What ISO should I use as a starting point for Ultrafine multigrade B&W paper in pinhole photography?
Asked 11/8/2022
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I’m using Ultrafine multigrade black-and-white enlarging paper as a paper negative for pinhole photography and need a starting exposure index for calculating exposure times. I haven’t found a published ISO for this paper. Is there a reasonable ISO/EI to start with, and do I need to test it myself?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
3y ago
2 Answers
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There are a large number of variables in exposure of paper negatives on multigrade paper. Color of the light, reciprocity departure, even temperature can have a small effect -- and as you surmise, different brands of paper can be different, even different batches in the same brand. If Ultrafine hasn't chosen to publish an ISO equivalent, you're largely on your own to test and arrive at your own EI.
That said, a rule of thumb for modern enlarging papers is to try ISO 6 equivalent as a start. Keep your development consistent (i.e. if you choose Dektol 1+1 at 2 minutes at 20 C, develop all test negatives for that same 2 minutes at the same room temperature), and examine the negatives by scanning, photographing, or contact printing (so you can see them as a positive to check for shadow detail) unless you have considerable experience reading negatives.
Originally by user89902. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user89902
3y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Multigrade enlarging paper usually does not have a reliable published ISO for camera use, because its effective speed depends on several factors: light color, reciprocity failure, processing consistency, and even batch differences. For pinhole work, the practical approach is to treat it as a paper negative and test your own exposure index.
A good starting point is around ISO 6 (EI 6) for modern enlarging papers. Use that to make test exposures, then keep your processing absolutely consistent so your results are comparable—for example, same developer dilution, time, and temperature every time.
From there, evaluate the negatives by scanning, photographing, or contact printing them as positives, and adjust your EI based on shadow detail and overall density. Also expect longer exposures to need extra compensation because photographic paper can show reciprocity departure.
So: start at EI 6, but plan to run tests and establish your own working speed for that specific paper and process.
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