dilute perceptol vs pyrocat hd tests

[Leon]

Hi -i have finally finished and developed some test 120 delta 100 using pyrocat vs my favourite dev up until now, perceptol at 1:3

pyrocat was used at 1:1:100, 21 degrees, for 17.5 mins - 2 mins agitiation then 10 secs agitiation every 3 mins after that. water stop and fixed in TF-4

perceptol was used 1:3 at 24 degrees for 15 mins (30 secs agitation then 5 secs every 30 secs) , water stop and TF-4 fix.

All exposures made on my rollei sl66 with 80mm planar.

I will be posting comparison images in the technical gallery over the next few days, and have already posted one.

both films were rated at manufacturers ratings (ei100) and both the negs were scanned via vuescan at 1600dpi and 16 bit with only the same unsharp mask applicaiton and levels set to black and white points in photoshop - no further manipulation.

I dont have faciltiies to print these conventionally at the mo, so the scans will have to do for now.

So far, I find that both films could do with a slower ei - shadows are a little blocked up , although more with perceptol than pyrocat (i usually rate at ei 80 with perceptol) Pyrocat seems a little over developed at first look on the lightbox, although still very usable negs. I find that the grain is noticably more prominent with pyrocat, but only at very large magnifications - the perceptol negs pixelate before they look grainy! The edges with pyrocat are much more sharp though, as would be expected and the highlights really do seem to have more seperation, although this could be just my subjectivity ... difficult to see the full effect of the stain until I can get these in an enlarger.

still - thoughts and pointers are most welcome.

 

[roy]

I find that the grain is noticably more prominent with pyrocat,

I know these are early days yet and you will not have had a chance to do comparative prints to see what effect the apparently larger grain has on paper but it will be interesting to know what the results would look like using a slower speed film.

 

[skahde]

Your low agitation makes it difficult to compare your results with mine but an EI of 64 is what I get with Pyrocat and Delta. 8:30 min 1+1+100 with 30s initial agitation and three inversions every 30s.

But the negs look less contrasty than they are to the paper, so if they look contrasty they are probably to contrasty.

best

Stefan

 

[philldresser]

I agree with Stefan in that Pyrocat negs look less contrasty than they print. My first few attempts at 5x4 negs would be great for Pt/Pd printing but are over contrasty for normal grade 2 papers.

Love the results so far now I have amended dev times to suit my tastes

Phill Dresser

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

I rate Delta 100 120 Roll film and 4x5 sheet film at EI 80, meter for the shadow detail and develop in 1:1:100 Pyrocat for 11 minutes at 20 deg C. I agitate gently for 5 seconds per minute. I follow development with a water rinse and then fix in a non-hardening akaline fixer followed by the water saving wash procedure recommended by Ilford. I use either boiled deionized water or 18 megaohm deionized water in all processing solutions to avoid problems with dissolved oxygen. My results are very consistant - clean, uniformly developed negatives that are sharp, show high acutance, and are fine grained. They print well on silver paper and scan well.