Agfapan APX 100 and R09

Hello all

My trip to the US is soon over, and I'll have some film to process when I get home. My question is: I've tried Agfapan APX 100 in R09 1+40 (11.5 min) and the results were not similar to what I'm used to with APX 100 and Rodinal 1+25 (8 min). I have a feeling that the negatives have less contrast. I wonder if I use a stronger solution of R09 if that will increase the contrast. If yes, what would the development time be?

Thanks in advance

Birger A.

You have to be careful because Rodinal is also being called RO9 now, and the Calbe etc RO9 has been made more concentrated so that it matches the dilutions of Rodinal.

If you want to match your current RO9 to Rodinal then 1+20 would be closer, and yes with Rodinal/RO9 dilution is an excellent way to adjust contrast.

Ian

I see you spell R 09 differently. I wonder what the "R" stands for? "Rezept 09" perhaps?

Agfa 8 and 10 are published formulas (Recipe 8 is a glycin based, and recipe 10 a paraminophenol develper). Agfa 9 is Rodinal.

Why not try one film first to find the right time and tthus make sure your images from that trip will be processed properly?

Ian Grant said:

You have to be careful because Rodinal is also being called RO9 now, and the Calbe etc RO9 has been made more concentrated so that it matches the dilutions of Rodinal.

If you want to match your current RO9 to Rodinal then 1+20 would be closer, and yes with Rodinal/RO9 dilution is an excellent way to adjust contrast.

Ian

Click to expand...

Thanks

I have the Fomafoto R09, so would that be old or new concentration?

I guess I'll do 1+20 for 8 mins, and see if that gives an OK result.
Of course, if someone thiinks I'm way off the mark, then tell me.

Regards

Birger A.

The vinstructions with it will tell you by the recommended dilutions, It's when you replace it you need to check it's the same.

Ian

BirgerA said:

Thanks

I have the Fomafoto R09, so would that be old or new concentration?

I guess I'll do 1+20 for 8 mins, and see if that gives an OK result.
Of course, if someone thiinks I'm way off the mark, then tell me.

Regards

Birger A.

Click to expand...

Whether the R09 is the new or old depends on the bottle shape. Not sure which is which but my old R09 has squarish corners.

If you're wanting better acutance I suggest you try over exposure, underdevelopment (use your Rodinal for higher acutance), and selenium toner to bring the contrast back into normal range. The toner extends the H&D curve's straight line a bit thereby allowing a little overexposure to open shadows without blocking highlights. Don't tone them too much though. You should take extra shots and tone one at a time until you get a feel for the process. Eventually you'll be able to get pretty close from sight alone. Do the same with your B&W paper prints which deepens shadows without blocking them (again, don't overdo it). The final result is much improved acutance/tonal rendition and deeper more open shadows and unblocked highlights. Textural detail can be superb. You'll find that using 1:50 Rodinal dilution works best due to decreased development times. When you get it right you may never go back.

EDIT: I don't know about differences in Rodinal strength of late.

EDIT #2: Another plus side of selenium toning to increase contrast is if you don't tone quite enough the first time you can just tone an image some more. But you'll want to presoak a couple minutes before re-toning.