SAVE YOUR MONEY! There appears to be general acceptance by members of the suggestion that, after a while we have intended to use more than necessary of two of the chemicals in the E6 colour developer. One of again these, Citrazinic Acid, behaves in a somewhat illogical way! For the less one uses the greater the contrast and colour saturation: whilst the other, CD3, works more as one expects... the greater the quantity used gives precisely the same result! So it is now recommended that 0.8gms of Citrizinic Acid per litre instead of 1.25gms which has been standard for some time. In view of these chemicals behaving so oddly it follows that the amount of CD3 must also be reduced, along with the less CZA, otherwise the effect of increased contrast and colour saturation would be further increased - probably to quite unacceptable levels. So also reduce the amount of CD3 from 11.0gms/litre to just 8gms/litre. The results will be improved... and you`ll also be saving money!. ERIC`S GETTING TO GRIPS..WITH THE BUTTONS! A welcome, though surprise, visit from Eric Weatherill to Lincoln - together with his wife Jo - found, not surprisingly, talking almost exclusively Nikon... for we are both long time devotees of this Asian jewel of the camera world. Eric, you may recall, for for the point has been mentioned in this column, invested in one of the latest models, an F90, and he dutifully allowed me to take a peek through the viewfinder and to demonstrate to myself the undoubted merits of the 28-70mm zoom lens which is really something! I was entreated, for obvious reasons, not to experiment with any of the 30-odd buttons and switches... and Eric himself admits he has not yet completely mastered all the weird and wonderful workings of this electronic marvel. Judging from a couple of prints he brought along, however, I must say he seems to be doing very well! For these he used a new Kodak colour negative film and one shot of a couple of schoolboys - a superb photograph - was taken, deliberately, by back light using fill-in flash and exposed automatically by, presumably, using the appropriate button. As I`ve said before it really is a superb effort so sharp it looked almost 3-D, colours bright but natural and the exposure perfection. This result speaks volumes for both the camera and the Kodak emulsion the nomenclature of which escapes me! A series of slides, taken by Eric for the National Trust of a historic mansion were equally impressive. I was surprised to learn he had used the old Kodachrome for these! This slide film is so little used these days I was truely surprised to know it was still available. Because there is so little call for it Eric told me it is no longer processed in Britain and now goes over the Channel to France! Certainly, since I last brushed shoulders with Kodachrome - some 40 years ago - the present results are virtually unrecognisable. Way back in my day the slides from this `old-timer` were dense and predominately over red. Now, however, judging from Eric`s slides, they are really quite stunning. EXCLUSIVELY NIKON. Also on much the same theme as the previous item I have received, thanks to the good office of Tony Chuter of Southampton, a copy of the latest catalogue issued by Grays of Westminster, who deal, rather surprisingly, exclusively in Nikon products. I have no way of knowing just what impact on sales, and consequently commercial success, the distribution of such a lavish production as this achieves, but would guess that it must be a very worth while project. A judgement amply vindicated when one studies the cost of items on offer. If, for instance, you would like to venture into the world of telephoto there is a 600mm model available, in auto-focus, which will set you back a mere £7699.00. A 180-600mm zoom costs £7861.00. A 52mm sunlight filter is priced at £27.00 whilst the same sized polarising filter will knock you back £68.00. A 52mm lens cap comes at only a fiver! Should you have a yen (no pun intended!) for photography under water the Nikinos system body is £579.00. But then you`ll need a lens! There is a whole range available moving down from £1800,00 to £379.00. You might, too, need a flash unit so be prepared to fork out £1089.00! Phew! Have I whetted your photographic appetite? Or perhaps you will be happy to soldier on with the battered, but friendly, model you have cherished over the years. Strangely, though, this extremely attractive publication doesn't list the prices of any current model of Nikons. I wonder why! PRAISE FROM SOMERSET! Just before sending my copy to Bill Reid I let Glyn Willicombe, out there in the West Country, have a look at a few of the slides from the processing which I`ve written about elsewhere in this issue. There are two reasons for this. One: I know Glyn has long experience of white light reversal and, as a consequence, I would rate his comments as extremely valuable. Two: I left him to decide whether or not he would consider them suitable for inclusion in a future Area 20 folio for which Glyn is the organiser. I was truely amazed at his lavish praise! Glyn`s own words:- " I have only one comment on the colour quality of the slides. Brilliant in the true sense of the word. The backgrounds give plenty of scope for assessment of the blacks. I`m impressed. No sign of any colour cast, not even when viewed close to a light bulb". Well thank you Glyn... and my apologies to the rest of you members for blowing my own trumpet! But, in all honesty, I include this item to once again underline the undoubted merits of the C.R.C. Formulae - especially in concert with Konica film. Both deserve the sound of trumpet! BUFFERS TO CALIBRATE It has often been emphasised, in this column, and in various specialised articles in the Newsletter, that one of the most essential requirements to successful colour slide processing is the accuracy of the pH values as laid down for various solutions. George Sparkes, Secretary of Area 22,
underlines just this point writing in that Area`s
Newsletter. George goes further by also including
formulae for preparing the buffer solutions which are
essential for accurately calibrating the meter prior to
actually testing the solutions. These Are:- |
