Kodak TechPan - not difficult!

"F.C. Trevor Gale" wrote in message ...
Greetings;

I've just developed the last of the monochrome films from a recent
vacation in Wengen, Switzerland - some of these were Ilford FP4+ and
HP5+, a couple of Ilford SFX-200 (for the red sensitivity) and three
rolls of Kodak TechPan rated at nominal 25ASA but exposed at a stop
under and over in some shots. All 120-roll, of course.

Now, I read, or have read, here and in other places, that TechPan is
'tricky' or 'difficult' or 'you have to process critically' (etc etc),
yet quite frankly the TechPan negatives I have are the best of the lot.
Using Technidol developer at 20degsC for 10m 15secs with 10-secs
agitation every 45secs dev time in a Paterson spiral tank, it has given
me a great tonal range and of course fine grain and a very clear base.

I like it for landscapes and portraits, and too, appreciate its tonal range.

Now that is what I have come to expect - I've used TP120 for quite a
time now, only of course when I need a faster film I opt for Ilford
emulsions, even the Delta films. My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

If you use the processing method Kodak indicates in their technical documentation, it's more
complicated than the classic one:
you have to fill the tank with the developer alone, then, in complete darkness, load the reels,
insert them quickly in the developer, close the tank and start the "shaker" agitation every 30".

I've read on the web that some report good result using rotation which, I thought, was unusable with
TP. So, next time, I'll give it a try.

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

With all TP characteristics together, probably nothing.
For fine grain and sharpness, TMax 100 and Acros 100 are not that far but they don't have the pretty
unusual tonal balance and extended red sensivity TP has.
For other use than pictorial photography then you have to switch to other special-purposes films.

My regards, F.C. Trevor Gale.

I bought three 45m rolls and started to load my rolls again ...

Regards,
Claudio Bonavolta
http://www.bonavolta.ch

"F.C. Trevor Gale" wrote in message ...
Greetings;

I've just developed the last of the monochrome films from a recent
vacation in Wengen, Switzerland - some of these were Ilford FP4+ and
HP5+, a couple of Ilford SFX-200 (for the red sensitivity) and three
rolls of Kodak TechPan rated at nominal 25ASA but exposed at a stop
under and over in some shots. All 120-roll, of course.

Now, I read, or have read, here and in other places, that TechPan is
'tricky' or 'difficult' or 'you have to process critically' (etc etc),
yet quite frankly the TechPan negatives I have are the best of the lot.
Using Technidol developer at 20degsC for 10m 15secs with 10-secs
agitation every 45secs dev time in a Paterson spiral tank, it has given
me a great tonal range and of course fine grain and a very clear base.

I like it for landscapes and portraits, and too, appreciate its tonal range.

Now that is what I have come to expect - I've used TP120 for quite a
time now, only of course when I need a faster film I opt for Ilford
emulsions, even the Delta films. My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

If you use the processing method Kodak indicates in their technical documentation, it's more
complicated than the classic one:
you have to fill the tank with the developer alone, then, in complete darkness, load the reels,
insert them quickly in the developer, close the tank and start the "shaker" agitation every 30".

I've read on the web that some report good result using rotation which, I thought, was unusable with
TP. So, next time, I'll give it a try.

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

With all TP characteristics together, probably nothing.
For fine grain and sharpness, TMax 100 and Acros 100 are not that far but they don't have the pretty
unusual tonal balance and extended red sensivity TP has.
For other use than pictorial photography then you have to switch to other special-purposes films.

My regards, F.C. Trevor Gale.

I bought three 45m rolls and started to load my rolls again ...

Regards,
Claudio Bonavolta
http://www.bonavolta.ch

"F.C. Trevor Gale" wrote

My quesion is: why do so many folks find TechPan so "difficult"?

I have no idea.

Follow the instructions and it works. No ifs, no ands, no ors, no
buts.

Tech Pan complaints can't be a reflection on the film or its processing,
and that would seem to point to those who find it "difficult" as being the
source of the problem: "The right time, the right temperature, the
right developer -- Oh man, what a pain!"

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

Stock up with 30 years worth?

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
Remove spaces etc. to reply: n o lindan at net com dot com
psst.. want to buy an f-stop timer? nolindan.com/da/fstop/

"F.C. Trevor Gale" wrote

My quesion is: why do so many folks find TechPan so "difficult"?

I have no idea.

Follow the instructions and it works. No ifs, no ands, no ors, no
buts.

