Playing Around With Flic Film Black/White & Green and Gainer's PC-TEA developers

braxus

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I watched this around midnight. It rang in the new year with me. Is PC-Tea basically like Xtol in most ways, but without the keeping abilities of Xtol? Your mix of this developer seems so simple, assuming one has the scales, etc to measure everything out. I almost thought the Green developer had darker blacks and tones in some ways, but the look was very subtle.
 
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Is it wrong to burst out laughing when he pulls out the blank roll after developing?

Asking for a friend.
 
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As to BW&G, I admit that I belong to that impatient class of photographers who hates working with “the goo” that is the BW&G syrup. My darkroom stays pretty cold, particularly in winter, adding an extra step whereby I have to heat up the bottle just to be able to extract the syrup. As a result, I developed a couple of rolls and then moved back to less viscous/easier to manipulate developers.

The few times I did use it, I seem to recall my negatives came out very dense. User error most likely but it added to the lack of desire to jeep slugging through the sludge.

FWIW: Here’s an earlier thread on the topic

 

John Wiegerink

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Hmmm, I thought PC-TEA had extremely good keeping powers?
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Hmmm, I thought PC-TEA had extremely good keeping powers?

@braxus PC-TEA (and Flic Film's B/W Green) is made up with triethanolomine (TEA), not water, hence superior keeping qualities than XTol.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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In the video is marked 2 grams of KBr, but in the paper that contains it seems 0.2 grams written. I suppose the latter is the correct quantity according to what I see in other recepes. @Andrew O'Neill can you clarify?

I wrote about that in the comment section in youtube. It's 0.2g.
 

runswithsizzers

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Those who watch the mini player as it appears on Photrio do not see the comments posted on YouTube's website. Might be a good idea to repeat any information the viewer needs to know wherever the video can be viewed?

No offence intended, but personally, I would much prefer to read a text summary, and skip the YouTube video, altogether. When reading text, I can quickly skim over the information I already know -- and I can stop and re-read anything I don't understand. Or I can copy and paste something I want to know more about into a search engine. Whether the information is simple or complex, relevant or off-topic, video presents all information at the same rate. And if the pace is too fast, or too slow, too bad. There are some processes which are best shown on video, but for everything else, text just works better for me.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Noted.
Everyone has the option of viewing on it YouTube, where there is a bit of a summary in the description. If I did a full on text summary, then there would be no point in a video.
 

John Wiegerink

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Noted.
Everyone has the option of viewing on it YouTube, where there is a bit of a summary in the description. If I did a full on text summary, then there would be no point in a video.

I'm very happy viewing your videos just the way they are. Don't change horses in the middle of the stream! Besides, you'll get your donuts dunked.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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I'm very happy viewing your videos just the way they are. Don't change horses in the middle of the stream! Besides, you'll get your donuts dunked.

Thanks John!
 

grahamp

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It is very hard to write up methodology such that a neophyte can reproduce the results. So many implicit assumptions from experience can creep in. And I doubt many hobbyists want to work to ISO 9001 standard!

I like the videos - including the humour, which I appreciate - because they convey the key information, including the tools and 'style' of work. If I wanted to reproduce one of these methods, I would need to identify where my circumstances would deviate, and whether I would have to compensate in some way. After watching quite a few of these videos, I am getting a feel for how our approaches differ.

Ready for the close-up, Mr. O'Neill!
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Thank you, Mr. Wilder!
 

MattKing

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Perhaps you should offer to share a transcript with anyone who subscribes to your feed .
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Perhaps you should offer to share a transcript with anyone who subscribes to your feed .

The transcript option is no longer offered on YouTube.
 

pentaxuser

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I wrote about that in the comment section in youtube. It's 0.2g.

That's why looking at the Youtube video can pay dividends from the Q and A in the comments section and it allows one to subscribe to the your channel which I assume is helpful to the channel, Andy

Thanks

pentaxuser
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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That's why looking at the Youtube video can pay dividends from the Q and A in the comments section and it allows one to subscribe to the your channel which I assume is helpful to the channel, Andy

Thanks

pentaxuser

I very much enjoy the comment section. Interacting with people is the best part.
 
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I made a batch of PC-TEA a few weeks ago and pushed a freshly exposed roll of Kentmere 400 @ 800.

Pen FV, Spiratone Reflex 300mm f/5.6 @ 1/500s
Kentmere 400 @ 800, PC-TEA 1+50 17'
V800 negative scans



The grain is more apparent in the half-frame format, but I'd reckon this developer provides adequate film speed and relatively low contrast negatives.
 

P C Headland

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Hmmm, I thought PC-TEA had extremely good keeping powers?

It certainly does. I recently finished a bottle I made up in 2013 and that had been sitting there half finished for several years. It had darkened from a light straw colour to a black-as-treacle (similar consistency too!) colour but still worked just as well as when fresh.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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The Flic Film B/W & Green was dark brown. I imagine when it was first mixed up by Flic Film, it was clear. I must have been sent older stock. PC-TEA is nice and clear but like FFBW&G (I got tired of typing it out ) but over time, it too will darken, just like my 16 month old 510-Pyro
 

Alan9940

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I have an old bottle of TEA that has darkened over time and a relatively fresh bottle that is clear. Therefore, it doesn't seem to be anything necessarily inherent to it mixed as a developer that causes the color shift. Like Andrew, I have some 510-Pyro that was mixed in December 2021 that's quite dark, but still does what it's supposed to do.
 
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