Cinestill DF96 monobath

Raghu Kuvempunagar · May 7, 2020

Huss said:
Nikon FM, 43-86 v2, Kentmere 400, Cinestill DF96 Monobath

Was this exposed at box speed? I could be mistaken but this scene would have benefited by a more generous exposure.

Huss · May 8, 2020

Yes. It was in the middle of the day with extremely harsh contrast, which is why the bike pops from the dark background. Which is what caught my attention and made me take the pic.
More exposure would blow out the bike - which is the subject - to bring out the shadows which need to be dark.

Huss · Jun 7, 2020

Leica R-E, Summicron 50, Arista 400 Premium, Cinestill DF96 Monobath, Z7 scan.

DF96 Monobath is meant to have a shelf life of 2 months once opened, and 16+ rolls.
The image above was just developed and I am at the 2 month mark. I also have now developed 13 rolls of film with it.
The solution is now murky, but I will see how much longer and for how many more rolls I can use it for.
Dev time is now 8 minutes at 70 degrees.

Huss · Jun 9, 2020

Nikon F2A, Nikkor 55 1.2 non AI, Arista 400 Premium, Cinestill Monobath DF96, Z7 scan.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jun 9, 2020

Huss said:
Nikon F2A, Nikkor 55 1.2 non AI, Arista 400 Premium, Cinestill Monobath DF96, Z7 scan.

Nice! Was this push processed?

It would be useful if you post the pic of the negative also with the (post-processed) scans.

Huss · Jun 9, 2020

Raghu Kuvempunagar said:
Nice! Was this push processed?

It would be useful if you post the pic of the negative also with the (post-processed) scans.

8 mins at 72 (dev time maxes out at 8 mins after starting at 6 and adding 15 secs for each subsequent roll). The image is a mural that has relief, i.e. 3D, it was in harsh sunlight and was black/grey.

Huss · Jun 9, 2020

Nikon S2, CV 50 3.5 Heliar, Super Hypan II 25 (way expired and who knows how it was stored...), Cinestill DF96 Monobath

Huss · Jun 10, 2020

Leica R-E, Summicron 50, Arista 400, DF96 Monobath.

Huss · Jun 10, 2020

Nikon F2, 55 1.2 non AI, Arista 400 Premium, Cinestill DF96 Monobath

Huss · Jun 13, 2020

17th roll developed from the first bottle of Cinestill DF96 Monobath.

Rolleiflex 2.8GX, Ilford Delta 400, Z7 scan:

Donald Qualls · Jun 13, 2020

Cinestill BWXX, EI 400, Df96 (Kiev 4, Jupiter-8)

Huss · Jun 13, 2020

Should really rename this thread!

Pentax K2, SMC 50mm f2, Super Hypan II 25, Cinestill DF96 Monobath

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jun 13, 2020

Huss said:
Should really rename this thread!

You can create a new "Post Your Monobath Experiences and Pics Here" thread and request moderator to merge the two threads.

Auer · Jun 14, 2020

Good thread and images, a DF96 thread would be cool.
I'm about to order some as well for a project next month.

Huss · Jun 17, 2020

Rolleiflex 2.8GX, Ilford Ortho Plus 80, Cinestill DF96 Monobath
Roll# 18 from first bottle.

Huss · Jun 17, 2020

Rolleiflex 2.8GX, Ilford Ortho Plus 80, Cinestill DF96 Monobath
Roll# 18 from first bottle.

Huss · Jun 18, 2020

Huss said:
It dissolves the emulsion, leaving you with a totally clear film strip.
And contaminates the reusable monobath developer. I had to run it through a coffee filter to remove the debris.
Hopefully the monobath still works..

It just now dissolved the emulsion off Adox CMS 20 II Pro film. Just like the Silberra, totally clear film strip.
I was developing it in the same tank as a roll of Ilford Pan 50, and that looks thin, so to seems the DF is done after 18 rolls (these were rolls #19 and 20).

I'll see what the Pan 50 looks like in the morning.
Cinestill actually mentions in its instructions that Adox CMS 20 II can be developed if rated at ISO 6 (which I did). Bit of a bummer.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jun 18, 2020

Huss said:
It just now dissolved the emulsion off Adox CMS 20 II Pro film. Just like the Silberra, totally clear film strip.
.

You should read the data sheet of Adox CMS 20 ii. Iirc they don't recommend more than two minutes in the fixer.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jun 18, 2020

One danger of using the monobath beyond the recommended number of rolls is you can never be sure that the film is properly fixed.

Huss · Jun 18, 2020

Raghu Kuvempunagar said:
One danger of using the monobath beyond the recommended number of rolls is you can never be sure that the film is properly fixed.

I was seeing how many rolls I can get out of it. They mention 16+, and things were completely fine with the 18th roll.
I just think that it does not work (obviously!) with the Adox film, the same way it does not work with the Silberra film. I should have got something, not a completely stripped clean strip.

Huss · Jun 18, 2020

This is from the DF96 instructions:

Adox CMS 20 II can produce the sharpest, highest resolving, most fine grained images in the world, but it "...achieves 20 ASA of usable speed in ADOTECH developer...
If developed in non dedicated low contrast it can be exposed at 3 to 6 ASA."- adox.de

Donald Qualls · Jun 18, 2020

You might check whether the CMS20II actually had the emulsion stripped (gelatin floating in the monobath when you poured it out) or, instead, had the image silver dissolved out of the emulsion. Rapid fixers are known to do this with significant overfixing, and by roll 18 you must be processing for eight minutes or so -- which might be long enough to remove most or all of the image on a hyperfine grain emulsion like that.

Raghu Kuvempunagar · Jun 18, 2020

Huss said:
I was seeing how many rolls I can get out of it. They mention 16+, and things were completely fine with the 18th roll.

How can you be sure that 18th roll is fixed properly? Only time will tell.

Huss · Jun 18, 2020

Raghu Kuvempunagar said:
How can you be sure that 18th roll is fixed properly? Only time will tell.

correct

Huss · Jun 18, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
You might check whether the CMS20II actually had the emulsion stripped (gelatin floating in the monobath when you poured it out) or, instead, had the image silver dissolved out of the emulsion. Rapid fixers are known to do this with significant overfixing, and by roll 18 you must be processing for eight minutes or so -- which might be long enough to remove most or all of the image on a hyperfine grain emulsion like that.

The solution was pink after I poured it out of the dev tank - just as it happened with the Silberra film. Which I then filtered to reuse (chunks of stuff came out in the filter).
This time I think it is done because the other roll of film that was in the tank with it (Pan F 50) is very very thin, and the markings on the film edge are very faint (feint?) which shows underdevelopment not underexposure.
Previous rolls of Pan F 50 developed with no issues in DF96.

I don't think I helped the life expectancy of the DF96 when I had issues with the Silberra film in the early going, but I feel that we can safely say that the solution is good for 18 rolls, which ties in with Cinestill's 16+ claim.
Perhaps my experiences are helpful to others?

To sum up:

1. Good for 18 rolls over a period of 2 months.
2. Do not use with Silberra Orto 50
3. Do not use with Adox CMS 20 Pro II

Cinestill DF96 monobath

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