Camera Wanderings #7: A Tale of 1 Film & 2 Developers: Xtol & D-23

[Andrew O'Neill]

Just uploaded my latest video. The film in question is Pan F 50. The developers are Xtol 1+1 and D-23 1+3.
I've been using this film for about two years, always developed in D-23 1+3. Decided to give Xtol a go since I have heaps of it on hand. Cheers!

andy

 

[pentaxuser]

Interesting video, Andy, thanks. On most of the shots the transition on the screen between the two developers was literally seamless. If it were a race between the two devs it would need a photo-finish to separate them

Well chosen music for the spooky temple building. I was expecting to see a sign that said : For Sale - one careful owner for 500 years. Pemanent night shift worker but contactable after dark.

pentaxuser

 

[Sirius Glass]

The comparisons did not flip back and forth several times, which would have been nice, but at one viewing most of the differences were slight image shifts. Thank you. I will stick to replenished XTOL and pyro when I am feeling especially randy.

 

[MattKing]

Thanks Andrew - the video gives me some ideas for tomorrow .
I've got some suggestions as well for doing those two back, two film comparisons!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

The comparisons did not flip back and forth several times, which would have been nice, but at one viewing most of the differences were slight image shifts. Thank you. I will stick to replenished XTOL and pyro when I am feeling especially randy.

I thought about doing that but thought that would be tedious...if anyone wants to see more closely, they can click back and forth themselves...

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks Andrew - the video gives me some ideas for tomorrow .
I've got some suggestions as well for doing those two back, two film comparisons!

Do you mean switching the film backs so one doesn't mess up? I'm all ears!

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Thanks for sharing the video, Andrew.
Yes, it seems both developers work well under overcast light for the S shaped PanF.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks for sharing the video, Andrew.
Yes, it seems both developers work well under overcast light for the S shaped PanF.

In future, I'll run another test under sunny conditions. I know how the film reacts under sunny conditions with D-23 1+3 (hard to beat!). I'm also going to do a comparison test with Pyrocat-HD at some point. We just don't get enough sun here during Winter months... mostly rain, rain, and more rain.

 

[Locutus of Borg]

Very good stuff . . . Pan F+ and Tri-X are my two favorites. I have heaps of D-76 and Microdol-X . . . You have inspired me to do a similar comparison. Thanks for sharing. This is an image I did using Pan F+ and D-76






REPLY

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Very good stuff . . . Pan F+ and Tri-X are my two favorites. I have heaps of D-76 and Microdol-X . . . You have inspired me to do a similar comparison. Thanks for sharing. This is an image I did using Pan F+ and D-76






REPLY

Thanks Locutus of Borg! I saw and replied to your comment on YouTube. Glad you are a member here. I look forward to your comparison results. Your D-76 image looks fantastic! What EI did you use?

 

[braxus]

I developed my rolls of Pan F+ yesterday in Xtol 1:3 and got really good results, visually looking at the negs. I'll see how they scan up. So Andy- the one to three time works really well.

 

[Locutus of Borg]

Thanks Locutus of Borg! I saw and replied to your comment on YouTube. Glad you are a member here. I look forward to your comparison results. Your D-76 image looks fantastic! What EI did you use?

Andrew it was a 3-4 second exposure at box speed and an ND filter, Hasselblad 500C, 80mm lens . . . I would have to check my notes for more detail than that.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I developed my rolls of Pan F+ yesterday in Xtol 1:3 and got really good results, visually looking at the negs. I'll see how they scan up. So Andy- the one to three time works really well.

Not for me they don't. Too thin. Like I mentioned yesterday, I prefer slightly denser negatives. Personal preference. I'm going to do my own dev time tests.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

This is extremely interesting. I used Pan F+ in 120 for the first time this weekend and developed it in Ilfotec HC (1+31). Negs are gorgeous, but very contrasty (I don't have access to an enlarger these days, so I don't know how difficult they'll print).

I've used D-23 with FP5+ in high contrast scenes this winter (outdoors - landscape with snow) and liked the results. With Pan F+ - which, I've read, is a naturally high contrast film (feel free to disagree those who've read something else or who have a different experience) -, this creates a dilemma: if it is a naturally contrasty film, should I "let the contrast be" with HC or try to tame it with D-23...

