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Adox Silvermax


Steve Ash

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the ad makes no sense. the amount of silver in a film cannot be increased or decreased above a certain optimum.

 

High resolution films with a higher silver content have been doing the rounds for many years. The last was perhaps 'Gigabit' (that came in many sizes) based on microfilm emulsion and which also needed its own developer to get the best results out of it.

 

Steve

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High resolution films with a higher silver content have been doing the rounds for many years. The last was perhaps 'Gigabit' (that came in many sizes) based on microfilm emulsion and which also needed its own developer to get the best results out of it.

 

Steve

 

High resolution films are thin emulsion fine grain films. If anything, they have less silver. Fast films have several layers.

 

I assure you this description is nonsensical.

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High resolution films are thin emulsion fine grain films. If anything, they have less silver. Fast films have several layers.

 

I assure you this description is nonsensical.

 

There are hundreds of threads in many photo forums about film and paper emulsions having more or less silver depending on the result the manufacturer is after. So just Google some threads and make a special point of telling them they are wrong because you are confusing me with somebody who cares about what you say.

 

Steve

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There are hundreds of threads in many photo forums about film and paper emulsions having more or less silver depending on the result the manufacturer is after. So just Google some threads and make a special point of telling them they are wrong because you are confusing me with somebody who cares about what you say.

 

Steve

 

The 'hundreds of threads' you refer to are not written by emulsion scientists. Emulsions may have more or less silver for reasons having nothing to do with anything related to what most people believe. Kodachrome films had silver filter layers, whereas chromogenic films have dye filter layers. What I am saying is that what this ad says it total nonsense. Manufacturers don't put more or less silver in an emulsion just for the hell of it. Image quality is not improved by gratuitous additions of silver. Emulsion making is very precise. This ad, I say, is total nonsense.

 

The distribution of silver particles, their shape, size, number of layers, sensitization, etc., all matter. Film has gold in it too.

Edited by Larcomb
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(...) Manufacturers don't put more or less silver in an emulsion just for the hell of it. Image quality is not improved by gratuitous additions of silver. (...)

 

This manufacturer claims that the maximum density of this product is greater than the maximum density of other products and that this was achieved by using more silver. Yet you appear to be saying that a film with a higher density can not be achieved with more silver. Is that so?

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This manufacturer claims that the maximum density of this product is greater than the maximum density of other products and that this was achieved by using more silver. Yet you appear to be saying that a film with a higher density can not be achieved with more silver. Is that so?

 

That claim is nonsense. You don't want 'maximum density' in a film. You want delicate highlights that can be printed and shadow detail. The range of tones captured is limited by what can be printed. Look at Tri-X film curve. The maximum density of a good a good B&W negative has nowhere near the maximum density that the film is capable of. Paper is another matter entirely.

 

The range of densities used in good negatives is rather short and comes nowhere near the maximum of which the film is capable. Shadow detail is a little above the minimum, and highlights are nowhere near the maximum.

 

That does not mean that it is a bad film. What I am saying is that ad is rubbish.

Edited by Larcomb
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