Film & Cross Processing Questions ...

Mohain · Jun 23, 2006

I'm getting a lomo LC-A for my birthday in 3 weeks time \o/

I've got some Velvia 100 to try some cross processing. I've read that you should overexpose by 2 stops when cross processing (either way) but the chap in the mini-lab up the road said to expose normally. Also I tried some C41 film processed in E6, over exposed by 2 stops, had it processed at a pro lab and they came back ... over exposed :er:

Anyone here regularly cross process can give me any tips?

Also ... do you still get a large lateral range if processing E6 film in C41. Not sure if the large lateral range associated with neg film comes from the film, the processing or the fact that you print from the film, or is it a combo?

Any help would be appreciated :mrgreen:

Many thanks,

Mohain

Mohain · Jun 26, 2006

OK, I think I've answered most of my own questions, but I do have a new one now ....

How long should a roll of film 'thaw' from when I take it out of the freezer to using it in a camera?

Cheers,

Mohain

PlasticSpanner · Jun 26, 2006

Not tried cross processing yet so I can't help you with that!

As for thawing film 2 hours in yout trouser pocket is a minimum. 24 hours would be better to allow any condensation on the film surface to dry out. :thumbup:

I just take mine out of the fridge and leave it on the worktop or in my camera bag the day before I need it.

Flash Harry · Jun 27, 2006

toget the best print from cross processed you need to hand print, some severe casts occur, machine prints will possibly be horrendous, for studio with the right background some nice specials can be achieved.

Mohain · Jun 27, 2006

Thanks plastic spanner. thanks flash, I'm gonna give it a go at my local mini lab, if it's really bad I'll scan the negs and can deal with a terrible colour cast in PS. I'll post any results I'm happy with. Thanks for the replies

photographerdubai · Aug 5, 2007

Hey Mohain,
Yes color casts are tough to deal with. What i do, is because i know the guy in the lab after years of going there, if they are not busy i ask if i can color correct in their machine.

Forget about Velvia, is not good for x process.

The great xprocess films are gone, the best was agfa RSX II. In lomography.com they bought the last stock of it and its the only place in the world where you can find (believe me i really tried)

Hope that helped!

Alpha · Aug 5, 2007

photographerdubai said:
Hey Mohain,
Yes color casts are tough to deal with. What i do, is because i know the guy in the lab after years of going there, if they are not busy i ask if i can color correct in their machine.

Forget about Velvia, is not good for x process.

The great xprocess films are gone, the best was agfa RSX II. In lomography.com they bought the last stock of it and its the only place in the world where you can find (believe me i really tried)

Hope that helped!

I have a gigantic stockpile of RSX II in three different speeds, because it's phenomenal for CP.

As for Velvia, you should most certainly not overexpose by two stops. Expose normally. Velvia is contrasty enough on its own. I might overexpose by a half stop to one full stop with Astia.

Weaving Wax · Aug 5, 2007

If I can jump in,

Since that film is expired is there any film that would be a "second best" that people can find?

nealjpage · Aug 5, 2007

MaxBloom said:
I have a gigantic stockpile of RSX II in three different speeds, because it's phenomenal for CP.

As for Velvia, you should most certainly not overexpose by two stops. Expose normally. Velvia is contrasty enough on its own. I might overexpose by a half stop to one full stop with Astia.

When I x-process Velvia, I over expose by 1 stop and it seems to work well. You're going to have to bracket a bit, though, until you get the hang of it.

Oh, and btw, Max, how do I know if I've got RSX II? I bought a metric ton of Agfachrome RSX 50 off ePay a few months ago--expired in 1997. Still works very well, but I haven't tried x-processing it yet.

Alpha · Aug 5, 2007

It says "II" on the box. RSX 50 produces the most grainless cross processing I've ever seen. I'm waiting on some RSX 1600 to arrive, and I can't wait to try it.

Alpha · Aug 5, 2007

Weaving Wax said:
If I can jump in,

Since that film is expired is there any film that would be a "second best" that people can find?

The best cross processing films IMO are gone. The easiest to find that's not made anymore would be Kodak Ektachrome Plus (EPP). I'm looking into some konica slide to see how it cross processes. In general I don't like the look of the Fuji films...the overall color casting is just too heavy.