Hi,

I have a strange problem. I accidently shot Ilford SFX 200 film rated at 400 ASA. The problem, besides the obvious is this: I re-photographed b&w pix/montaged pix under bright lighting to simulate a copy stand. I shot them with a 35-70mm zoom lens (manual) with a 2x converter attached, plus a #25 red filter for the ilford SFX. I don't know if all of that effects the situation, but I figure it must play some part in this.

Anyhow, since they're already screwed up, I'd like to know if there's a way to develop them so they 'd be printable. Somehow, anyways, or if they aren't is there a trick to it? I never pushed film before and havent used SFX that much to know how the film would respond to a deviation from the recommended methods.

Please advise - thanx in advance.

Cheers, Erin

-- Erin C. (ericon_22@hotmail.com), June 12, 2001

Answers

A problem with a film with enhanced red and infra red sensitivity is that exposure meter readings with the red filter are not necessarily going to be very accurate anyway. I've only used this film once, and I ended up by overexposing inadvertently (Leica M + filter factor). So, you probably don't know if you've underexposed or not. You could try a one stop push. Your subject matter probably wouldn't cause excessive contrast which usually is the result of pushing. Incidentally, photographing b+w subjects really negates the purpose of this kind of film. It is most useful where the red sensitivity can give added value to subjects of certain colours, like green foliage in natural light. Good luck.

-- john stockdale (jjss@bigpond.net.au), June 12, 2001.

I would try one of the speed increasing developers like Xtol. It gained 2/3 of a stop for me when I used it with traditional films. No experience with SFX.

Also, check the Massive Dev Chart at www.digitaltruth.com. Plenty of developing suggestions for 400 speed.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), June 13, 2001.

i dont consider myself qualified to give you advice on what you should or shouldn't do but i see a potential for misleading advice, without knowing what you mean when you say you rated it at 400.... did you do this using an in the camera meter or external meter? with the filter and converter we could be talking a difference of 6 stops here, hope you can get it to work anyway & best luck

joe

-- Joe Holcombe (joe1013_@excite.com), June 13, 2001.