Here is a question that I thought would be a good one.

Some of you recommend exposing XP-2 at EI 320 or 200. IIRC, this can help reduce grain and increase contrast. When you take it to the photo-finisher, do you tell them that you've exposed it at your alternate EI or do you keep mum about it? Will overexposing it and having normal development be less good than overexposing it and having the EI adjusted? Would the processing machine just develop it to the best of its ability (regardless of an EI setting override)??

Thanks in advance!

-- Johnny Motown (johnny.motown@att.net), January 22, 2001

Answers

LOL.;^0
Sorry, but if you think that an automated lab is going to give your C41 film special treatment, you need a bit of a reality check.
Your film is stuck in the middle of a long chain of films that get dragged through the machine at a fixed rate. The machine does one standard process for all the films fed through it, that's it.
In fact, it's becoming common practise for high street labs to overdevelop C41 slightly. This gives a higher contrast and colour saturation, which pleases the unwashed masses. The fact that the colour is unrealistic and the highlights are unprintable doesn't seem to bother the average punter.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), January 23, 2001.

You can shoot XP-2 from EI 50-800 with normal processing, on the same roll. Grain increases at 800, sharpness and contrast decrease at 50. A good lab, even with automated processing will push C41 for you. If your lab say they won't, keep looking. XP-2 doesn't push well but a 1 stop push does help at EI 1600, IMHO.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@flash.net), January 23, 2001.

Thanks guys for the answers. Chances are, my photo-finisher will allow me to have my film developed any way I want it, as long as it is the method they push massive amounts of film though the machine. :P (like color choices for cars in the 1930's - you could have any color you want as long as it is black)

Oh well, I was just wondering if the lab needed to know the alternate EI information when I turn the film over to them.

Johnny

-- Johnny Motown (johnny.motown@att.net), January 23, 2001.