torsdag 28. april 2016

ISO value on different papers

So, I got a few different types of darkroom papers, B&W style, as you might know. I'm not exactly collecting stuff like that, but a few packs of these things has been coming my way for a variety of reasons. In most cases you got folks that used to do some work in the dark back in the days. Not exactly back in the dark age, but quite close to it. They usually don't need their old paper anymore, and will happily give it away if they not already have thrown the things away. 

So, today I was a bit curious if some of the paper I got around was still working and if it would be a possible to use them inside some pinhole camera or something else. Just for fun, as I sometimes do things just for fun. Then I thought it would be nice to know roughly what ISO grade I should rate them, these old papers. So I went upstairs and picked two different packs of some old stuff, and went inside the readily made up darkish room. Picked a couple of sheets from each box and cut them to pieces I did. Around 6x7 cm, as it happens. Just to make them fit quite snugly inside the film backs for my Mamiya system. 
Then it was trial and error until I came up with ISO numbers that seems to work quite fine. 
I have not scanned the paper negatives yet, mind you, but with some experience you know when a negative looks fine, and when it looks crap. 
I might even post some of the negatives if they ever dry up.
Contrast is usually the hard stuff to control when using paper negatives, and it looks like this will be the issue of todays test as well. But it's just for fun, as you know. And fun it is! I would really like to test the same thing in a big or huge camera though...

I ran a kind of very unofficial and easy test on these three boxes. Did not discover until a bit later that the two boxes of EMAKS from Fotokemika in Zagreb, Croatia was the exact same paper only in different sizes. Nice paper it is, but it's not of multi contrast type. Well, the results my audience is as follows: Go for ASA 12 on the english stuff as long as the box looks something like this one (bought some time early or mid 90's by yours truly), and measure for ASA 3 on the Emax kind of thing THEN open up or add three steps of exposure. Yes, it's slow as heck, but will give you some nice baryte prints if you only got the time. 

And that was todays photo related stuff done, and not even a single frame of film has been wasted. Not yet, anyway. I had a kind of plan to finish the film inside the rangefinder M6 black type of thing I got somewhere inside one of them bags more or less full of cameras. Don't know if that will happen today, but I could get some spare time a bit later in the evening. 

2 kommentarer:

  1. You got me wanting to try out some of this paper negative stuff. I need to find the means to cut accurately in safelight conditions and then I might just get some of that into the Sinar. That's a good post there Roy - very helpful.

    SvarSlett
  2. Thank you mate! It's fun to do these kind of snaps for a change. For me, anyway.
    Very different to film, I must say. If you snap something with a nice sky with interesting clouds or whatever, you will struggle a bit to make everything show up as nice as you would if you used film for the same snap. Anyway, it's fun. And kind of interesting to see the different ways paper and film render the different colors.
    I got a few examples readily scanned on my computer right now, to be posted some time during the day I guess. There's some paperwork I need to get away as a first priority. Tax things, as it happens. I need to deliver my yearly report to the authorities before midnight, but the plan was to have everything ready a bit earlier than that :)
    Take care mate! :)

    SvarSlett

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