Topic: Some developing help please...

[choppert]

Hi guys,

Here are two snaps of a couple of rolls I've just developed.

(I know it may be difficult to be definitive, as original exposure may have been shonky)

Do the negs look well developed?

They look nice to my eyes, but I don't know what I'm looking for!

Ideas and advice greatly appreciated.  I can post more magnified crops if need be.

Thanks,



Chops

[Mike (happyforest)]

chops

Francois  posted this in response to a query I had about clip testing.

Well, your technique is good.
Using the test strip method is no worse than separate timings.

One way to judge density by eye is to hold up the film on a piece of written paper... Here's a shot of the Kodak book where they explain it.

mike

[choppert]

Thanks Mike, I wonder if a good neg for scanning is more like a good diffuser or condenser neg?

Anyone?

[LT]

Matt - I'm sure we've had this conversation before?

Scanning will cope with negs in all kinds of contrast ranges - negs that aren't printable using trad methods will scan and make a great digi image with some basic post contrast adjustments.

A negative can record 10+ stops of contrast range. Silver gelatine paper can only manage about 4 or 5 so development and exposure has to be adapted to compress the contrast to fit the paper.  Whereas scanning can realise the whole recorded range - as long as there is detail on the film, you'll get useable detail in your scan.   

It's impossible to tell the quality of your negs like this, but ... From what I can see, they look fine. 

[Francois]

Looks just fine to me...
The only limit a scanner has is itself. A good manufacturer lets you know by specifying the D-Max value. The higher the number, the more capable the machine is. Even then, if a negative won't come out good on first scan, you can do multiple scans and combine them à la HDR to get the most out of it.