How to process film from M6?

wburgund · 09-01-2005

I am buying my first Leica and I am curious as to how most of you process your film. Are most folks scanning their film into Photoshop? If so, do you know of any scanners that will output "raw" into Photoshop. Or, do most of you have darkrooms and process wet. I got away from film because I found scanning kind of a hassle but maybe it is worth it so I can use a Leica.
I am new to this forum and new to Leica cameras and was just curious as to what method a lot of you chose to get from film to print. I have been shooting Canon digital SLR's as my main camera but have become fascinated with the quality of the pictures that I see from Leica cameras and lenses. Also, I have not done much "people" shooting and can certainly see the advantage in having a smaller and lighter camera and lens.
Thank you in advance for any responses.
Bill Burgund

egpj · 09-01-2005

Bill, I develop all my Black and White films at home. Then I scan them using Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED. I do very little post processing, maybe a little playing around with the curves and that is about it. Sometimes I will rope in an area and then digitally do a little dodging or burning depending on what I am looking for. There are some examples in my gallery (see link below). I then print on a Epson R2400. All said and done I like the setup allot but you lose something by not being all wet darkroom.

egpj · 09-01-2005

By the way, Welcome to the forum!

f/stopblues · 09-01-2005

Hey Bill.. welcome, first off!

I can only speak for myself, but I prefer to print traditionally. I just enjoy the process and the smells and the time, etc etc. It's not the best method for efficiency, but that's not why you bought a Leica in the first place, now is it? :-)

I've incorporated negative scanning into my process in the last year. I use it to proof things, try out different crops, mess with levels, etc. In the end I always use it as a guide for my prints, though. It saves me some paper at least!

Enjoy your M6! I wish I had one (not to mention a laundry list of others since I started hanging around here..)

Chris

wburgund · 09-01-2005

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback!! Bill Burgund

hth · 09-01-2005

I do my own B&W film development and leave the E6 processing to a lab.

For printing, I do both wet darkroom and scan and print on a Epson 2100/2200 converted to a B&W printer.
I have never had a permanent darkroom, but I had a semi-permanent until I moved 6 months ago. Now I consider trying it out again in the bathroom, when the days get shorter.

I have not been able to determine what output I prefer, from the darkroom or the printer. The looks are different. It probably depends on the picture, I think I will keep using both and not worry too much about it.

I would like to get more into toning and experiment with alternative processes, get a view camera and do contact printing, and do larger MF printing wet.

Scanning is a hazzle though, but somehow I do not find film processing to be such a big problem, even though it also takes a lot of time.

/Håkan

Erl · 09-01-2005

Hi Bill,

I'm new around here too.

I process all my own. It is the best way to experience a Leica, or any other camera for that matter. It is not difficult and fairly inexpensive to set up.

Try it and enjoy.

wburgund · 09-01-2005

Hi Erl, Thanks for the reply. By process, do you mean that you develop your own film or that you do both that and print your prints in a darkroom?
Thanks, Bill

richard_l · 09-02-2005

I think it's easier to scan the negative into Photoshop and print digitally, particularly if you need to do much manipulation (such as cropping, dodging, and burning). With a good scanner and printer, it can rival a conventional print, IMHO.

I use an M6, M2, and M3 and I love them all!

Richard

Fred · 09-02-2005

Welcome Bill,

Developing your own film is quite a simple process that does not cost a small fortune. The chemistry is cheap, and dev tanks are not too expensive either. You just need a dark lpace to load the film into the spiral that sits in the tank. The rest can be done in daylight.You will need access to running water for rinsing the film.

Printing, well I use a Nikon Coolscan 4 (quite old) for slides but prefer to print black and white the traditional way. Inkjets are very good for colour but can struggle to match a wet print. Newer models are getting better but can be expensive to run. For medium format colour neg I also print the old way, that's becomming a forgotten art these days as it's a lot more complex than B&W. Colour printing needs steady temperatures, colour filtration and total darkness. It is more of a hassle than working at room temperatures with a red safelight.

klas.buren · 09-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fred

Colour printing needs steady temperatures, colour filtration and total darkness. It is more of a hassle than working at room temperatures with a red safelight.

Fred,

are you using the RA-4 process for colour printing? I've tried it out a little and there is chemistry suited for room temperature. We (the local photo club) also bought a special LED safelight for RA-4 and it makes all the difference in the world!