Tech Pan complaints can't be a reflection on the film or its processing,
and that would seem to point to those who find it "difficult" as being the
source of the problem: "The right time, the right temperature, the
right developer -- Oh man, what a pain!"

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

Stock up with 30 years worth?

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
Remove spaces etc. to reply: n o lindan at net com dot com
psst.. want to buy an f-stop timer? nolindan.com/da/fstop/

Greetings;

I've just developed the last of the monochrome films from a recent
vacation in Wengen, Switzerland - some of these were Ilford FP4+ and
HP5+, a couple of Ilford SFX-200 (for the red sensitivity) and three
rolls of Kodak TechPan rated at nominal 25ASA but exposed at a stop
under and over in some shots. All 120-roll, of course.

Now, I read, or have read, here and in other places, that TechPan is
'tricky' or 'difficult' or 'you have to process critically' (etc etc),
yet quite frankly the TechPan negatives I have are the best of the lot.
Using Technidol developer at 20degsC for 10m 15secs with 10-secs
agitation every 45secs dev time in a Paterson spiral tank, it has given
me a great tonal range and of course fine grain and a very clear base.

Now that is what I have come to expect - I've used TP120 for quite a
time now, only of course when I need a faster film I opt for Ilford
emulsions, even the Delta films. My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

My regards, F.C. Trevor Gale.

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 23:39:01 -0800, "F.C. Trevor Gale"
wrote:

My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

Because a little more sensitive to overexposure/over
development than most other films.

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

TMX-100. EI32 and develop in D-23.


Regards,

John S. Douglas, Photographer - http://www.puresilver.org
Please remove the "_" when replying via email

On 1/4/2005 2:55 AM John spake thus:

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 23:39:01 -0800, "F.C. Trevor Gale"
wrote:

My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

Because a little more sensitive to overexposure/over
development than most other films.

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

TMX-100. EI32 and develop in D-23.

Development time for this combo? (The Massive Humungous Colossal Really Really
Big Dev Chart only gives times for EI 100.)


--
Today's bull**** job description:

• Collaborate to produce operational procedures for the systems management
of the production Information Technology infrastructure.

- from an actual job listing on Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org)

On 1/4/2005 2:55 AM John spake thus:

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 23:39:01 -0800, "F.C. Trevor Gale"
wrote:

My quesion is: why do so many folks
find TechPan so "difficult"?

Because a little more sensitive to overexposure/over
development than most other films.

My next question is, clearly, what will come to replace TechPan after my
'fridge stocks run out? Anyone any ideas?

TMX-100. EI32 and develop in D-23.

Development time for this combo? (The Massive Humungous Colossal Really Really
Big Dev Chart only gives times for EI 100.)


--
Today's bull**** job description:

• Collaborate to produce operational procedures for the systems management
of the production Information Technology infrastructure.

- from an actual job listing on Craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org)

When Kodak announced the TechPan demise, it re-stirred some interest
in the 20-30 35mm rolls I had in the freezer. I had drifted away from
using it for many years as it seemed that if I was doing something
that mattered for enlarging, I would be using medium format instead.
I started tinkering with the old TPan rolls and it seemed that
everything that I've tried (with reasonable adaptations to contrast
control) has worked very nicely. I got especially nice negatives in
W2D2+. I had only used the TP liquid back when I was first using it
and haven't bothered to buy any in recent years so the film just sat,
forgotten.

Now, I'm finding that I'll miss having the option of using it in the
future! Just playing around with non-important shots has shown me
that it is very easy to work with.


On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 23:39:01 -0800, "F.C. Trevor Gale"
wrote:

Greetings;


Now, I read, or have read, here and in other places, that TechPan is
'tricky' or 'difficult' or 'you have to process critically' (etc etc),
yet quite frankly the TechPan negatives I have are the best of the lot.
Using Technidol developer at 20degsC for 10m 15secs with 10-secs
agitation every 45secs dev time in a Paterson spiral tank, it has given
me a great tonal range and of course fine grain and a very clear base.



Craig Schroeder
craig nospam craigschroeder com

-Eschew Obfuscation-

"Craig Schroeder" wrote

Now, I'm finding that I'll miss having [TechPan] ...
Just playing around with non-important shots has shown me
that it is very easy to work with.

I use it for snapshots with a Leica RF. The smooth LF
look is great for people shots.

It is very well suited to any of the old ~f1.7 rangefinders
from the age when Kodachrome 25 was popular; say a
Cannonet or Olympus SP.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.
Remove spaces etc. to reply: n o lindan at net com dot com
psst.. want to buy an f-stop timer? nolindan.com/da/fstop/