I spent some time first searching for images made with P30, and most I looked at seemed under-exposed and overly contrasty. It seemed like an opportunity to see how the film would react to processing with PMK Pyro along with an additional stop of exposure which has given me good results with other slow, fine grained film.
The result was some thin, under-exposed negatives. Well, that proves nothing of course. It may be that P30 just isn't a good match with PMK Pyro. The camera's auto-exposure system is also an unknown quantity. A bit of Photoshopping rescued some of the better images, and allowed me to see that the film has ultra fine grain and rich blacks. I'll have to give the P30 another go with some of the developers that Ferrania recommends.
4 comments:
You managed the contrast well on that P30. A lot of the photos I've seen around the Net on this film look almost posterized, so contrasty are they. From what I read, careful processing is essential with this film. When I shot my first rolls I sent it to Old School Photo Lab which did a nice job on them. Good rich blacks but not overly contrasty. When I shot a roll recently and sent it to them I got chalk and soot results that didn't please me. They explained that they aren't processing very much of it anymore after the initial glut when the film was new. I assume that they threw the P30 in with other b/w films rather than processing a batch of nothing but P30 as perhaps they had done months ago, and so the film didn't get the extra care it needs.
I have quite a bit to learn about both the camera and the film. The best shot on the roll in terms of the tonal gamut was one I made to test the camera with a non-smc lens. That one shows my messy back porch with a rich tonal range, much like what I always aim for with the Kentmere 100/PMK combination. So, the film looks promising with the right handling. Somewhat under-exposed negatives may also be more easily scanned, though holding detail in the blacks can be challenging.
I have an ES that I enjoy using from time to time. It is a bit heavier and larger than the Spotmatic, but otherwise a nice camera.
It's an interesting camera and a good excuse to get back to the Takumars.
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