/Klas

Graybeard · 09-02-2005

I shoot B&W almost exclusively and do all of my own processing. The darkroom work is no burden, quite the contrary. The work in the darkroom is at least as enjoyable for me as using the camera.

I'm doing a fair amount of post-processing lately using home-formulated toners. Anyone interested in this would do well to get a copy of Tim Rudman's book "The Photographers Toning Book".

I did my own color printing in the past with filter packs and the need for half degree temperature control; I found this quite tedious. This is the place where computers and Photoshop have real value.

JoNL · 09-02-2005

I belong to the endangered species of slide projection fans. My two projectors (35mm and 6x7) are permanently built up and used on an almost daily basis. I use color and B&W slide films which I have processed by a lab.

Nikon Bob · 09-02-2005

Welcome to the forum Bill. I shoot colour neg and B&W C41 neg only. I have a local mini lab develope but not print the negs. I then scan the negs I want with a Minolta 5400 and print 8X10s on a HP 7960. For anything larger I take a CD to the local pro lab to have it printed at the larger sizes up to 16X24. The C41 B&W stuff prints really well on the HP 7960 BTW. I just showed some to a friend and he told me the trouble he had to print B&W on his Epson printer. No such trouble with the HP.

Bob

richard_l · 09-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikon Bob

.....The C41 B&W stuff prints really well on the HP 7960 BTW.....

I had an Epson (now in the landfill) but replaced it with the 7960. Besides being trouble-free (unlike my Epson), the HP's B&W performance is exceptionally good. When it was working okay, the Epson was great for color prints, but it was still a relief when I finally threw it away.

Nikon Bob · 09-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by richard_l

I had an Epson (now in the landfill) but replaced it with the 7960. Besides being trouble-free (unlike my Epson), the HP's B&W performance is exceptionally good. When it was working okay, the Epson was great for color prints, but it was still a relief when I finally threw it away.

Glad to see another happy HP 7960 owner/user. How about that new larger format HP printer? Got the urge?

Bob

richard_l · 09-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nikon Bob

Glad to see another happy HP 7960 owner/user. How about that new larger format HP printer? Got the urge?

Bob

I'm trying not to think about it.

Fred · 09-02-2005

Klas,

Yes It is our dying buddy RA4 I use. I see Nova Darkroom (in the UK) sell these little yellow LED devices that are just bright enough to make things out in the dark. Might give it a try. I still think a hand print colour or B&W if it's done well is very hard to beat. But the inkjets are getting mighty close. I'll carry on in the darkroom though. I sit in front of a screen most of the day and I enjoy the break, apart from looking at the forum of course.

Nikon Bob · 09-02-2005

Fred

I do not sit in front of a PC all day so scanning and inkjet printing are fine by me. I can see where doing it wet is a nice break from the PC routine. I think time wise either way is just as time consuming so from that angle there is no big difference.

richard

Me too!

Bob

Fred · 09-02-2005

I still use th PC for scannng and printing images from transparencies both 35mm and rollfilm. My scanners are both getting a tad long in the tooth. Using a Coolscan 4 is slow and not as good as the later Coolscan 5, a replacement is being considered, maybe the new Minolta. For 120 roll film I use an equally old Epson 2450 thats well past its best before date.

canonetc · 09-02-2005

Hi Bill, welcome to the forum!

while I prefer to make a print in wet darkroom and then scan on a flatbed scanner, I sometimes use another option for processed negatives (which I do at home).

I bought a "daylight" lightboard for about $40 US that will accomodate 35mm up to 4x5 negatives. I tape my negative(s) to the lightboard, turn it on, then scan on the flatbed.

The quality is so-so at first. I often end up adjusting Curves and Contrast in Photoshop. Could be my scanning rate. Why 8x10 prints come out great but the negs don't is a mystery to me. Could be light from around the negs interfering with the scan. ah well.

It is a very affordable option if you already have a flatbed, it just requires more time in Pshop.

Cheers,

chris
canonetc

zpuskas · 09-03-2005

I process my B&W film in a Jobo processor and then print in a darkroom. No digital...I spend too much time on this computer as it is. Need darkness to find my secret place and, hopefully, make a few nice gelatin silver prints.