Keith (M) Posted February 3, 2011 Share #1 Posted February 3, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hopefully my new (!) Leica M2 and Weston Master V will arrive today (Thurs) and I will be obviously wanting to put a film through it to check out shutter speeds etc. However beyond that, my aim is to use it for 'street' and scan in the results for processing in LR3 & CS4. Are there any pointers as to the optimum film and dev combination to give the best neg density etc for scanning? Looking in my negative folder, I see that the last time I processed b&w was FP4 in Aculux in 1989! Therefore recommendations for modern combinations of 35mm b&w film/dev giving negatives optimised for scanning are welcomed - and given the time of year, for an ISO 400 film ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 3, 2011 Posted February 3, 2011 Hi Keith (M), Take a look here B&W Film + Dev Combo For Scanning?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
andybarton Posted February 3, 2011 Share #2 Posted February 3, 2011 My stock film/developer is Tri-X rated at 320 developed on HC110 Dilution B for 6 minutes 30 seconds at 20 degrees C with a "swirl" agitation for 10 seconds each minute. It holds the highlights and opens up the shadows and is very easy to scan. When the light gets better, I move to Pan F+ rated at 32, in Paterson FX-39 for only 4 minutes 15 seconds. You have to be careful to get even negs, but it works for me. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted February 3, 2011 Share #3 Posted February 3, 2011 The first choice is retained silver mono (conventional) or C41 mono. The C41 mono can be processed at home but this is more expensive, or you can drop it off at mini lab and have it scratched... The C41 can be scanned with the digital ICE enabled to remove dust and small debris. If you are scanning retained silver you need to avoid (inhibit) the scanners digital ICE, as the grain will spoof the noise reduction. You need to avoid exceeding the scanners maxium density, and as Andy suggests use shorter dev time than when silver printing, or softer working davelopers. The C41 mono has a greater exposure latitude if you are prepared to post process it. If you are street shooting in difficult light conditions it may hang on to high lights and shadows. If you are possibly going to silver print you need to avoid the Kodak C41 mono and use Fiji or Ilford, the kodak has an orange base mask/tint. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted February 3, 2011 Share #4 Posted February 3, 2011 C-41 B&W films have very fine grain and you can use ICE to automatically remove dust. Kodak BW400CN and Ilford XP2 Super. Personally, I don't find them to have any more latitude than a good B&W film like Tri-X, but you may find different. If you have a decent scanner, scanning traditional B&W film isn't difficult. Just make sure you get your processing as clean and dust free as possible. I've used all the Kodak B&W films and a lot of the Ilford ones, mostly developed in XTOL, and they all scan just fine. You'll hear occasionally that you should reduce development to scan, because scanners have difficulties with dense highlights. Again, if you have a decent scanner, the density range of negative film shouldn't be a big problem. I develop normally as if I were to print them in the darkroom (which I still do) and they scan just fine. I'd suggest Tri-X in XTOL 1:1. If you want finer grain, try T-Max 400. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted February 3, 2011 Share #5 Posted February 3, 2011 C-41 B&W films have very fine grain and you can use ICE to automatically remove dust. Kodak BW400CN and Ilford XP2 Super. Personally, I don't find them to have any more latitude than a good B&W film like Tri-X, but you may find different. If you have a decent scanner, scanning traditional B&W film isn't difficult. Just make sure you get your processing as clean and dust free as possible. I've used all the Kodak B&W films and a lot of the Ilford ones, mostly developed in XTOL, and they all scan just fine. You'll hear occasionally that you should reduce development to scan, because scanners have difficulties with dense highlights. Again, if you have a decent scanner, the density range of negative film shouldn't be a big problem. I develop normally as if I were to print them in the darkroom (which I still do) and they scan just fine. I'd suggest Tri-X in XTOL 1:1. If you want finer grain, try T-Max 400. I support all the above. Scanning is not a problem. I have been using Ilford XP2 Super and its predecessors - exposed for 200 ASA and processed by the local Walmart - and it scans and (wet) prints beautifully. My experience is that a good negative will scan well. Job one is to make a good negative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithdunlop Posted February 4, 2011 Share #6 Posted February 4, 2011 I'll concur with the advice in support of C41 films for scanning. My favorite B&W film for scanning is Kodak BW400CN which provides really terrific scans without the grain and contrast increase that you see with traditional B&W films. