> can you
>explain that water-bath tech., please. i know, and use, water-baths for
>printing to add contrast to highlights, but have never considered it for
>negs. also, do you know anything about pre-fogging film to raise the EI?
>thanks, anything will help! happy shooting! ech.

Hi -- The main drawbacks with water-bathing film are lack of consistency,
uneven development, the mess and time it takes to do it. I have tried
normal development for 2 min, followed by cycles of: 15 sec in dev, with
agitation, followed by transfer to water 45 sec. without agitation. You
need to experiment to see how many cycles are needed (the total time will
be much greater than usual [and you are also "pushing" the film]). Try for
1600 ASA if you have Acufine, since 800 is normal for that developer, and
the whole point of this is increased film speed. Hope this helps. David