I have had nice results in the past shooting Kentmere film and processing in both HC-110 and PMK Pyro. Recently, though, my negatives end up looking a stop or two underexposed. I bought a new beaker and a syringe for measuring and mixing the developer, thinking that the problem could be contamination of the processing equipment. That made no difference in the outcome, however. I still had to compensate for the thin negatives with Photoshop adjustments. So, my plan now is to shoot the film at a stop slower and accept that it is not going to produce what I want at the rated box speed.
It is tempting to theorize some manufacturing fault, but I haven't seen any reports on the issue elsewhere , including from the people who have inspired me to use the film at Photonet and Rangefinder Forum. On the up side, the fact that I can get a reasonable outcome from the weak negatives speaks to the fundamental excellence of the film in regard to exposure latitude and fine grain.
5 comments:
These frames look pretty good, at least for web display. Nice tonality.
You always get such good results from this film. I need to try it.
I generally have gotten better results shooting Kentmere at a stop slower than the box speed. That is partially dependent on processing, so a bit of experimentation with different combinations of speed and processing is worthwhile. In terms of tonal values I think the Madonna shot is as good as anything I have ever done. And, Kentmere is half the price of anything else on the market these days.
I would say you're really showing off the value of K400, in terms of latitude and suitability for a subject. You're probably way ahead of me on this, but I assume you've eliminated camera malfunction or metering errors in the process? So many things that can go awry! But that's the challenge (and beauty) of film, I think.
The meter in the X-700 seems pretty reliable to me and generally seems to get what I'm after. I did retest my digital thermometer recently and it gives me readings close to my mercury one. You're certainly right about the complexity of variables being both vexatious and a source of value.
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