, and we’ve always had to pre-finance and pre-order a full two years’ worth of stock in one go.
Any sensible businessman would have discontinued the product range long ago. But thank goodness we’re only “somewhat sensible businessmen” here at FOTOIMPEX and we do our best. Don’t worry, the A49 will definitely not be discontinued, even if we have to buy five-year quotas next time :-)
In short: we’ve tested most of the data on our A49 table ourselves. Unfortunately, Fuji doesn’t supply us. That’s why we don’t stock Acros and haven’t managed to get our hands on any for testing yet.
If you perform dilution on the A49 1+2 and develop for 15 minutes at 20 degrees, you’ll definitely get something usable.
Next time, try either a slightly shorter or longer time, and you’ll have a development time that’s just as good as all the others on our chart.
If you could email them to us (;-), we’d add them to the chart for future generations.
Best regards, and please don’t be angry
Mirko
www.fotoimpex.de
rherz
Hi Mirko,
I’m not angry that Calbe hasn’t tested the Acros (yet). It’s just that the complete lack of any response in Germany sometimes gets on my nerves. After all, the email went straight to the contact person for black-and-white chemistry – the contact details are provided on the website, so I assume it’s okay to use them. Once you’ve experienced the service you’d expect in the US, it makes you wonder. Even if that’s one of the very few things I like over there ;-)
As soon as I get my hands on the film, I’ll give the development tip a go and post the result. (Mind you, I work in a hybrid way, i.e. with a digital darkroom – so it’s questionable how useful the result will be for the enlargement crowd)
Best regards
Robert
GerdK
Hi Mirko,
I’m not angry that Calbe hasn’t tested the Acros (yet). It’s just that the complete lack of any response in Germany sometimes gets on my nerves. At least the email went straight to the contact person for black-and-white chemistry – the contact details are provided on the website, so I assume it’s okay to use them.
Hello Robert,
I’m afraid I can confirm that: the ‘black-and-white lady’ is utterly ignorant. With the colour chemistry people, a complaint to the managing director actually helped. With her, nothing and no one helps. She’s just stubborn and knows exactly who deserves a reply.
I, too, consider answering a question – even if it’s just “I don’t know” – to be a basic standard of politeness.
Bye, Gerd
GerdK
Hello Mirko,
...
At least the email went directly to the contact person for SW-Chemie – the contact details are provided on the website, so I assume it’s okay to use them.
...
Best regards,
Robert
Hello Robert,
I would now like to share my third experience with Ms Marzinkowski from Calbe Chemie with you, partly to do Ms Marzinkowski justice:
Last Friday I rang her and, lo and behold, I was put through to her straight away. I asked her how I could shorten the paper fixing time by increasing the temperature. She didn’t know the answer off the top of her head, but said she would check her records and call me back. She did so within 10 minutes and provided me with an expert answer. I would also like to mention that this lady is very friendly.
When I told her about the experience I’d had with her via email, she seemed genuinely surprised.
It’s not nice when email doesn’t work properly and people get a bad reputation through no fault of their own.
Bye, Gerd
rherz
Hi Gerd,
It looks like we’ll have to give them a ring. Regardless of that, we’ll need to bring your issues to Calbe’s attention – the email programme didn’t display any error messages, so the problem must have occurred somewhere on Calbe’s end.
Many thanks for the information
Best regards
Robert Herz
rherz
Hello everyone,
Now that I’ve used up an Acros (35mm) roll with repeatable subjects, I’ve started experimenting with A49. So, at a dilution of 1:1, 10 minutes, agitating continuously for the first minute and then tilting the tank once every 30 seconds.
As I’ve mentioned before, I work in a hybrid way, i.e. with a scanner. The negatives are nicely balanced, with no overly harsh contrasts – exactly how scanners like them.
The Acros also works well with T-MAX developer, though I’ll only use that up, as I prefer to stick to just one developer and get to grips with it. It’s also an attractive option price-wise. Furthermore, the A49 is a better match for the other Fuji black-and-white films that I use in low-light conditions.
Incidentally, the decision to go with Acros is based solely on the fact that it lacks any black shield effect up to an exposure time of 120 seconds. With macro photography, you’re often dealing with exposures in the single-second range, and it’s simply convenient and reassuring not to have to fiddle around with tables and extension factors.
Best regards,
Robert
Gast
Hi Robert,
So, 10 minutes at 1+1 – can we add that to the table?
By the way, the Efke has similarly good black-and-white performance – like all single-layer films.
The Acros is really more of a revival of ancient black-and-white technology than a truly ‘new’ film.
We’ve actually just added it to our range. It’s just not in the catalogue because FUTSCHI is somehow impossible to get hold of, and we only include products in the catalogue (and thus provide free advertising for the manufacturer) if we actually like them ;-)
Best regards,
Mirko
www.fotoimpex.de
rherz
Hi Mirko,
At least for scanner users, the 10-minute scan at 1 + 1 (1st minute continuous, then once every 30 seconds) should produce a more than satisfactory result – the standard settings on the scanner (Canon FS4000US and GetFilm 1.3) result in detail in the highlights and shadows – that’s all I need.
What I really haven’t done (and couldn’t do anyway) is define any gamma curves. So I can’t make any statements regarding condenser or diffuser enlargers. It should certainly be enough as a starting point for your own experiments.
Best regards,
Robert
