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Low contrast developer for P30

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koraks

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Tumbles

Tumbles

Member
Joined
Apr 20, 2016
Messages
163
Location
SF Bay Area
Format
Med. Format RF
I'm looking for a low contrast developer that works well with P30. I recently shot a bunch of it and I developed all of my 35mm rolls in FA-1027. Half of my results look normal while the other half are too high contrast to be usable. With backlit trees in particular I'm getting a few highlights on a nearly blank frame. I still have a bunch of 120 film to develop.

I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions for developers that can deal well with the contrast of P30? Some of the developers I have in mind are POTA, CD4-LC, and Barry Thorton's 2 bath. I've had really good results Barry Thorton's 2 bath and Orto 50. So far most of the developing times I've found for these are for film shot around ISO 25, and I shot everything at box speed.

p3_with_fa-1027.jpg
 
Note that the main problem in those negatives is underexposure. You can throw a low-contrast developer at it, but in this case it would just have tempered the highlights, while most of the frame would have remained blank.
 
If you get the exposure right I found that CD4-LC works well with P30.
I posted one example which is alongside a few others from a walk across central London:
www.photrio.com

CD4-LC low contrast developer for scanning

I have found that use of high concentrations of CD-4 reduces the contrast of microfilms [pic] and the contrast is further reduced by minimal agitation every 3 min. In combination with reduction of contrast in scanner software this enables some microfilms to be shot at box speed. The CD-4...
www.photrio.com www.photrio.com
Rollei Low Contrast developer and Bill Troop's TD-3 are proprietary alternatives.
 
I think @koraks has made probably the most important observation, but in my experience shooting P30 at box speed and developing, as instructed just about anywhere, will provide "soot-n-caulk" negatives. To obtain a more "normal" looking negative, I expose at EI32 and develop in D96 at 1:1.
 
I had very good results from shooting at 50 iso and developing in D96 using the timings on the datasheet. This example was shot on my Pentax 17.
1000017271.jpg
 
Same as @thinkbrown , except with HC110 or Rodinal 1:50. Both with gentle agitation. I've NEVER seen some of the high contrast some people post about. I only shoot at 50, and have nothing but praise for this film. I just wish it was available in 100' rolls.
 
Alan Johnson said:
If you get the exposure right I found that CD4-LC works well with P30.
I posted one example which is alongside a few others from a walk across central London:
www.photrio.com

CD4-LC low contrast developer for scanning

I have found that use of high concentrations of CD-4 reduces the contrast of microfilms [pic] and the contrast is further reduced by minimal agitation every 3 min. In combination with reduction of contrast in scanner software this enables some microfilms to be shot at box speed. The CD-4...
www.photrio.com www.photrio.com
Rollei Low Contrast developer and Bill Troop's TD-3 are proprietary alternatives.
Click to expand...

What time did you use? Was it the 9 minutes suggested as a starting point? I really like the results I've seen with CD4-LC. I just wish I could find a source for CD4 at a reasonable price.

I'm not sure about exposure. I also shot some rolls of Adox CHS II here in the same scenario, and it came out fine. Here is an example.

Untitled-(721).jpg
 
Tumbles said:
What time did you use? Was it the 9 minutes suggested as a starting point? I really like the results I've seen with CD4-LC. I just wish I could find a source for CD4 at a reasonable price
Click to expand...
9 minutes x 1.3 ~12m 20C to allow for agitation only every 3 min to further reduce contrast. This time to be increased for each successive film as mentioned in the CD4-LC thread. Yes it's not a cheap developer but it keeps well if air is excluded.
 
Thanks for the info.

I decided to try and process a roll in Barry Thornton 2 bath, at 4 + 4 minutes. The results are better but they're still thinner than I'd like. It certainly looks like it could benefit from more exposure. I'll probably convert these to sepia.

The 35mm is Orto 50 processed with the same developer and same times. They look a lot closer to normal. After these first few rolls, I've become a fan of Orto 50.

I really want to try CD4-LC, but every listing I've found so far for CD4 comes out to around $50 There is a listing on Ebay from Italy that's 15 Euros, but the shipping is 120 Euros. This only makes sense to me if this is hazard shipping from Europe.

20260410_031302.jpg
 
It’s fairly simple to make a one-shot low contrast/high speed developer with standard ingredients. A basic starting point (1l):

0.5g Phenidone or Dimezone-S
0.5g ascorbic acid
20g sodium sulfite (anh.)

Ideally target a pH of 8-8.5 using acetic acid. HQ can be used in place of ascorbate.

Add small amounts of KBr to minimize fog.

Increase ratio of ascorbic acid/HQ to the phenidone for more contrast.



Tumbles said:
Thanks for the info.

I decided to try and process a roll in Barry Thornton 2 bath, at 4 + 4 minutes. The results are better but they're still thinner than I'd like. It certainly looks like it could benefit from more exposure. I'll probably convert these to sepia.

The 35mm is Orto 50 processed with the same developer and same times. They look a lot closer to normal. After these first few rolls, I've become a fan of Orto 50.

I really want to try CD4-LC, but every listing I've found so far for CD4 comes out to around $50 There is a listing on Ebay from Italy that's 15 Euros, but the shipping is 120 Euros. This only makes sense to me if this is hazard shipping from Europe.

View attachment 421857
Click to expand...
 
I've had good success with developing P30 in D96, the motion picture developer! Sample image included
 

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  • Ferrania P30.jpg
    Ferrania P30.jpg
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Try a two-bath with EI of 32, like Barry Thornton's two-bath. You can develop in a wider temperature range and time without risk of over-developing.
 
If you're determined to use the two-bath (not sure why everyone refers to it as Barry Thornton's - he didn't invent this) the way to get max emulsion speed with low contrast would be to do multiple cycles, each cycle using a short time in bath A. For example, 1-2 minutes bath A, then the regular bath B treatment, then very thorough water rinsing, then repeat (1-2 minutes bath A, regular bath B treatment).
 
Milpool said:
If you're determined to use the two-bath (not sure why everyone refers to it as Barry Thornton's - he didn't invent this) the way to get max emulsion speed with low contrast would be to do multiple cycles, each cycle using a short time in bath A. For example, 1-2 minutes bath A, then the regular bath B treatment, then very thorough water rinsing, then repeat (1-2 minutes bath A, regular bath B treatment).
Click to expand...

Nobody said he invented it, it is just one recipe that seems quite reliable.
 
Milpool said:
If you're determined to use the two-bath (not sure why everyone refers to it as Barry Thornton's - he didn't invent this) the way to get max emulsion speed with low contrast would be to do multiple cycles, each cycle using a short time in bath A. For example, 1-2 minutes bath A, then the regular bath B treatment, then very thorough water rinsing, then repeat (1-2 minutes bath A, regular bath B treatment).
Click to expand...

No, he didn't invent 2-bath, but he took what was out there and made it better.
 
Barry Thornton himself referred to the formula as "my formula":

"My own formula is somewhere in between for contrast, has extra acutance, and does not suffer the second bath exhaustion to which the Stoëckler mix is prone. You should get at least 15 roll films through my formula, and more if you then refresh the second bath with more sodium metaborate."
 
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