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Developing TMY-2 with Rodinal

hughitb

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I have been doing this by slavishly following the manufacturers recommendation of 5 minutes at 1:15 for film rated at 400. Works nicely so far. A few questions though:

1. I have one roll that I rated at 200 instead so I should cut the development time but I am not sure by how much. Any suggestions?

2. How many rolls of 120 can I reasonably expect to develop with one 500ml lot of 1:15 dilution (Paterson tank)?

3. Should I really be increasing the development time by 30s for each subsequent roll as suggested?

Looking forward to the usual excellent advice!
 

gainer

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Reducing development time will reduce contrast as well as average density. TMY is quite linear, so if you get the contrast you like at 400, you will still get very close to that contrast with only a little more density by using your customary developing time. That, at any rate, is what I would do. Printing exposure will be a little greater, but not as much as you might think.
 

Lee L

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Rodinal, or Rodinal Special?

Lee
 

fschifano

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1. Don't know for sure how much I'd cut development for the over exposed film. Kodak hasn't published anything about pull processing in their tech pub for the film (find it here: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4043/f4043.pdf), and there is no reference to using Rodinal. I've also noticed that you're using Rodinal at a rather unusual dilution of 1:15. That's pretty strong for Rodinal. It is more commonly used at 1+25 or 1+50. Since your development time is already 5 minutes, cutting back on the time is not a very good option. That could result in uneven development because the tank's fill and drain times become a significant part of the total processing time. Rather I'd suggest that you increase the dilution to 1+25 or 1+50, then take perhaps 15% to 20% off the time for the film when rated at EI 400.

My own experience with the film rated at EI 400 and processed either in D-76 or XTOL suggests that there is no need for overexposure. There's plenty of shadow detail to be had in even some very harsh lighting conditions. Some exposures I've made at 1 stop under exposure have had far better shadow detail than I'd expected to see.

Give this film a try in ID-11, D-76, or XTOL. I use D-76 or XTOL, diluted 1+1, used only once, and follow Kodak's directions to the letter and have been very pleased with the results. You might like it too.

2 and 3. Rodinal, once diluted to working strength, should not be re-used. So my answer to question 2 is one roll, and to question 3 is obviously, no.
 

df cardwell

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Do you mean Rodinal Special ?

Here is what Agfa said about extending the development time to compensate for partially used developer.
When you are using such a potent developer, it isn't sound to shorten the times below 5 minutes. better to increase the dilution. Rodinal Special is excellent at 1+31, but you'll have to work out your own development time.
 

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hughitb

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Frank: thanks .... I am using 1:15 because that is what the instructions suggest (this is Rodinal Special now) but I do realise that a weaker dilution has advantages in that it extends the developing time so it's longer than five minutes so it would probably be better if I did that.

On the reuse thing: I am not talking about using the developer, putting it in a container for a few days and using it again. I mean, do one roll of film, pour out the developer into a container, then use it five minutes later for another roll. It seems from the comments though that this is not a great idea. So thank you all for that ..... I guess I will be going through more developer than I thought but then if I dilute more this won't be so much of an issue.

Thanks for the help all ...... I'll have to rethink this a bit.
 

fschifano

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wogster

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I thought Agfa went fins up a couple of years ago, is someone else making the developer now, or is this old stock. If it's old stock then how long does this stuff last.....
 

df cardwell

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Long time.
 

T Hoskinson

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wogster said:
I thought Agfa went fins up a couple of years ago, is someone else making the developer now, or is this old stock. If it's old stock then how long does this stuff last.....
Click to expand...
AGFA Rodinal Special is a PQ developer (Phenidone/Hydroquinone). As such. it should have a fairly long working life (testing required).

Rodinal Special is nothing like traditional Rodinal (which is a P-Aminophenol developer).
 

df cardwell

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Rodinal Special is nothing like traditional Rodinal (which is a P-Aminophenol developer).

Yet it DOES last a long time in unopened bottles,
it does give a beautiful image,
and is a very worthwhile product.

Agfa said the concentrate was good at least two year in sealed bottles
(I think that is very conservative)
and the working solution good for 3 months
in full, capped bottles.

They also suggest that you mix the full quantity of concentrate,
and decant into small bottles. I've happily used Rodinal Special that way,
and further diluted it 1:1 for use. It seems most like Aculux 2.

Rodinal Special is the same stuff as Studional,
but because it does need to be used up once the bottle is opened,
Agfa made Rodinal Special in little bottles and Studional in big ones.
Using up a liter of concentrate takes a lot of film,
and was really intended for a lab or studio setting.
 
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hughitb

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So I went ahead and processed the rolls at 1:15 concentration and cut the development for the 200 rated one to 4.5 minutes. Negatives look fine but I'll get a better idea when I try and print them.

Defintely going to go with the suggestion of reducing the dilution to 1:30 and work out a development time for that. I'll just burn through developer too fast otherwise.

So, let me get this right - Agfa have stopped making this stuff so the supply is going to run out after a while .. is that right? If so, maybe I should consider another developer. I want one I can use constantly for a few years and not be messing around using different ones ...
 
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