I first tried Silvermax just when it came out, and I liked it so much, in combination with the Silvermax developer, that I have used it almost exclusively (when shooting 35mm ISO 100) since then. Very fine grain, and it handles high contrast situations very well. Haven't bothered trying other developers, since the Silvermax developer works so well.
What ISO to you shoot the FP4+ and Acros? And what are your development times? I want to give it a try.I have so far also tried the Silvermax developer with Ilford FP4+ and Fuji Acros, and I am inclined to believe that the Silvermax developer is doing the trick and not necessarily the Silvermax film. Both other films show very fine grain and a large tonal range as well when done in the Silvermax developer. I am mostly shooting 120 film, therefore can't use the Silvermax film, but will definitely in the next future do some more work with FP4+ in 120 format and the Silvermax developer.
I have so far also tried the Silvermax developer with Ilford FP4+ and Fuji Acros, and I am inclined to believe that the Silvermax developer is doing the trick and not necessarily the Silvermax film. Both other films show very fine grain and a large tonal range as well when done in the Silvermax developer. I am mostly shooting 120 film, therefore can't use the Silvermax film, but will definitely in the next future do some more work with FP4+ in 120 format and the Silvermax developer.
It also has (according to the MSDS) Potassium Thiocyanate in it which is a potent grain solvent. The whole formulation of the developer is a bit odd - apparently it contains Metol, Phenidone, Dimezone-S, Hydroquinone & the potassium salt of Hydroquinone Monosulfate as developing agents. The Thiocyanate usually turns up in traditional first developers for reversal processing & the Potassium Hydroquinone Monosulfate or something similar is used in the first developer in E6. It's almost as if a traditional BW reversal first developer was combined with bits of the E6 first developer & some extra bits added for seasoning...
I completely agree. It has no smell and doesn't feel very alkaline (slippery) on the hands. I've never used a developer like this, but I was pleased with the results. It also has no ORM-D tag for shipping.
As a starting point, I simply developed them together with the Silvermax film at the therefore recommended 1+29 dillution for 11 minutes. The developer data sheet suggests 1+24 for 8 minutes for the FP4+, but mentions no time for the Acros.What ISO to you shoot the FP4+ and Acros? And what are your development times? I want to give it a try.
Thanks. On my VDU screen the crop is about 16 inches wide by about 9 inches high. As this is about one fifth of the total image then can I multiply the image by 5 so I am looking at a complete negative enlargement of a print which is 80 x 45 inches?
Have I got this right? If so then at that size it may not have quite enough resolution for a great print but at one third the size i.e. 16 x24 I imagine it would be a very good print indeed. In fact, given the correct viewing distance for a 80 x 45 inch print, I am not sure that it wouldn't be perfectly acceptable even at that size. Makes me wonder about the benefits of even MF compared to 135 if my conclusions are correct.
I've done a little test to check the compression that is claimed on the silvermax developer package. The goal was not to count the number of zones, but to pit it against my standard developing combination and some other combinations that should compress the tones.
The developing combination in question were:
1) silvermax developer following the guide to the letter. So 11 minutes, 1+29 dilution and standard agitation
2) the way I develop silvermax. 510-pyro, 1+150 for 12 minutes with constant agitation in a jobo and with a 2 min pre wash
3) 510-pyro 1+500 semi-stand*
4) Rodinal 1+100 semi-stand*
*Semi-stand was 1 hour starting with 1 minute of agitation at the beginning and 1 agitation at every 15 minutes thereafter. Everything was done at 20 degrees.
The scene is of a monastery that is around the corner of my home. It was a brightly lit scene with ample contrast to check the compression of the different developing techniques. The film was rated at 100 iso
The developed negatives:
I also made prints at contrast filter 2 trying to make sure that the greys in the sidewalk are more or less the same between prints. The printing times were (in the same order as above) 12, 10, 16 and 7 seconds. Starting at top left is the silvermax print, the top right print is the standard 510-pyro print, the bottom right one is the 510-pyro semi-stand and the bottom left is the Rodinal print.
The 510-pyro semi-stand negatives were clearly overdeveloped. The Rodinal negatives have the highest amount of compression at the cost of irregularities in the sky and halo's around the rooftops.
The 510-pyro print has a bit more detail in the shadow in the left hand side of the print, but the contrast is overall a bit lower then that of the silvermax print.
I wonder what your thoughts are on the negatives and the prints.
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