Leap Day, and some notes about the FPP D-96 Developer

I believe that over the course of the past 16 years, this is the first time I have posted on a leap day, Feb. 29.  To underscore the odd day, we got about 2 to 3 inches of snow last night, here in Weaverville, NC.  Since we are "in the mountains," snow isn't foreign here, and it certainly isn't as bad as snow-bound Michigan.  However, I decided to not drive to the Penland School of Crafts open house today, since that really IS in the mountains, and I'm not too sure about the road conditions.  If it were Michigan, it would not be a problem.  So, today, I will catch up on negative scanning and image editing.

Michael Raso and I, and a thumbs up for D-96!

One new thing that I have tried has been the D-96 film developer from FPP.  Michael Raso convinced me to give it a try, especially with b&w emulsions designed for the cinema.  Kodak's D-96 is used extensively to develop cinematic b&w films such as the Eastman 5222, or Double-X.  Of course, it can also be used for other films, such as T-Max 100.  D-96 is used without dilution, and 1 gallon can develop up to 50 rolls of 35mm film.

To date, I have developed four rolls of Eastman 5222 and 1 roll of T-max 100.   For most films, it seems that the times are pretty much the same, which makes it amenable to trying it with other films not listed in the FPP chart.

D-96 Development Times From the FPP site:

FILM             ISO    TEMP    TIME (minutes)
100Tmax          100    68F      7.5 
400Tmax          400    68F      8 
TMZ3200         3200    68F      12.5 
FPP Low ISO BW     6    68F      7 
FPP SONIC BW      25    68F      8 
Ferrania P30      80    68F      9 
X2 (Double-X)    200    68F      7.5 
400 TX           400    68F      8 
Orwo UN54        100    68F      5.5 
Orca B/W Lomo    100    68F      6 
FP4              125    68F      8 
HP5              400    68F      9 
FPP Blue Sensitive 6    68F      7.5 
Polypan F         50    68F      9  

The FPP recommends that you use the developer undiluted and pour the developer back into the container after using.  For more information, see the product listing.  That's how I am using it, and I'll keep track of how many rolls I get before the results start to indicate that it's time to buy another gallon.  As I try other emulsions with D-96, I'll add them to the above list.

D-96 is similar to D-76, but D-76 is best used 1:1 as a one-shot developer, which is how I use it.  D-96 apparently gives a bit less contrast, and it differs from D-76 in the ratios of the components (metol, hydroquinone, sodium sulfite, and borax, but also contains sodium bromide.

Some sample images.  I'm happy with my results, and look forward to seeing how D-96 does with other films!

Eastman 5222,  Nikon FM3a

Eastman 5222, Nikon FM3a

Eastman 5222, Nikon FM3a

Eastman 5222, Nikon FM3a

T-max 100 (expired) Spotmatic F

T-max 100 (expired) Spotmatic F

Eastman 5222, Canon 7

Eastman 5222, Canon 7

Eastman 5222, Canon 7

Also, see my video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDrzi6-qfVU

Shooting By the Seat of My Pants

It's not too often that I come across a classic Nikon film camera that I have not already tried out, and rarer still that I find one that I have never seen before.Yesterday, I was in Huron Camera in Dexter to drop off some film, and to have breakfast at Joe and Rosie's with my buddy Marc.   I was looking in their dsiplay cases where the Nikon items are kept, and saw a lens that interested me -- a 100mm Vivitar, Non-AI lens.  Not having a non-AI camera with me to try it on, I asked if it could be attached to one of the Nikkormats in the case.  Cheryl handed me a slightly beat-up Nikkormat, and I was momentarily confused, as it was lacking the metering prong that would allow the lens to couple to the meter.  It was a Nikkormat FS, an "economy" model that lacks the meter and mirror lock-up that is found on all other Nikkormats.  A contemporary of the Nikkormat FT, it was produced from 1965-71.  Since it has no meter, it lacks a battery, as well as the dials and display of the FT and FTN.  It also weighs a bit less.  In other words, it's not too different from a plain-prism Nikon F.  Because it lacks a battery, it is truly a bare-bones, fully manual camera.  When I have a camera with a non-functional meter, I am always thinking that I wish it were working so that I could use it.  With the Nikkormat FS, that is not the case.  Of course, having a separate light meter is helpful, and I have one when I am shooting my medium-format cameras.  Of course, since I had never seen an FS before, I bought it for $39.


Once I got the Nikkormat FS home, I put on a slightly banged-up early version of the 50mm f/2 Nikkor-S lens that has the focal length marked as 5cm and the distance scale in feet.  It is one of the best lenses ever made, and was in production for years.  Later in the afternoon, I took it into town as the sun was low in the sky, and shot a roll of Kodak T-Max 100 that expired in 1999. "Metering" was by my seat of the pants.  Every shot on the roll was acceptable, which must mean that my sunny-16 intuition is pretty good when I decide to use it.

With all of the digital stuff that is being produced today, we take it for granted that any image is usually going to be properly exposed and in focus.  The Nikkormat FS gets one back to the basics of photography, and in that, figuring out the light on one's own becomes a necessity.   That sort of ties in with the "slow photography" movement that has become a news-worthy item.  For many of us, we have always been into "slow photography" we just thought that it was the way it was done.

You don't have to own a Nikkormat FS to go meterless -- there are thousands of cameras that never had meters.  However, it would be hard to find one with a better lens than that 50mm f/2 Nikkor lens.  If you want to go 35mm meterless, look at an Argus C-4 (the most usable Argus made), a Kodak Pony, a plain prism Nikon F, some of the Minolta SR-series SLRs, Pentax S2, a Zorki rangefinder, and for the cream of the crop, any thread-mount Leica.