agitation: every 30 or 60 seconds

[Stregone]

If executed by the Jobo processors, only a slight reduction in development time. I like them for ease of use and consistency of development.

How about with a paterson 2 reel tank? It has a little tool to do rotation agitation and I've always wondered about doing it that way.

 

[Denis R]

every 30

t-max dev. small tank figure 8 every 30 sec for 5 sec
works good for t-max 400

 

[dancqu]

The biggest thing I've found here is that I'm more
consistent at 30 seconds, not enough time to run off.

I don't like being tied to the tank; every 2 or 3 minutes
a few inversions. I've time between for mixing a fresh
fix, rinsing bottles, mopping up, etc. Same with the
fix, twixt agitations I prepare the Photo-Flo. Dan

 

[clayne]

I think initial agitation is probably the most significant factor as opposed to say 30 vs 60 sec intervals.

 

[DLawson]

How about with a paterson 2 reel tank? It has a little tool to do rotation agitation and I've always wondered about doing it that way.

When Ralph said "rotation," I thought he meant continuous horizontal rotation on a roller base.

As for the twisty rod, it worked fine for me. That was the only way I agitated my Paterson tanks until reading the agitation debates here. I still use it for the first 30 seconds with each solution -- back and forth, like a washing machine -- then inversion at 30 second intervals.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

When Ralph said "rotation," I thought he meant continuous horizontal rotation on a roller base...

That is what I meant.

 

[Venchka]

Too many replies to read.

My answer: All the time. Continuous. A la Jobo.

 

[DaveOttawa]

Has anyone even ever figured out if it even matters if it's done every 30 seconds or every 60 seconds? If anything, you could do a trail-and-error test to figure out which one you like best...

I teach an intro B&W film course, believe me modern films will give good (although perhaps not actually their best) results with a wide range of variations on agitation (and other variables) during processing. I noticed a student doing the cocktail shaker thing last week, even though that roll of FP4 got a LOT of agitation it was perefctly printable. Having said that once you progress beyond beginner consistency is IMO more important than exactly which method you use. You want to ensure that the only variable you change is time so that the effects of time changes are predictable.