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted February 4, 2011 Share #7 Posted February 4, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) . The chances are good that the Weston Master V is no longer working, and if it is, then it is not accurate. Upgrade. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morten Grathe Posted February 4, 2011 Share #8 Posted February 4, 2011 Hey Keith, try and have a look at www.figitalrevolution.com The site is about hybrid photography, and I find it very informative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share #9 Posted February 4, 2011 Thank you all for the information and suggestions - appreciated! TBH, I had not considered filmd such as Kodak BW400CN, due to wanting to keep the dev process as simple as possible, at least initially as I attempt to get back into the swing of home developing after a hiatus of some twenty years (!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmas Posted February 4, 2011 Share #10 Posted February 4, 2011 . The chances are good that the Weston Master V is no longer working, and if it is, then it is not accurate. Upgrade. My Weston II fron '47 is still ok, but they can be refurbed if moisture damages the photocell contacts. Few other meters are calibrated for the zone system. Noel Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted February 4, 2011 Share #11 Posted February 4, 2011 I'd suggest Tri-X in XTOL 1:1. If you want finer grain, try T-Max 400. I've scanned lots of Tri-X developed in Xtol, though I tended to use 1:3 for the dilution. Scanned just fine. As I've said before, the C41 films such as XP2 are easier to scan, but personally I didn't like the look of the resulting scans, perhaps because the absence of grain made then look less sharp. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 5, 2011 Share #12 Posted February 5, 2011 I font like the slightly plastic look one gets with C41 b&w films Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted February 5, 2011 Share #13 Posted February 5, 2011 C 41 film scans better than anything. Traditional B&W, tri X Delta 100 TMax seem ok if developed to print on a condenser enlarger & #2 paper. Otherwise just keep cutting the development time back until it will scan. Some films are more difficult than others. Plus X is my dog. I can get it to print beautifully, but not scan . In fact I think it is the best looking black and white film out there and I have used it for decades. I bracketed develop times very carefully, but no luck finding a common printing/scanning time. I would resort to two scans, shadow and highlight, then combine with PS. The other films mentioned have a common printing/scanning time. Noise reduction programs work less well on grain than digital noise. Portra 160 is simply fantastic . There are excellent ways to convert to mono. Evenings and Schewe`s new book on CS5, The Ultimate Workshop, page 360, describes it well. It is not a simple button push. Martin Evening`s book on CS5, describes it but not so well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRJR Posted February 5, 2011 Share #14 Posted February 5, 2011 Hopefully my new (!) Leica M2 and Weston Master V will arrive today (Thurs) and I will be obviously wanting to put a film through it to check out shutter speeds etc. However beyond that, my aim is to use it for 'street' and scan in the results for processing in LR3 & CS4. Are there any pointers as to the optimum film and dev combination to give the best neg density etc for scanning? Looking in my negative folder, I see that the last time I processed b&w was FP4 in Aculux in 1989! Therefore recommendations for modern combinations of 35mm b&w film/dev giving negatives optimised for scanning are welcomed - and given the time of year, for an ISO 400 film ? If all you're going to do is develop the negatives and scan them, why not try the C-41 "Press Kit" that is available at fairly low cost at places such as B&H Photo: Tetenal C-41 Press Kit for Color Negative Film (Powder) T109306 and, that is demonstrated in the short video, at this link?: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgray Posted February 5, 2011 Share #15 Posted February 5, 2011 Plus X is my dog. I can get it to print beautifully, but not scan . In fact I think it is the best looking black and white film out there and I have used it for decades. I bracketed develop times very carefully, but no luck finding a common printing/scanning time. I would resort to two scans, shadow and highlight, then combine with PS. What problems do you have scanning Plus-X? It's always scanned just fine for me... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
too old to care Posted February 6, 2011 Share #16 Posted February 6, 2011 What problems do you have scanning Plus-X? It's always scanned just fine for me... I also love Plus X, I use it and have good results. I process it with D-76 1 to 1. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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