I'll probably do a test with both, as you did, knowing there will be a huge difference, and see what I like best.

Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

This is extremely interesting. I used Pan F+ in 120 for the first time this weekend and developed it in Ilfotec HC (1+31). Negs are gorgeous, but very contrasty (I don't have access to an enlarger these days, so I don't know how difficult they'll print).

I've used D-23 with FP5+ in high contrast scenes this winter (outdoors - landscape with snow) and liked the results. With Pan F+ - which, I've read, is a naturally high contrast film (feel free to disagree those who've read something else or who have a different experience) -, this creates a dilemma: if it is a naturally contrasty film, should I "let the contrast be" with HC or try to tame it with D-23...

I'll probably do a test with both, as you did, knowing there will be a huge difference, and see what I like best.

Thanks for the inspiration!

You are very welcome, Alex. I'm not familiar with Ilfotec HC so I cannot really comment. I heard that it is Ilford's equivalent to HC-110 so I imagine a dilution then of 1+31 should yield soft results. Did you shoot at box speed? I find if I expose at EI 25 or lower (to bump up the shadows), and develop in D-23 1+3, it helps reduce contrast. Eventually, I want to test it in a 1+5 dilution for high contrast scenes, especially on sunny days...

 

[Sirius Glass]

This is extremely interesting. I used Pan F+ in 120 for the first time this weekend and developed it in Ilfotec HC (1+31). Negs are gorgeous, but very contrasty (I don't have access to an enlarger these days, so I don't know how difficult they'll print).

You may want to cut back on the development time by 10% or 15% and evaluate the contrast.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

You may want to cut back on the development time by 10% or 15% and evaluate the contrast.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try - although the time is already short at 4 minutes.

There is also the possibility I might have over-agitated. Did a full 30 seconds agitation at the beginning (might even have been a tad more) which is my usual pattern with most other developers, but only after did I read that Ilford recommends only 10 seconds. This to say that it's still unclear to me the effect agitation has on contrast, mostly because if I often compare developers or try different developing times with the same developer, I have never tested agitation patterns with the same developer, same duration.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

You are very welcome, Alex. I'm not familiar with Ilfotec HC so I cannot really comment. I heard that it is Ilford's equivalent to HC-110 so I imagine a dilution then of 1+31 should yield soft results. Did you shoot at box speed? I find if I expose at EI 25 or lower (to bump up the shadows), and develop in D-23 1+3, it helps reduce contrast. Eventually, I want to test it in a 1+5 dilution for high contrast scenes, especially on sunny days...

Hi Andrew. Yes, shot at box speed. Just bought a few more rolls, so I will try EI 25 in both HC-110 and D-23 1+3.

Yes, Ilfotec HC is the same as the old HC-110 (I won't go into the whole debate about the new Kodak version...). It's doing wonders for my FP4+, a film for which I was having difficulty finding a combo I liked, so I'm hoping it can do the same for Pan F+. That said, I have quite a few packs of D-23, so it'd be great if that could also work.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hi Andrew. Yes, shot at box speed. Just bought a few more rolls, so I will try EI 25 in both HC-110 and D-23 1+3.

Yes, Ilfotec HC is the same as the old HC-110 (I won't go into the whole debate about the new Kodak version...). It's doing wonders for my FP4+, a film for which I was having difficulty finding a combo I liked, so I'm hoping it can do the same for Pan F+. That said, I have quite a few packs of D-23, so it'd be great if that could also work.

May I ask what dilution you used for Ilfotec and FP4?

 

[Alex Benjamin]

May I ask what dilution you used for Ilfotec and FP4?

I went with 1+31, normal development, quite straightforward: 8 minutes, 10 seconds agitation first minute, 10 seconds each following minutes. Was pleasantly surprised by the outdoor shots, even more so that I had forgotten my meter and went sunny 16, with little bracketing. It was in a park, sunny day, and I got good detail in the shadows and the snow has texture. Again, I don't have access to an enlarger (or scanner, for that matter), so I can't be sure, but it does seem very printable, with some slight work (almost always the case with snow).

Had a few indoor shots, looking out the window (shooting city scape from the office window). There, the shadows (indoor) don't show much detail, but the range between shadows (desk, chairs, etc. inside) and highlights (buildings outdoor) was much bigger here.