I'm getting interesting results with Kentmere 100 in PMK Pyro, though not yet exactly what I am looking for. This last batch was processed for eight minutes at 20C, and I omitted the pre-soak and post-fix immersion in the exhausted developer. I got some spotting on the negatives that makes me think I should go back to a minute or two of pre-soaking. The highlights were easier to control with eight minutes, but I seemed to be losing a bit of shadow detail. I did come across some suggested processing times for 100-speed film in the form of a photo class
handout based on the book by the PMK originator, Gordon Hutchings. The suggested 10.5 minutes at 70F(21C) is pretty close to my first trial at 12 minutes and 20C. So, I'll probably go for eleven minutes at 20C in the next round.
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| Farolitos |
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I started off shooting this last roll of Kentmere 100 on a neighborhood walk with my Kiev IIa with the Sonnar-copy Jupiter 8. The next day I shot mostly with the 35mm Biogon-copy Jupiter 12 in the course of a short road trip up State Highway 14, known as the Turquoise Trail, which goes from east of Albuquerque up to Santa Fe. It is a great two-lane, winding through some of New Mexico's nicest hill country. Makes me wish I still had a motorcycle.
I went as far as Cerrillos where I stopped to photograph the church and then the old cemetery just outside of town.
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| St. Joseph Parish Church, Cerrillos |
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| Campo Santo, Cerrillos |
On the way home I stopped in Cedar Crest for lunch and made the mistake of visiting the nearby thrift store where a sign announced that everything in the place was half off.
So, sixty bucks later I've got a Nikon F2 and a couple lenses. I don't know if I'll get the meter working , but the shutter is perfect and I'm looking forward to finding a waist-level finder for the camera. The 35-85 Sigma Mini-Zoom has something rattling around inside, but the Nikkor-P 2.8 105mm is a beautiful lens and has a good rep as a portrait shooter.
5 comments:
Very contrasty results. I think that's just the major characteristic of the Kentmere and the trick in developing is to harness it properly. You appear to be zeroing in on it.
And sixty bucks for an F2 with two lenses! That 105mm is worth at least sixty bucks by itself.
Very nice results Mike. Also, I will look forward to seeing how you like the "new" camera. Happy New Year.
I should probably try to narrow down the variables. One camera and one lens would probably be a useful step. I'm also somewhat unsure of the best film profile to use in scanning. I often find that using a color profile for scanning can give me better tonal discrimination before converting to grayscale. I think I am making some progress, though it would likely go faster if I could summon a little more self-discipline.
It will be interesting to hear your thoughts on the F2. The 105mm Nikkor is legendary. The DW-1 finder for the F2 is available. I sold mine a few years ago on eBay for $100. If you can't get the meter to work, I might have another DP-1 around here somewhere.
I'll put some film through the camera, but it is likely I'll use the lens more with the FE. The F2 is a pretty impressive piece of engineering and I'm pleased to have the opportunity to see it up close all these years later.
There seems to be quite a bit of info on line about repairing the photomic finders, so I'll possibly give it a try once I get a couple other projects out of the way. The camera itself has hardly a mark on it to show any use.
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