Re: [Leica] Exposing Tri-X at 320

[Bill Satterfield <cwsat@cyberhighway.net>]

I shoot it at 200, develop it for 4:30 seconds in HC 110 1:3 @68 degrees. This
over exposes, under develops, thus increasing the contrast. This was learned at
a zone system workshop taught by a local, world renowned fine art photographer,
Marion Brown. It works in all formats but the time is different for medium and
large formats.

BOB KRAMER wrote:

> I suppose the latitude at 1/3 stop overexposure would not effect your prints
> *too* much, but it would also depend on the lighting conditions and your
> exposure decisions when the film was exposed.  Were you metering in the
> shadows with a lot of sunny areas in the image?  Were you metering for the
> bright higher values?  Were you using an incident meter, or the on board M6
> reflectance meter?  Was the contrast in the scene high or low?  Those kinds
> of issues could have a far larger effect on the quality of your negatives.
>
> Also, any idea what developer the lab is going to use?  Around here, one is
> hard pressed to find anyone running B&W (any B&W) in anything but tmax
> developer, which from my experience is the kiss of death for tri-x.  D-76 is
> much better, and Xtol is marvelous (I like the 1:1 dilution).
>
> C'mon Dan!  You blew a small fortune on Leica gear, go out and buy a
> changing bag, stainless steel tank, a few bottles for chemicals, and a
> couple of the Hewes reels.  Take control of the process ASAP.  You won't
> regret it!
>
> Bob Kramer
>
> P.S.  I almost forgot.  Go get The Film Developing Cookbook, by Anchell &
> Troop.  All sorts of good info in that book.
>
> P.S.S.  I also noticed that I didn't answer your question.  Yes, if
> possible, change the development time.  This will help make sure you don't
> blow out your highlights.  You may have to experiment a little to nail down
> the right time.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Dan Honemann [SMTP:ddh@home.com]
> > Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 8:05 AM
> > To:   leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
> > Subject:      [Leica] Exposing Tri-X at 320
> >
> > If you intentionally overexpose by a third of a stop by rating Tri-X at
> > 320,
> > do you then under develop by the proportionate amount?  Or do you develop
> > as
> > normal and let the latitude of the film compensate for the overexposure
> > (hoping to bring out more details in shadows)?
> >
> > I ask because I've never tried this before, and having shot a few rolls
> > this
> > way, am about to take them to the lab to be processed and wonder if I
> > should
> > say anything.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Dan
> >
> > P.S. All six rolls were shot with a Leica M6 (vain attempt to keep this
> > OT).