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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Using photographic paper as film in large format
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05/01/2006 12:58:32 PM · #1
It's not very digital question but i hope someone can answer it.
I found a large format camera few days ago and i'm thinking about trying it. Large format films are very expensive and I heard that it worked to use normal photographic paper. I own some pages of Ilfor Multigrade with Pearl texture. I was wondering if somebody could tell me the iso or asa of the paper. I have searched on google but i did't find anything.
05/01/2006 06:00:59 PM · #2
I do not know but I would think it is very slow. I would try cutting some into strips and test them. Same subject and same lighting, just using a range of exposures. Another place you could ask is on Ilford's Fourms site.

//www.ilfordphoto.com/photocommunity/forums/theforum/default.asp


05/01/2006 06:17:57 PM · #3
whoa, i hadn't even thought of trying to use paper instead of film. please keep the thread updated on whether or not this works, sounds fun.
05/01/2006 06:19:31 PM · #4
wouldn't you get a negative image?
05/01/2006 06:27:03 PM · #5
Originally posted by Megatherian:

wouldn't you get a negative image?


just like on film it would be negative, but you'd just 'positiv-ise' it with a contact print

Course you couldn't enlarge it without scanning and printing digitally
05/01/2006 06:29:16 PM · #6
Originally posted by kirsty_mcn:

Originally posted by Megatherian:

wouldn't you get a negative image?


just like on film it would be negative, but you'd just 'positiv-ise' it with a contact print

Course you couldn't enlarge it without scanning and printing digitally


I think scanning with a flatbed would really be the way to go, then reverse it in software.
Using photographic paper is a neat idea. It probably is going to be very slow, ISO-wise, but for landscape stuff, does it matter? It very well may give some really interesting results.
05/01/2006 06:40:31 PM · #7
If i remember right paper has a ISO of about 5. That might get you a starting point. I also not sure if that is entirely accurate, it's been a very long time since i've experminted with large format. Good luck, thats a great project
05/01/2006 06:41:28 PM · #8
it would be just like using a homemade pinhole camera. Where you put the paper inside, it works just fine, but you do end up with a negative image...

-Dan
05/01/2006 06:42:22 PM · #9
Wow....

I never even knew photo paper could be exposed on it's own???
05/01/2006 06:44:58 PM · #10
i think it's asa 4. very very LOOOOOONG exposures! have fun! sounds a good experiment. i had a large format pinhole camera (a jumbo sized coffee tin, took 8x10s) that i adored. i've been considering making a pinhole cover for my D20. how odd is that?

i seem to remember exposures of about 10 minutes in bright sun.

Message edited by author 2006-05-01 18:46:16.
05/01/2006 08:07:11 PM · #11
Originally posted by xianart:

i've been considering making a pinhole cover for my D20. how odd is that?

Not at all -- search around and you'll find several threads on the subject at DPC alone, complete with links to other articles or related sites.
05/01/2006 09:00:34 PM · #12
I made a pinhole camera out of a 55 gal drum. I used 16x20 Ilford MG FB paper as the negative. I can tell you some things about it that might help you out.

It's SLOOOOOOW I think ISO 4 is about what we calculated. Find a good way to hold your camera still. We duct taped ours to a picnic table for one several minute exposure.

The images tended to be very grey and flat. Try using a #3 or #4 MG filter inside the pinhole to bump up the contrast. It'll make the exposures evn longer, but should help the contrast.

You can scan it and reverse it that way, OR get another piece of photo paper and place them in a printing fram and take it outside. Since the paper base is so thick, it really take a while to do that.
05/01/2006 09:20:16 PM · #13
You may still be able to find photo positive paper but I have not seen any available for decades. I once used 'blueline' paper (for making blueprints)in a large format camera that could be developed with just plain water and produced a positive image, also decades ago! Search online through google, might turn up some interesting alternatives!
05/01/2006 09:30:37 PM · #14
Check THIS site for some useful information!!
05/02/2006 08:07:05 AM · #15
you could also try using cyanotype as your negative. it's pretty slow too, but it wxposes well with the sun, and processes with running water.

here's one place with the chemsitry. //www.alternativephotography.com/process_cyanotype.html

it does give a lovely blue, and you can apply it to very very thin paper, to make your negatives thinner, for ease of prinitng later... you can also apply it to cloth, wood, ... i even managed to get it to work on polyester, but i don't think it would work on a non-porous substrate.

edit: cyanotype is the original process used for blueprints. i know there's a commercial paper sold as a children's craft thing - called sun drawing or something, but i think the largets they do is 8x10.

Message edited by author 2006-05-02 16:57:12.
05/04/2006 05:18:12 AM · #16
Most darkroom black and white papers have an iso rating of 150-200.
I don't see this changing when used ias a large format "negative"

You can contact a sheet of paper onto another sheet of paper, ilford covers this in their ilford multigrade papers manual. With a long enough exposure on an enlarger you can contact a paper negative, but keep in mind it won't be as sharp as a film contact because the light will diffuse slightly through the paper base.
Also, when you contact be sure the paper doesn't have a manufacturer's name on the bottom of the paper, if you plan on using ilford this won't be a problem.

The asa ratings of 4 and 5 you guys are basing on pinhole cameras. Pinholes are so small it takes quite a while to get a good exposure. Using a large format and lenses you would go by whatever the iso of the paper is. Paper packs have a small sheet inside them that will list the iso range.

Message edited by author 2006-05-04 19:11:38.
01/05/2012 07:52:46 AM · #17
Thanks for that advice given, I was wondering about the same thing.

Message edited by author 2012-01-05 07:53:06.
01/06/2012 02:37:55 AM · #18
Using the paper will work, but realize that most photo paper is orthochromatic, usually sensitive to UV, blue or green light. Kodak Panalure was a panchromatic paper, but I haven't seen it listed for some time. Long exposures (over a minute or so)will result in reciprocity failure (loss of sensitivity) and a reduction of contrast. If possible, open the aperture or increase the exposure time to compensate for he loss of sensitivity.
01/06/2012 09:51:08 AM · #19
Originally posted by thompp1:

... Kodak Panalure was a panchromatic paper, but I haven't seen it listed for some time...


I hated that stuff
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