Bill Smith's Photography

 I've always developed Bergger Pancro 400 with either HC110 B or these Ilfotec HC 1+31 (which is B dillution in Kodak world). I recently grabbed a bottle of Ilfotec DDX which is Ilford's answer to Tmax Developer. You get a compensating developer with DDX which shooting with Bergger Pancro 400 in a Leicaflex SL2 with a meter while steady as a rock isn't calibrated for 1.5 volt battery. To cover my interpreation of "Sunny 16" or more accurately  "1/125 at F8" considering the overcast skies. I love the end results!  That said I would love to try Berspeed Developer but I need to find developing times for my go to black and white film stocks. I still have decent inventory of Pancro 400, and I have that internal debate, " Do I order more from Fotoimpex?" If I do it will be 20 more rolls, because Pancro 400 is a decent all around film that prints very nicely, either in wet darkroom or in a 'zine. I like the grain, and the tonality.  Camera: Leicaf...

 The Leicaflex SL2 was the last of the Leicaflex SLR line that Leitz introduced in the mid 1960s in a feeble attempt to catch up with Nikon, Canon, Minolta and Pentax at the time. By the time the mid 1970s rolled around, Leitz was in trouble financially the M5 rangefinder was not loved by loyal customers and the pro market pretty much dropped rangefinders for the Nikon F and F2, and the Canon F-1 platforms.   Leitz in a hail mary attempt came out with the SL2 for the 1975 and 1976 model years, it was the best of the SL series of SLRs and it could take both two and three cam R mount Leica lenses. It also had a brilliant and bright viewfinder where you can see both the the shutter speed and aperture along with the match needle metering. The SL2 was built like a Mercedes 300 SEL sedan, to last and the Leica R glass was sublime. The camera was the pinnicle of German camera technology, and was a total sales failure as the SL2's MSRP was almost twice the Nikon F2 which was no slouch...