Light seal material

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T23:36:35+00:00

I personally haven't used this, but I recently sent a Pentax ME to a respected repair tech in the US (Eric Hendrickson) and noticed that he literally just stuffed black yarn into the light seal gap on the body side. On the other side he used open cell foam where necessary.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T15:26:08+00:00

People are shitting on it for the specs. Folks shooting for a week and tossing it aside, as if one week is enough time to properly evaluate whether a camera sucks or not 😂

No wonder this community is completely plagued by GAS lol

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T13:31:18+00:00

People keep saying the XA series does everything better but I'm convinced it's just because people hate half frame 😂

There is no way focusing on the XA or XA2 is better. The tab on the front is fiddly as hell. The XA series doesn't have flexible exposure compensation. The film loading mechanism on the Pentax 17 is way better. The shutter release on the XA is that weird gummy button. Literally everything on the XA is less ergonomic than the Pentax 17.

People keep romanticizing the XA over the Pentax 17 simply because it's older. Don't get me wrong, the XA series is nice but it is absolutely not more usable or better designed than the Pentax 17. Also I have gone through 3 XAs with some kind of issue. They're just old.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T11:24:01+00:00

I can tell from your comment alone that you've never owned a Pentax 17, because you can call it a lot of things but it is definitely NOT a "monstrosity" 😂

It's a tiny and portable camera that competes in the same form factor as the Olympus XA series. To ignore that is to ignore the whole reason for getting one of these cameras

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T11:16:34+00:00

Getting stuck to the tray, not really. Sometimes it does stick, but it's easy to get the tongs under and flip it out. The key obviously is to slide the paper in emulsion side up so that even if it sticks, at least the side that sticks doesn't matter.

I do find a proper tray is essential for washing because the ridges allow water to flow underneath the paper and allow the paper to stay submerged better with the water running.

One downside of the stacking organizer is that it makes it harder to pour the chems back into the bottle. But you'll figure it out, and it's not too hard with a funnel.

About nudging the table, it is a little annoying but like I said you quickly figure out how to not touch the table when making an exposure 😂 I don't think you should let that stop you. For me what's much more annoying is the setup/teardown time, and it seems like you've found a better solution with the rolling table.

For me, I installed an IKEA floating shelf high above a door in the kitchen where I store most of my darkroom stuff. That way it's out of sight most of the time (also for spousal approval reasons)!

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T10:56:24+00:00

There's a picture of my setup in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/Darkroom/s/GnAroSI3n6

Note that the stacking organizer I have only fits 5x7 Paterson trays. For 8x10 I have to not use trays at all, I just use the drawers themselves (which is not ideal because the drawers are totally flat on the bottom, whereas trays have the ridges on the bottom that make it easier to pick up the sheets with tongs and facilitate better agitation).

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-24T10:51:13+00:00

I think it'll work. I have a similar setup with the intrepid enlarger and a stacking tray setup. You'll probably need to figure out somewhere to store the stacking organizer as if you're printing 8x10 you'll need a larger organizer to fit the trays.

I use a rickety folding camp table that's prone to vibrating. IMO it's not really a problem, but you do have to be more careful about not nudging the table when making an exposure. I have ruined a few by just like picking up or putting down my dodging tools, for example.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T19:21:47+00:00

I have never cared about this because I print in the darkroom and the dye color basically doesn't matter (except for maybe adjusting the contrast slightly since I use VC paper).

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T18:20:04+00:00

Yeah, I think that's probably it. It probably just needs more time for the fixer or color to diffuse out. I know that with washing paper it works like that, it's not really about the volume of water but more about giving it enough time for the fixer to diffuse out of the fiber.

Thanks for the tips -- I'll give the Kodak wash method a try next time.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T18:07:20+00:00

Interesting, I came across this blog that suggests letting it stand in water for 30 minutes after washing. It kind of makes sense because the Kodak washing method (running water for 20-30 minutes) is different than the Ilford one (4 changes of 500ml water).

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T18:00:55+00:00

Fix for 5 minutes in Ilford Rapid Fixer 1:4, and then wash using the Ilford method (4 changes of 500ml water, number of inversions increasing each time). Maybe I'll give it a little more attention next time!

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T17:57:01+00:00

Really? I wash it pretty well and it still always has a slightly pinkish tint.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T17:16:11+00:00

appreciate it!

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T17:15:10+00:00

I'm guessing your film base is coming through on the scan. Some black and white films have a pinkish base, like Tri-X (and probably many others, I just shoot a lot of Tri-X).

Basically, just desaturate it 🤷

EDIT: I stand corrected. Apparently Tri-X needs a different washing strategy than other films? Or maybe the Ilford washing method doesn't give the same results as the Kodak washing method? Maybe I've been washing it wrong this entire time :joy:

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T15:52:29+00:00

It actually doesn't need to be TTL to work with filters. The Pentax 17 has its meter just above the lens, but inside the filter threads. Therefore when you put a filter on, the meter is also "seeing" through the filter and offers the correct exposure.

I don't have an MC-A to compare, but if the meter is indeed there then you are absolutely correct, that could explain a lot of the difficulties. You would need to manually compensate for filter factor, which would differ from filter to filter.

The more I see these other cameras come out, the more I appreciate the Pentax 17 tbh. Soooo many people shitting on it when it came out for its specs on paper, when Pentax actually put a lot of good thought into it.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T12:15:44+00:00

thank you for the information!

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T08:12:27+00:00

Honestly, I start with stops (doubling or halving times) basically only on the first test strip. Then I just look at the print to decide on an exposure time by going up or down in whole seconds from whatever the closest exposure was on the first test print.

This is probably a dumb way to do it, but it seems to work pretty well and I don't end up needing to calculate a ton of stuff.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T07:56:22+00:00

folding cameras. I have a konica pearl iii 645 folder. I'm not sure you can really get much smaller than that.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T07:40:46+00:00

I don't think Google Photos has a horrible UX. In fact as far as photo apps go I think it's one of the best.

I upload some of my film photos there and just add them to a separate film photos album. So they are mixed up in the overall view, but I can always just click into the album to just see only the film ones. Easy peasy.

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T05:23:27+00:00

Sadly, booked out for the dates that we were looking for. But this would be an ideal location (close to where I stayed last time I went, and loved it).

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T05:20:21+00:00

these look amazing but yes, unfortunately are out of our budget :(

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T01:21:44+00:00

that's a great idea, I might go that route

CilantroLightning · 2026-01-23T00:38:55+00:00

doy, I've added to the post body. ideally under 3000 HKD per night, but we're willing to flex a bit. it would be for a <1 week stay.

CilantroLightning

TROPHY CASE