Adox CHS ART films - exposing and developing

[masimix]

Hello there all wise apugers,

So, I bought 40 rolls of Ilford film from Silverprint before the prices went up, and threw in five rolls each of Adox CHS 25, 50 and 100 in 120 format. I've been reading a bit about them, and I want to use them for portraits. I will be shooting in a studio with strobes, but also in daylight, probably mostly dim light from overcast skies, and also after the sun goes behind the horizon.
I always use an incident lightmeter, and I do have a tendency to like a bit of overexposure.

I have lots of Rodinal and HC-110, and I use them mostly 1:50 and 1:60 (HC-110). I am not afraid of grain, and i sure like the acutance I get from Rodinal.

Does this sound a bit like an ad for a relationship btw?

Well, I guess my question is, do I rate them at boxspeed? Are the times for developing in the massive dev chart accurate? And do I need hardener in the developing process? (never used it, don't even know if I can get a hold of it around here).

I have the information written about these films from the ADOX webpage, I'm more interested in experiences from users out there who knows how to handle these films.

Thanks,

Marius

 

[steven_e007]

Marius,

I did exactly the same as you, I ordered a big block of FP4+ in 120 and, just out of interest, chucked in a few rolls of Adox.

So I too am interested in seeing how they will look and eagerly await to hear of other APUGers experiences.

I'd mixed FX1 developer a few years ago and tried it with FP4+. I was dissappointed - it worked ok but was nothing special, it didn't give me the edge effects I was hoping for. I thought about trying this with the adox films as they have 'old' style emulsions and are contemporary with the developer formula - so that might be a project in the future, but I think I'd like to try and start off with something a bit more conventional until I get to grips.

Anyone got a nice straightforward exposure / developement regime for these films?

 

[P C Headland]

The Efke/Adox films work really well in Rodinal. I shoot at box speed & prefer to use 1+100 dilution.

My times for 1+100 are around 17-19 minutes, with 5 inversions at the start of each minute for the first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes.

I use a water stop bath and normal fixer, then hang to dry (no squeegee!).

 

[Shangheye]

I use ART 50, and Rodinal at 1:50 at 20C. I think from memory the Massive chart only offers a time at EI-40 of 9mins at 20C...I use 9.5 mins. Lovely film. K

 

[Nikanon]

I do the same, exactly 1+100 dilution and then 18 minutes for CHS 25, fantastic results due to the type of emulsion and ISO, i agitate for the first minute and a half then let stand the rest of the time, develop at 68-70 degrees F. I dont recommend an acid stop bath and i use ammonium thiosulfate, sodium metabisulfite fixer.

 

[JohnRB]

Dear Marius,

I have tried these films having bought CHS100 in 35mm and CHS50 in 120 formats. I have developed 10 CHS100 and, so far, 1 CHS50 in Adox ATM49 1+2. Based on my experience I don't plan to buy any more. Pros: I seemed to be able to capture information in both the shadows and highlights; the price. Cons: the grain is no smaller than Tri-X; The films are a beast to load into plastic spirals; the emulsion is very easily damaged; the films strips refuse to go into Kenro pages; the film curls making it difficult to load into my scanner holder (Minolta); there is usually fogging at the beginning of the roll and sometimes damage at the other end. So not worth the bother.

ATM49: while I liked the developer, especially with Tri-X, and probably would stuck with it, when I ran out Retro Photographic were out of stock. So I have gone back to Xtol.

John

 

[aluncrockford]

Deving the adox in PMK is a good start ,just remember to pre soak and be aware that it is a very soft emulsion

 

[masimix]

I shot two films in the studio, CHS 50 and CHS 100. Dev. in Rodinal 1+50 20c for 9 and 12 minutes. I like the tones, especially the CHS50. I didn't use stop, just water, and fixed in kodak max-fix for 5-6 minutes. Washed for a few minutes, then HCA, and washed for five more minutes. Hang to dry over night. The negs have some spots. What is it? The developing, or the washing, or what?

Here is a scan from the contact sheet, hope somebody can point out what this is, cause I really would like to get this film to work, and it doesn't curl as bad as I thought it would.

 

[ntenny]

I've had good results rating all of them at box speed in HC-110, PC-TEA, and Caffenol C. I don't think the 100 is anything special in the smaller formats; it's quite grainy for its speed, and the interesting tonality doesn't really come through well in a small negative. (I do shoot it in 9x12, partly because it's one of the few films available, partly because at that size the grain isn't a problem and I like the tones.)

If I remember correctly, they all, but especially the 25, have a reduced red sensitivity. This can make them quite interesting as portrait films; the tonal palette looks "different" in an interesting way, but generally not so much as to seem unnatural the way ortho films can.

-NT

 

[archer]

Dear Masimix;
The grey spots look like air bells. How do you agitate during development and are you using a pre-wet?
Denise Libby

 

[masimix]

I thought they might be air bells, but I never had it before on any film. I did not pre-wet, and agitation every second minute for four inversions.

Will it help to pre-wet the film?

 

[Ian Grant]

I thought they might be air bells, but I never had it before on any film. I did not pre-wet, and agitation every second minute for four inversions.

Will it help to pre-wet the film?

Not necessarily, you can get air betts during a a pre-soak to. It's you're first 30 seconds of agitation that makes the most difference this needs to be effective.

Some developers contain traces of wetting agents to stop air-bells but the lvel is very low, sometimes hard water makes them worse, I have to add 2 drops of wetting agent per litre of mixed dev to stop them here in Turkey.

But it needs care too much wetting agent will cause foaming and that causes uneven development too.

Ian

 

[archer]

Dear Masimix;
I don't usually pre-wet but in this case it may be advisable. If you're using roll film, do you rap the tank on the table after each agitation cycle? You might also consider more agitation at the beginning of development together with a couple of sharp whacks of the tank on the counter after. I sure hope these suggestions solve the problem, as the film is really beautiful and worth using.
Denise Libby

 

[masimix]

Yes, I rap the tank, but will try more agitation in the beginning, and maybe every minute for a couple of times, plus the pre-wetting. Do I then need to develop longer/shorter if the film is wet?

Thanks for the reply!

 

[archer]

Dear Masimix;
The usual procedure when using a pre-wet is to add 10% to the development time.
Denise Libby