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BTZS tubes - I don't get it
I don't use these things, but was thinking of trying them out for fun. I watched a video demo by Fred Newman, and I don't understand how you can do the stop bath and fixer part with the lights on. Once you take the cap off after development is complete, it would seem to me you need to be in the dark.
What am I missing here?
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How many more minutes of development occur after you pour in the stop? (trick question: answer - close to zero).
So although unexposed silver halides may become fully exposed, they do not get converted to metallic silver. The fix dissolves them away.
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=) I only recently developed "the guts" to try it.... I now use my amber printing safe-light once the development is done (not the full blown lights on like Fred, I still don't have the guts for that). I made my own tubes and using the safe-light makes removing the negatives much easier.
As a test I developed two identical negs separately, one in total darkness and one with the safe-light. I don't have a densitometer but I cannot visually detect a difference and prints from each look the same....
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Wow. I don't know if I have the guts to try that at all. It all seems a bit careless and risky.
Shawn, in your tests did you find it easy to remove the wet film from the tube without any damage (scratching etc)? That part also looked risky to me. Actually even initially putting the film into the tube looks scratches waiting to happen.
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Michael,
Use them exclusively for 4x5 and they work GREAT. I open and dump into stop bath tray in subdued light. Not total darkness, but not overly bright either. Never a single issue. Don't worry.
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For details and reassurance you could pick up the book "Beyond the Zone System" by Phil Davis. He was about as methodical and detail oriented as a photographer can be.
It works, and my homemade tubes (not nearly as nice as the real thing) give the most even development I've ever had.
Nonetheless, I almost always put the tube into the stop with the lights out. This is just more convenient for me. There is no rule you have to turn the lights on; I think that may have partly been a convenience that Davis stumbled onto for workshops with lots of people developing film all at once. The could all load up their tubes, then the lights could stay on without regard to each persons development schedule.
Phil Davis made a lot of contributions to photography, but I think this simple tube developing is the best of them.
Last edited by Mark Crabtree; 01-25-2012 at 02:27 PM.
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Interesting. Thanks for the feedback everyone.
At heart I'm really still an old fashioned "open tray" guy. It's what I know. But I figured it would be fun to try something new, so I might buy a few of these tubes and give it a go.
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 Originally Posted by Bill Burk
How many more minutes of development occur after you pour in the stop? (trick question: answer - close to zero).
So although unexposed silver halides may become fully exposed, they do not get converted to metallic silver. The fix dissolves them away.
Actually Bill, printiut begins to take place immediately even in the stop. So, you have to be careful regarding time of exposure and intensity of exposure before you go into the fix.
Oh, and if you are using an alkaline fix, you can restart development. I've done this!
PE
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Originally Posted by Photo Engineer
Actually Bill, printiut begins to take place immediately even in the stop. So, you have to be careful regarding time of exposure and intensity of exposure before you go into the fix.
Oh, and if you are using an alkaline fix, you can restart development. I've done this!
PE
What is "printiut?" I assume that's a typo but I can't figure out what it was supposed to be.
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When you place a piece of photographic film or paper in light, you observe that it darkens. You can actually form images by placing flowers and leaves on top of the material. This phenomenon is the conversion of Silver halide into Silver metal. The technical term is printout! I used it because I thought it was generally known. Sorry.
PE
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