Toyo 5x4 update at St Ives
After a few teething problems I’m finally getting results I’m happy with from the Toyo 5x4 (See previous entry). It has been 11 years since I shot film on a regular basis and I’ve adjusted my working style to get the most out of digital.
Above is a recent picture taken during a short visit to St Ives in Cornwall. Shooting Kodak Ektar 100, exposure was 4 minutes at f45, after allowing for reciprocity.
I’ve been working hard on one of my personal projects which I’m aiming to finish soon , but I’m finding it hard to walk away from it as I keep seeing suitable locations.
Technically operating the Toyo hasn’t been a problem. I’ve settled on using Kodak Ektar 100 colour negative print film, with a mixture of Ilford FP4+ and Kodak Tri-X for black and white, developed in Kodak XTOL, the problems have been developing the negatives with my recently purchased Jobo CPP rotary film processor and expert drum.
After much searching on forums, I bought a lab calibrated thermometer and problem solved, the one I was using was 2.5 degrees out, meaning the colour negatives were getting slightly over developed, resulting in negatives which were proving difficult to scan. I’m also following the Kodak recommended C-41 instructions and not the supplied Rollei digibase ones, which exclude a wash cycle.