Delta 100 (4x5) sheets in Perceptol.....overkill?

Dear APUG/Photorio Members,

Was wondering if any large format shooters out there have used this combination
for good detail, and fine grain......



a) Do you get the rated speed of 100ASA?
b) Would negs be sharper than in say Rodinal, D-76 ?
c) I also shoot some ACROS and TMAX 100 sheet from time to time, what can be gained
with perceptol.
d) Currently using ID-11 with consistent results, but sharpness and detail mean something
when I go 16x20 and larger enlargements....
e) Thank you for your input on this and if you have ANY photo samples of this film/dev combo
please post.

Kind Regards

Harlequin

ID-11 is extremely close in formulation to D76, and when it first came out it was an exact copy, just so you know.

Overkill. Delta 100 is super fine grained to begin with. And in 4x5. You will never see it.
Concentrate more on getting the tones you want.

Then again, if it is working for you, then go with it.

Like has been said above, Delta is very fine grained already so no need for a "fine grain" developer. That said, if I were to try it with Delta 100 I would most certainly use it in at least a 1+2 dilution with 4X5. Who knows, you might just find that you like it and who am I to say different. I will say that Delta 100 is one of my favorite films in medium format whether developed in Xtol-R or Pyrocat-HDC. It's very, very nice in either, but it's probably just as nice in other developers also. I just haven't tried much else with it. JohnW

Perceptol is a nice developer but not significantly different from D76 or ID11 in terms of the look you get. If there are a lot of deep shadows in the scene, I rate it at 50; if the scene is mainly high key or moderate contrast, I rate Delta 100 at 100. But I prefer PMK pyro for the way it tames the highlights. TMax 100 gives better shadow reproduction than either Acros or Delta 100, but has less edge acutance. Grain is a non-issue with any of these in large format. I just printed 16x20 from 6x7 Delta roll film yesterday. No visible grain.

Ilford boldly states in the Perceptol datasheet:

"... It exploits the superb grain structure of ILFORD medium and slow speed films, DELTA 100 PROFESSIONAL, FP4 Plus and PAN F Plus, and produces significantly finer grain in ILFORD fast films, DELTA 400 PROFESSIONAL, HP5 Plus and DELTA 3200 PROFESSIONAL, compared with a standard fine grain developer."

In this sentence they don't start saying this for HP5+, for example, but for films that are already fine grained, and even for Delta 100 and Pan F. This is very illogical, and they don't explain why you would do this.

A nice experiment would be to try FP4+ (Delta 100) in Microphen, a speed enhancing developer, to see if it has less grain than HP5+ (Delta 400) in Perceptol, a speed reducing developer. This is a far more interesting scenario.

d) Currently using ID-11 with consistent results, but sharpness and detail mean something
when I go 16x20 and larger enlargements.

Would negs be sharper than in say Rodinal, D-76 ?...

Perceptol is the Ilford version or Microdol X, which was designed for fine grain, but will degrade apparent sharpness as it works by reducing gain leaving the grain edges jagged. By diluting to 1:1 or even 1:3 you get a shaper image. Apparent sharpness is not the some thing as how well a film resolves detail which is backed into the film. Rodinal will be sharper as any other high acutance developer. D76 1:2 may be shaper.

So it come down grain or sharpness. If you have read Berry Thornton's Edge of Darkness you want to find a copy, he goes into detail.

Do you get the rated speed of 100ASA?

In my experience with Microdol X I rate film at 1/2 box speed.

I don't have any experience with Delta 100, but have used Tmax 100, I don't often enlarge beyond 11X14, and Tmax 100 is more than enough for 11X14, a 16X20 in D79 or HC 110 should work just as well. Over the years I have moved from extream detail and grain to tone, I currently use Foma 200 rated at 100 and developed in MCM 100. But my next purchase will be HP5, want a faster film for 4X5, want to keep my shutter speed up at F22 or 32.

BTW, if want to use Perceptol you may to check with Freestyle, they carry a house version of Microdol X for a lot less than Perceptol.

Indeed. Perceptol won't give you sharper images than ID11/D76. It's counterproductive to use a silver-solvent developer on films like Delta 100 or TMax 100 where
the primary challenge as far as perceived sharpness is concerned is enhancing edge acutance. And you will lose a stop of speed. As far as HP5 is concerned, I've
never like it in any format smaller than 8x10. It has lovely tonality except in high-contrast situations (two less stops of separation in the shadows than Foma 200);
but it gets mushy-looking in more than 3X enlargement. PMK pyro works wonders with it. If you want high acutance with fine grain and long tonal range, plus speed, TMax400 is the best film ever made. Cheap? No.