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Pushing film . . .
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 12:58 am    Post subject: Pushing film . . . Reply with quote
On my vacation I'm going to experiment with a little low light B&W photography. Now how it relates to this thread . . .
I have ordered a roll of 1600 film, but it is likely delayed in transit.

How do you know the limitations of pushing the film? Are some better than others? Is there a site with info or is it covered with the develping chemicals info?
The 2 options I have in house for the film to use are both 400 asa. 1 - Kodak TMax (400 TMY) or 2 - Ilford HP5+ .

Thanks for any info.
Jim


PostPosted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Tmax400 is what I have the most experience with.
You can push it easily to 1600. You will want to use a slow developer to keep the contrast under control (if desired).

Also have had great luck with Neopan and Tmax developer when I want the contrast. It looks great and has "pretty" grain.

If your shooting your hassie I would go the Tmax.


PostPosted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I've had good results with HP5+ and Microphen. I pushed even 3 stops to 3200 with acceptable results, albeit the grain in this case is quite coarse and does not suit very much my taste. At 1600 is good, with slight increase of grain size. The Microphen is able to squeeze every bit of detail from the underexposed shadows and does good job in keeping the h/l from blow.
Printing on slight lower grade than normal produces good result without losing too much general contrast. I can't say about TMX since I never pushed it.
Regards, Marty.


PostPosted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 10:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
F16SUNSHINE wrote:
Tmax400 is what I have the most experience with.
You can push it easily to 1600. You will want to use a slow developer to keep the contrast under control (if desired).

Also have had great luck with Neopan and Tmax developer when I want the contrast. It looks great and has "pretty" grain.

If your shooting your hassie I would go the Tmax.


Thanks for the advice. I'll be shooting it with my SRT200.

Jim


PostPosted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 6:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hello

The hp5 is quite pushable 800 up to 6400 iso. Check the usual site that talks about times dev :
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php


PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:58 am    Post subject: Re: Pushing film . . . Reply with quote
j.lukow wrote:

. . . I have ordered a roll of 1600 film, but it is likely delayed in transit. . .

I guess this post is now hypothetical with Canada Post making me a liar Rolling Eyes
My roll of Neopan 1600 showed up today so the necessity of pushing film is moot . . . for now Smile

Thanks for the help anyway and we'll chalk this thread up to developing a knowledge base for those getting into / back into dark room work.

Jim


PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Glad you're all set Jim, have a nice holiday and good luck with the low-light shooting.

Andy or marty, I've never tried pushing or pulling film before and I'm confused. If I load my camera with 50ASA PanF and set the camera/meter to say 200, the pictures will be underexposed 2 stops. What do I need to do to rescue them, under or overdevelop? And by how much?


PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
peterqd wrote:
If I load my camera with 50ASA PanF and set the camera/meter to say 200, the pictures will be underexposed 2 stops. What do I need to do to rescue them, under or overdevelop? And by how much?

You need to overdevelop to compensate for underexposure. In this way the contrast will be increased leading to a still printable image. How much to increase the dev time depends on the film, developer and its strength. A general rule states 50% more every stop. In most cases you can find reference in the film fact sheet usually available from download at manufacturer website. For PanF+ is advised 12' in Microphen stock. Invaluable help can also be found at http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php. My best advice is to always shoot a test roll and after development evaluate the results and eventually adjust the time. In case of accidental overexposure a clip test can always be done.
Regards, Marty.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Depending on what film, overdevelop might not be necessary. There are B&W films who can handle even a -3+ stop difference from nominal value.


PostPosted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 5:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
Depending on what film, overdevelop might not be necessary. There are B&W films who can handle even a -3+ stop difference from nominal value.


That's true for Tmax although 1.5 stops up or down is what I have found using Tmax developer.
Other developers may be different.


Tmax 400 for example can be exposed for 160iso -1000iso on the same roll if developed for nominal 400iso.
Some increase in contrast will be evident but easily recovered when printing.
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