Delta 3200 vs HP5 base fog ?

[Laurent]

Sorry, I know this has been discussed several times, but I did not find the information I looked for.

I developed 4 rolls of film (120 format) last night :

- Two HP5 rated at 250, souped in XTol 1+1 at 20° for 10'00"

- Two Delta 3200 rated at 1600, souped in HC110 "B" at 24° for 10'00"

All look nice, but the base density on the Delta is MUCH higher than the one of HP5. This is not the first time I observe this, and I wanted to check what coudl cause this.

I have no densitometer, but the proof time for Delta is double the one for HP5 to have results I like. This seems quite large, isn't it ?

Could it be due to the development temperature, or the different developer ?

Just to check, I refixed a part of the "lead" for 10 minutes in fresh fixer (the same as yesterday, mixed right before developping) but can see no changes.

Any hints ?

 

[tlitody]

delta 3200 does seem to be susceptible to high base fog. Suggest you experiment with different fixers. This is something I am going to do sometime when I eventually get round to it.

 

[dasBlute]

yup, the base fog is higher on delta3200, it'd be higher on HP5 if you pushed it to 1600.
But, you're comparing two different developers as well. Who cares, delta3200 is
*great* film for it's purposes, allowing handheld street shots at night like this.

 

[Laurent]

I fully agree it's a nice film. Makes a great combo with the Rolleiflex for shooting in available light !

It's just that it strikes me each time, and I'd like to understand.

I had a look at the Massive Dev Chart, and it could well be that I overdevelop : they state 9 minutes for HC110 B at 20, I'm making 10 minutes at 24... Il have to investigate !

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I had a look at the Massive Dev Chart, and it could well be that I overdevelop : they state 9 minutes for HC110 B at 20, I'm making 10 minutes at 24... Il have to investigate !

The Massive Development chart might give you a decent starting time for developing your negatives. Or not. It's not a 100% reliable resource.

The only person that can judge how well you're processing your negatives is you, or any other person that print from them. If you have too much contrast, beyond what you can print, you develop too much or agitate too much (or both). If you find yourself adding contrast at the printing stage, you need to process longer, or increase your agitation (or both).

Just keep doing it until the negatives are just right. Don't worry about base fog. It's normal for Delta 3200, and you print right through it.

 

[steven_e007]

How old were the films?

I found that Delta 3200, which has quite a bit of base fog anyway, gains lots more as it ages. Not surprising for such a fast film, of course - but amazing how quick that 'use by' date can creep up on you. HP5+ seems to be ok up until about 10 years after the use by date!

 

[Matt5791]

I always find Delta 3200 to have a very high base fog - I think it's pretty normal.

 

[topoxforddoc]

I have never been a fan of Delta 3200. Out of choice, I now push HP5 normally to 1600 without much grain in XTOL.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

 

[Colin Corneau]

I had the same observation about D3200 but it seems to be standard for this film and did not affect my printing of the film at all. My times and developer were fine.

 

[Laurent]

The Massive Development chart might give you a decent starting time for developing your negatives. Or not. It's not a 100% reliable resource.

The only person that can judge how well you're processing your negatives is you, or any other person that print from them. If you have too much contrast, beyond what you can print, you develop too much or agitate too much (or both). If you find yourself adding contrast at the printing stage, you need to process longer, or increase your agitation (or both).

Just keep doing it until the negatives are just right. Don't worry about base fog. It's normal for Delta 3200, and you print right through it.

My negs seem to be printing fine, using the #3 (sometimes 2) filter in my enlarger (HP5 prints using #3), it's more that the times are longer and the look very different.

How old were the films?

The films are fresh (the brick I'm using at the moment just left the freezer a week ago, and is to be used by 2011

I have never been a fan of Delta 3200. Out of choice, I now push HP5 normally to 1600 without much grain in XTOL.

That looks interesting, I'll give it a try. Using only one film and one developer is appelaing (in fact I'd still be using Pan-F, but all my 'normal' shooting uses HP5 or Delta)

Thanks all for your contributions, I think it's time for me for some speed and development tests...