PROVED! Still there are members blaming the C.R.C. Formulae for their poor results whilst I still maintain that in no case is this the fault of the formulae. In no case? You may ask. Definitely I say "In no case".

The formula has been proved. Without reasonable doubt. It WILL give top class slides from any of the currently available EÞ films. Prved? You ask. I say .. "Yes proved". Ron Croad, Tony Chuter, Lawrence Edwards, major & Rita Pearle and others all proved the proof by constantly turning out slides of true quality.

There are but two main essentials. First: to always use freshly mixed solutions: and second to control the pH value of those solutions by means of a meter - and second: the hit and miss methods sometimes adopted just wont do for it is absolutely essential for the pH values to be measured accurately which does mean a meter.

Without doubt I can claim that most processing disasters can be avoided simply by using FRESH SOLUTIONS and ensuring the accuracy of the pH SOLUTIONS as laid down. Though, of course, it is assumed that the mixing and subsequent temperature control and timings are observed with equal accuracy.

So there you have it! Follow the C.R.C. Formulae, use it carefully and accurately, use fresh solutions always and a meter to accurately check the pH values, maintain temperatures and timings... and you`re home and dry.

If your results are still below par - well you`ve strayed somewhere along the line. To be frank, you`ve done something stupid! I hope, though, that you have kept to the straight and narrow: that you have gone by the book. In which case you will have slides to be proud of!

All of the above surfaced as a result of a letter from Brian Asquith of Batley, West Yorkshire, and a member of Area 11, who has been having somwhat inferior results. I mentioned the situation to Tony Chuter of Southampton who very kindly contacted Brian on tape giving him much the same advice as I`ve outlined above, after which, I understand, Brian had bought a pH meter and has accepted - and presumably put into practice - the other points mentioned.

Whilst I haven`t since heard from Brian I undoubtedly will and hopefully shall be in a position to recod the findings of a satisfied customer in the next issue.

A NEW EKTACHROME. Kodak have announced and introduced in America, Ektachrome 400X Professional film - a further addition to the family of warmer Ektachromes. This one is a totally new emulsion - not just a revamped version of the old Ektachrome 400 and is the first E6 film incorporating T-Grains and, say Kodak, gives improved sharpness and low granularity. The new film is available in both 35mm and 120 formats.

The Kodak Gold series of 35mm films has been greatly improved and will replace the older version on a stock-turn-over basis. This new film also includes new t-Plus grains and much of the technology developed for the Ektachromes and will be known as the Kodak Gold Plus.

DID YOU KNOW? That the smallest functional bellows camera is a model Edwardian field camera, measuring 34 x 34 x 19mm and producing pictures of a 20 x 17mm. It is made from matchsticks, with brass fittings, by William Peckington of Ascot, Berkshire in 1889.

CONTROLING REFLECTIONS. The difficulty of controling unwanted reflections, especially outdoors, is the subject of an answer in a recent issue of the American magazine, Darkroom Techniques. The polarising filter is, of course, well known for darkening blue sky, for diminishing, or removing entirely, the reflections on shop windows, furniture and to see through reflections on the surface of water.

I have also found that the polarising filter will often improve an outdoor shot by increasing the colour saturation as well as a more definite separation of differing colours. Of course maximum polarisation occurs only where lighting and angles are correct - but these combinations can be checked through the viewfinder of any S.L.R. by the simple expedient of rotating the filter. Not all surfaces induce polarised light: unpainted, raw metal, for instance, is an example - though polarised light can be introduced to this type of shot if artificial light is used by simply adding a polarising filter to the light source.

A polariser over the flash head and one on the camera lens can be a problem solver in circumstances where a quick shot is needed and there may not be any other method of solving the reflection difficulty.

The great advantage of using a polarising filter is that the exact effect can be monitored though the camera as the shot is being arranged.

WASH OR RINSE? Some while ago I wrote on the desirability of washing between baths, as opposed to merely washing, particularly following the reversal and conditioner stages. This item I finished by saying that I intend to favour washing rather than rinsing. The question arose again when Tony Chuter of Southampton mentioned that he had decided to wash fairly thoroughly between these baths and says Tony, with considerable enthusiasm, "I`ve never turned out such utterly CLEAN slides... not that I`ve had muddy or really unclean results before... so it`s washing for me from now on". I must say the slides he sent me to see look good. Very good indeed.

ED`s CRYSTAL BALL. On a day trip to London Ed. Herson, Area 11, met up with people for the first time in 40 years - all were members of a team struggling in those far off days in the fledgling computer field. At that time, 40 years back, Ed. was `driving` a computer with a `heart` of valves which occupied the whole of a sizeable room in a laboratory. On his day trip he had in his pocket a computer having a capacity 20 times greater and running 1000 times faster. He also saw a TV programme featuring a `camera` about as big as a typical 35mm instrument, which following the "exposure", was plugged into a P.C. to produce an almost instant picture!

Whilst appreciating the resolution and colour of the screen picture, and hoping not to appear morbid, Ed. thinks the reign of the photographic film is coming to an end! And that the C.R.C. will become the CCC (Computer Camera Club)!! Phew! And he hopes he wont appear morbid!! Well Ed. I feel your personal crystal ball has become muddied! At best it`s seen better days. Personally I cannot envisage the demise of film for a very long time and here in this club the members are a hardy lot and are nothing if not dedicated and totally enthusiastic. They`ll see us through! Besides one cannot foresee newspapers, for example, using TV pictures transmitted from what, compared to film, is an unacceptable example of definition. News photographers now use almost exclusively colour negative film which is processed on site and sent to the picture desk via a portable transmitter. That, in itself is progress, indeed.

So I feel that the film, and its associated paraphernalia, which even now has electronic gadgetry to ensure sharp, well exposed pictures is a very long way from being featured in the Antiques Road Show.