errors in developing Acros 100

jaimeb82 · Apr 10, 2011

I have been getting strange results in my 35mm developing. I use Xtol 13minutes, Ilford rappid fixer 5 minutes and a few drops of photo flo after washing for 10 minutes. I get not only some stains but also a weird darker strip along the whole film. Here is a picture example. Not sure if it is the fixer, the photo flo or what! The camera is a rangefinder Konica III with a Hexanon 2.0 48mm lens. I've gotten good results before so I don't think is the camera but it could be. Here is a picture sample to see if someone recognizes where the problem is.

Rick A · Apr 10, 2011

Not enough developer in the tank? Does it run the full length of the film? Light leak?

Dave Swinnard · Apr 10, 2011

Is this the dreaded "low tide"?

If there is insufficient volume of developer in the tank, then part of the roll is not fully immersed in the the chemistry and development doesn't take place leaving a clear edge along the length of the film (the top edge relative to the tank) that prints black.

Back in the days of the non-invertible "twirly stick" tanks, this was a common occurrence when students didn't pay attention to the required amounts of solution required for a given roll of film. With modern, sealed invertible tanks and insufficient developer some development occurs along the "top" edge during the periods of inversion but since it's not fully immersed for the full time, some degree of clear/black edge can appear.

If you are 100% positive you had the proper amount of developer in the tank...then ignore the above, and I'm at a loss to be able to describe what you're seeing.

Dave

polyglot · Apr 10, 2011

It looks like you don't have enough developer in the tank so it's not completely covering the image area. A little bit of developer gets onto the top bit during agitation and runs down from the perforations, hence the stripes of density. If you similarly don't have enough fixer in there, you might get staining of that area either milky (grossly insufficient fix) or subtly brown in the dense parts (slightly insufficient fix).

polyglot · Apr 10, 2011

man, you gotta be quick around here.

jaimeb82 · Apr 10, 2011

I go with 500ML of developer 167+333 and fixer I do 500ML also 125ML fixer to 375ML water. The other thing is that the plastic tank I use leaks from the top so I loose some liquid when doing agitation. Could it be that after the 10th inversion I have lost enough to affect development and fixing? Thanks for the few tips already.

Jaime.

FM2N · Apr 10, 2011

With the 2 tanks I have one calls for 650ml the other 570ml for 2 rolls of 35mm. So 500ml seems low to start. Also I find I need to burp the red lid before I start my inversions or they also leak a bit.
Arthur

polyglot · Apr 10, 2011

500mL for how many rolls? My Paterson tank wants nearly 600mL for two 135s which would explain your issue.

Put your spirals (no film) in the tank and add your usual measure of water. Is the spiral completely covered? If your tanks leaks, do that test using the volume you measure on pouring out the developer at the end.

jaimeb82 · Apr 11, 2011

I use a Paterson that calls for290ML 135s, so I think I am low on the liquid that I am using. I got 4 more rolls to go, I just hate to screw up some good street photography just because of my negligence.

pentaxuser · Apr 11, 2011

Leaks can be a serious problem. Try the correct measured amount of waterinstead and invert as per normal and for the usual time then measure what you have left. That at least will tell you the size of your loss and whether the tank will hold enough to accomodate the loss and still cover the film.

If the loss is more than a few mls I'd dump the tank and replace. There is nothing worse than not knowing if the film will end up partially uncovered and worse not knowing if the loss is getting bigger with each film developed.

pentaxuser

sewarion · Jul 24, 2011

Well, as many others have noted before, the strip on the edge really looks like you are low on the amount of developer. I am using a Paterson tank as well, and mine also leaks. However, the loss of solution never led to any strips like yours. I am using 300ml of solution per 35mm film, 10ml more than suggested. One thing I noted, though, is that Acros needs quite long washing times. I recently developed 5 rolls at a time, washed them for quite a while (not sure how long, but definitely longer than 10 minutes) and hung them up to dry. When I wanted to cut them the next day, I found strange spots and something like fog on the film. Maybe this explains the stains. Simple re-washing solved this problem for me. You can test this quite easily when you put the (dried) film (or one piece of it if you already cut it) in some water, leave it there still for 5-10 minutes and see if the water turns pink/purple.

cheers,
sewarion

derwent · Jul 24, 2011

I have had a similar issue arise with a Paterson tank and now I use a but more than it says to use which completely stopped the problem.
Also Acros does need more wash than most films and I like to fix a little longer than most other films too.

Dan Daniel · Jul 25, 2011

I am not familiar with the tank being used, but what about mixing a bit extra developer and 'topping off' during development? Not ideal, I know, and the leak should be fixed. With my tanks- stainless with black plastic lid- I know that if I see liquid when I tilt the tank 45 degrees, I get coverage on one roll of 120. 15 degrees or so for 2 rolls of 135. Maybe your tank will show you something like this, and just add a bit as you go along. Until you get rid of the leak, that is.

Marv · Jul 25, 2011

Here is a suggestion: do a "wet run" test. Take an empty reel and fill the tank with your normal amount of liquid, in this case plain water. See how far over the reel the water comes. Now do a normal development cycle. Take the lid back off and see how much water remains. If it still covers all of the reel it isn't a volume issue. If it is short of the top of the reel measure how much it takes to recover the reel and add that amount plus a bit more to your initial fill. This should allow for leakage and still have enough to cover the reel at the end of the development cycle.

errors in developing Acros 100

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