Adox CMS 20II in pota

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Every time I read this thread title I think, why is he putting his film into a pota(to)???
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Raghu Kuvempunagar

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Andrew O'Neill said:
I've shot CMS 20 at EI 20, and developed in Adotech IV. The shadows were too thin for my liking. I've standardised on EI 10... so whatever developer gives me a decent zone I at that EI, I'll give serious consideration.
Click to expand...

From the datasheet:

"The specified sensitivities correspond at ISO 3/6 ° to the ISO norm or the zone system. Even at ISO 6/9 °, there is a good approximation to the ISO norm or to the zone system, although the values for zone 2 and zone 3 are somewhat lower. Higher sensitivities are push-sensitivities according to the following definition: Skin tones must have an equivalent density to that which is present at nominal sensitivity, e.g. a density of approximately 0.9. In case of high image contrast, we recommend not to use the sensitivity of ISO 25/15 °."

So, it's apparent that as EI is increased from 3, shadow density suffers. IIRC Henning Serger recommended using a fill flash when possible to get best shadow details.
 

Andrew O'Neill

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That's all fine and dandy if one likes to use a flash. I'll have to run a test at EI 3... looks like this will never end!
 

Andrew O'Neill

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I tried a two-part developer formula recommended by Jay DeFehr for lith films, APHS in particular (which I have quite a bit of experience with as I used it for unsharp masking in the past). I thought I'd give it a go with CMS 20 II. I gasped when I saw that Part A required 7g of Phenidone in a piddly 60ml of Glycol... (also contains 1g Ascorbic Acid). I don't have Glycol, so I used water. Getting all that Phenidone in can be a chore. I dissolved the Phenidone mountain in a bit of poly proply alcohol, then mixed that in with HOT water. Went in peachy. Mixed in the wee bit of Ascorbic Acid, topped off to 100ml. Then the bloody stuff started to cool, causing the Phenidone to drop out of the solution. Reheating, kicked it back into liquid form. I added it to 1 litre of water, then added Part B (20% solution of Sodium Carbonate), and all was well. Developed two sheets. One got a minute continuous agitation (tray), and 3s every minute. The second sheet got stand development... 60s initial continuous agitation, then 3s every 3 minutes. I'll probably stick the results in Part Two video... Still need to give it a go in D-23.
 

Andrew O'Neill

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I might give this one a go, mentioned by Raghu a few pages back...

20 g/l Na2SO3 + 1 g/l Catechol + 1 g/l Phenidone

as well as the one with Hydroquinone instead of Catechol. I'll need to shoot a few more sheets, but the weather has been the pits here! It's got to be the coldest June on record...
 

Andrew O'Neill

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Patrick Robert James said:
Andrew, I don't know how deep you want to get into this, but as long as you are already up to your chest, have you thought about water bath developing? Might be just the ticket.
Click to expand...

Right now, everything is on the table! Got another box of the film coming so, we'll see...
 

Raghu Kuvempunagar

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I think it'll be very valuable to users if the following questions can be answered by the tests:

1. If one wants to get the best image quality for a scene that has a subject luminance range of 6-7 stops, what is the best developer for this film? And at what EI should the film be exposed? Very likely that Adotec is that developer and EI is 3 or 6. So the follow up question is what's the best alternative to Adotec.

2. What's the developer that gives the best image quality when the film is push processed for a scene of subject luminance range of ~4-5? Again the answer could be Adotec and hence the same follow up question as before.

3. In both scenarios what's the compromise (if any) one has to make wrt image quality when one uses a developer other than Adotec?

The film offers something unique - very fine grain and very high resolution. So it makes sense to leverage these.
 
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Andrew O'Neill

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Very good questions, Raghu. I was planning to run my "alternative to Adotech IV developer" through the gauntlet of SLRs, along side Adotech IV. Have to wait for another box of film to arrive here first, as I only have a few sheets left... This 4x5 stuff ain't cheap!
 

Andrew O'Neill

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The weather is the pits here. Testing will have to wait. The developers that have made it to the third round: D-23, Caffenol CL-CN, POTA, Pyrocat-HD... and of course, Adotech IV. For the third round, I will be switching to rotary development, as that is how I normally process film (with Adotech IV, a tremendous amount of stock is required for trays... too much $ down the drain!).
 

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Rudeofus said:
Wow, you found it! I swear, that a couple of days ago neither duckduckgo nor google were able to find it. Yes, that's the one.
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Raghu Kuvempunagar said:
But most of the useful posts in it have been deleted.
Click to expand...

If you check that thread again, you should find that all the posts in it are now restored and accessible.
 

Alan Johnson

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IMO, to tame the contrast you need either developing agent which has an oxidation product that partially blocks the emulsion surface like a pyrazolidinone or one of the CD series, or alternatively an ingredient that is very dilute like an aminophenol developed for a longer time.
 
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