I have processed the roll of Kentmere 100 at home today, it’s currently drying in the shower and I’m really pleased with what I’ve seen so far. The carriage of the camera is working well with even spacing, exposures look promising and no sign of fogging proving the new light seals are good.
Kentmere 100 through Olympus 35ECRKentmere 100 through Olympus 35ECRCheck my gallery’s to see these results
I’m yet to run the negatives through the scanner, still waiting for them to dry but when they do I will post a gallery here. Gallery – Olympus 35 ECR trial roll
The camera in my eyes is now in good working condition, all that I did with it has proven beneficial and I’m adding this into my personal collection.
Olympus 35ECR now in storage
I’ve now packed it in a bag with all the air extracted and a couple of silica bags to stop any potential moisture. I do this to all the cameras I store for their protection and to save me having to go through the whole process of maintaining them again.
I’ve enjoyed this little project and am now happy to say….
Just an update of what’s going on with the old Halina TLR.
Today I have tinkered with the ground focus screen, and hood and related springs and hinges. the majority are fine but I’ve found a hinge on the rear door that has a broken weld on one side, I discovered this as I began to clean the old light seal around the back door prior to putting some fresh seal in place. I’ve stopped at seeing this as I am going to put a repair in place so as not to stress the other side of the hinge that seems to be holding. Another head scratching moment whilst I seek a solution.
Halina A1 Reflex broken door weld
The focus screen required me to remove a couple of 60 year old springs, this went well, they are ok and I’ve cleaned them as well. The ground glass screen has been cleaned as well as all surrounding metalwork and hinges and all looks good. All went back together with no real issues.
Just preparing for cutting the new leatherette for the camera, today I have just made some templates and measurements for the eight pieces that need to be cut for this camera.
Halina A1 Reflex new skin templates
Stage one of ridding the case of the dank musky smell has begun today. It’s sitting in the sunniest place I can find on a shelf at work, and in a week or so I will be placing it in an airtight bag with some silica gel packets and some suggested fragrance for a further couple of weeks to see what happens.
Currently still awaiting the right time to open the lens up and start removal of that lens fungus.
I have used many brands of film processing chemicals over the years, mixing batches of over 500 litres right down to the smaller amounts used with Patterson tanks for home processing and that’s where I am today.
For the next few films I process at home I will be using a set of chemicals I’ve not really used before however I have heard some good things about them so I’m willing to give them a try. If it doesn’t work I can always default to my previous plan of using my old reliable setup I’ve used in the past.
Thinking of processing your own film? Check this link below at Digital truth to see process times for all kinds of films in all kinds of developers – it’s an incredible source of information for photographers of all abilities.
I batch mix my fixer a litre at a time as it stores well in collapsible bottles and I should be able to do a good few films and reuse the chemicals, you just need to monitor the time it takes for the fixer to clear the film as this indicates if it needs replacing or not. General rule of thumb is it should clear almost instantly on fresh chemicals, however give it at least 4 minutes to clear the film, and as the time increases to take between 8 – 10 minutes to achieve the same result, then it’s probably worth mixing a new batch. Disposal of spent chemicals should always be done responsibly following local guidelines.
Collapsible film chemical bottles
I’m not too concerned if the new setup doesn’t get the desired results, I’m using some old film to test the old cameras I’ve fixed, so I’m happy to go back and reshoot some pictures if I have to, it’s a classic case of suck it and see.
The developer I will be using is Bellini Hydrofen, (comparable to Kodak D76 or Ilford ID11) I mix this as and when needed in quantities of around 300ml (for a single 35mm film) as it doesn’t store, and needs to be used on the day as such. I don’t usually use a stop bath as such I just use some water. I will also be using their photo flow as a uniform drying solution but to be honest this isn’t really necessary.
New processing chemicals
The fixer I will be making in a 1L batch is Adox Adofix P, it’s a simple enough mix so I’ll quickly go through it with you.
Developer
Mix is 1-39 so if I need 300ml I just divide that figure by 40 (300 / 40 = 7.5) so I know I need 7.5ml of solution and then just top up to 300ml with water in the measuring jug. Simple – that’s the developer made. Just ensure it’s at 20 degrees centigrade temperature wise.
Stop bath
Simple, just water – let’s move on
Fixer
Again this is easy. I have a pouch of powder to make 1L of solution. Put approx 700ml of water at a temperature between 20-26 degrees Celsius in your measuring jug, mix in the powder and when this has dissolved just top up with water to the 1L mark. Simple – then decant into your storage bottle and the job is done.
So that’s the chemistry done, now to put it all into action to process the first film I have used to test a recent camera I have worked on. The camera is the Olympus 35 ECR and the film will be a roll of Kentmere 100 B/W that expired about 4 years ago. I will cover this in a later post. Thanks for browsing my ramblings 👍
The little Olympus I’ve been working on is now ready to be tested. It’s all working as well as I can see and has new battery adaptors and a new light seal around the camera. Has been cleaned as best as I can however now is the time to give it a proper run out. I have a roll of Kentmere 100asa B/W film that expired about 3-4 years ago so hopefully I’ll get something from this barring disaster.
Sunbury on Thames
Going to be in Sunbury on Thames for a few days so I’m hoping I can get some nice pictures of the Thames and surrounding areas.
When I get back I’ll develop the film at home and scan it myself for results. Fingers crossed 🤞 it all performs ok, if not then it’s back to the drawing board.
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