Hello!

I got a pack of Efke OP12 Lithfilm and am experimenting with it. I want to get normal contrast. You who use Lithfilm, how do you do to get normal contrast? What developers, dilutions and times etc...?

I have loaded a couple of Rolleiflex sheet film cassettes with this film and will shoot a couple of scenes at 3-6 Asa. High speed, huh?

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), May 23, 2001

Answers

I'm experimenting at the moment with Rodinal 1+200, but maybe I have to dilute more? The times are very long, 45 - 60 minutes. I also tried Technidol, that is a soft developer, but with bad results. Too high contrast, and 1+1 didn't work at all.

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), May 23, 2001.

I have to ask. Why?
If you want normal contrast, then why not use a normal contrast copying film? Lith film is meant for photolithography applications, and its inherent contrast is designed to give maximum density or nothing. Why try to make it do something it's not designed for?
Rodinal is a high contrast developer anyway, and diluting it won't help. You want something like a Metol only developer. DK50 if memory serves me right, or Technidol, or one of the other bodges for Technical pan.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), May 24, 2001.

I've had good results with D23 at 1:3. FX2 (double the accelerator) worked well also, although I used to get a stain (like pyro only tending towards the yellow orange). That surprised me since FX2 is glycin based and supposed to be resistant to staining. Lack a color densitometer so didn't explore it further and went back to D23. Cheers, DJ.

-- N Dhananjay (ndhanu@umich.edu), May 24, 2001.

Try Pota. Easy to mix up and very cheap. If you want a recipe, email me. Cheers, Scott

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), May 24, 2001.

I will try a soft metol developer like the D-23. I have a couple of bottles with Agfa 14, och I can try to dilute it 1+2, 1+3.

I'm just experimenting for fun, and got the pack of film cheap. $13 for 100 sheets.

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), May 24, 2001.

I was fooling with some graphics arts film a few weeks ago and got good results with Xtol 1:1 at about 6 minutes. Probably a bit more contrast than you'd want for pure pictorial, so maybe knock the time down a minute. This was for a copy project. 68 degrees.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), May 24, 2001.

I shot up a 100 foot roll of kodalith trying to get normal contrast. Tried stand developmnet, high dilutions, etc. I'd suggest that you get some tech pan and forget the lith for normal pictoral.

Here is the only decent image I got from the 100 foot roll.

http://home.att.net/~nikonguy/html/still/woodsie_fern.html

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@att.net), May 25, 2001.

BTW, I tried copex and tired to find B&W. I was trying to get the best image from 35mm. A receipt for frustration, my friend. My solution was Medium Format.

-- Gene Crumpler, NC, USA (nikonguy@att.net), May 25, 2001.

Thanks Gene. Hmmmm, I will play a little more with the lith film, and then try Macophot ORT25. Too bad we can't buy this film here in Sweden. Have to buy from Germany.

-- Patric (jenspatric@mail.bip.net), May 25, 2001.