Bergger Pancro 400 in FX-55

[removedacct3]

Hi,

Last night I tried developing Bergger Pancro 400 in FX-55 and I was surprised by the results. The combo Pancro 400 and FX-55 does not seem to work well, or at least, it did not work for me. There is smudginess all over the negative.

I investigated it a little bit further and tried to rule out the usual suspects by mixing a fresh working solution, giving it more agitation with fresh fixer. No improvement as the smudginess was still there. Did a test strip of Ilford Delta 400 using the same techniques and the same fixer. That test strip was perfectly fine. And finally I did a test strip of the same Pancro roll in a different developer, AGFA 72 in this case, to rule out a Bergger related quality control issue but that test strip came out perfectly fine as well.

Please have a look at the attached image. At the top you see Pancro 400 developed in FX-55 and the bottom strip is Pancro 400 from the same roll developed in AGFA 72. I bumped up the contrast slider all the way to the right to emphasize the smudginess. In real life when holding the neg in front of you the smudginess is clearly visible by the naked eye.

I don't know whether it makes a difference or not, but I do use FX-55 with the liquid version of part B. A formula that I found on this site and was given by Pat Gainer in 2008 just after the public release of FX-55. Perhaps a TEA related issue?

Did I stumble upon a incompatible film/developer combination? Or is there something else causing this?

Looking forward to read your thoughts or experiences.

Have a nice day,
Marcel

 

[Murray Kelly]

Stick with the top one, the FX55. The Agfa72 has most peculiar migration of the blacks (negative) over the white areas. Almost a reverse Mackie lines effect.

Murray

 

[Auer]

Hi,

Last night I tried developing Bergger Pancro 400 in FX-55 and I was surprised by the results. The combo Pancro 400 and FX-55 does not seem to work well, or at least, it did not work for me. There is smudginess all over the negative.

I investigated it a little bit further and tried to rule out the usual suspects by mixing a fresh working solution, giving it more agitation with fresh fixer. No improvement as the smudginess was still there. Did a test strip of Ilford Delta 400 using the same techniques and the same fixer. That test strip was perfectly fine. And finally I did a test strip of the same Pancro roll in a different developer, AGFA 72 in this case, to rule out a Bergger related quality control issue but that test strip came out perfectly fine as well.

Please have a look at the attached image. At the top you see Pancro 400 developed in FX-55 and the bottom strip is Pancro 400 from the same roll developed in AGFA 72. I bumped up the contrast slider all the way to the right to emphasize the smudginess. In real life when holding the neg in front of you the smudginess is clearly visible by the naked eye.

I don't know whether it makes a difference or not, but I do use FX-55 with the liquid version of part B. A formula that I found on this site and was given by Pat Gainer in 2008 just after the public release of FX-55. Perhaps a TEA related issue?

Did I stumble upon a incompatible film/developer combination? Or is there something else causing this?

Looking forward to read your thoughts or experiences.

Have a nice day,
Marcel

I'm curious, are you looking for something other developers cant achieve with Pancro 400?
I like the film a lot, but pretty much just stick to the recommended dev choices so far.

I cant even find starting times for stuff like LegacyPro Mic-X (Microdol X) etc..

Thanks for sharing

 

[Lachlan Young]

Stick with the top one, the FX55. The Agfa72 has most peculiar migration of the blacks (negative) over the white areas. Almost a reverse Mackie lines effect.

Murray

I think that's much more likely from imperfect contact with the step wedge.

 

[removedacct3]

I agree. The bleed on the bottom strip is exposure-related, but development looks ok.

The top strip looks terribly mottled. This could be a development problem, but it also could be an exposure issue (for example if the film is contact printed through very dirty glass or something).

To follow-up on my initial question, I also developed a Pancro 400 test strip in PC-TEA, another Ascorbic Acid, Phenidone TEA developer. And guess what? Also mottled!
Besides 510-pyro, a developer known not to work with Pancro 400, I do not have any other Phenidone - AA developer lying around. So my little Pancro - FX55 endeavour is about to end.

The fore-mentioned exposure issue is a non-issue. I made those test strips using a X-Rite 334 sensitometer and wipped the glass plates before using it; there is/was no dirty or dust on the plates. You get the bleed on the bottom of the second test strip if the film is not pressed tightly on the glass plate. That sometimes happens as the foam that should keep the film flat needs to be replaced. It is the kind of foam that does not age very well.

 

[Lachlan Young]

If dirty glass etc is eliminated, then insufficient agitation and/ or a developer that's far too close to the edge of aerial exhaustion would be the next ports of call.