Foma B&W Transparency Developer

[thefizz]

I see Foma make a B&W transparency developer kit for their Fomapan R 100 reversal film. Has anyone used this developer successfully on any other B&W films?

Also, am I correct in saying Kodak's Tmax reversal kit is no longer available?

Peter

 

[Anon Ymous]

I haven't used any reversal kits, but it's true that the "TMax 100 Direct Positive Film Developing Outfit" was discontinued somewhere back in October.

 

[coigach]

Hello Peter,

Can't answer your question I'm afraid, but it might be an idea to PM Ian Grant?

He has lots of useful info and has contributed to previous threads on reversal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Gavin

 

[Ian Grant]

Peter & I met at the last Ilford factory tour Gavin

I have posted quite a few reversal formulae in the Chemistry section here under Film DEV - Non Staining, and have done some research for a commercial lab, but that project is on hold at the moment.

It's a case of doing some personal experiments too find what suits you and your choice of film best.

Ian

 

[vencahaus]

I see Foma make a B&W transparency developer kit for their Fomapan R 100 reversal film. Has anyone used this developer successfully on any other B&W films?

Peter

I did. What would you like to know?

It is a phenidon-hydroquinone high-contrast fine-grain developer. I am 99% shure that there is no halide-solvent included. So it is suitable for films like fomapan-r or HP5+ (roll film). I've tried both. If you add halide-solvent you can process many other films (Adox CHS/Otrho, FP4+, Pan F, etc...).

I am talking about transparencies for projection, not scanning or inter-negatives...

 

[vencahaus]

I forgot to say that the developer is called Fomadon LQR and you can order it separately from the kit.

 

[thefizz]

Thanks for all the replies. I was told that the Tmax reversal kit did not work very well on films other than Tmax but I am not certain of this as I never used it myself. If this is the case then I wondered if the Foma kit also only worked properly on the Foma R100 film or if it could be used successfully on other films.

 

[vencahaus]

You can use this kit but there is no magic inside and I am sure you can get everything you need elsewhere. You need a high-contrast developer, fixer (that acid one based on two sacks of powder), sulphur acid and either permanganate (drugstore or pharmacy store) or potassium dichromate for bleaching. A pack of fixer contains all you need: halide-solvent agent and chem. for clearing solution.

But you're right, it's easier to begin with something more instant. As I already mentioned, you need to calibrate the amount of halide-solvent, time and permanganate for your film.

 

[thefizz]

Thanks vencahaus. I have been informed that it will work well on films with a clear base so I might try it on some Acros.

 

[vencahaus]

It will "work" on every film. Clear base is a necessity for projection of course. However, films are different and results achieved with them would be different as well. It may happen that you will not like Across. I've never tried. The problem is that all these films are meant to work well as negatives, which usually means low contrast. But in case of transparencies, your control (especially increasing it) over the contrast is limited. In this respect, I still haven't found better film than fomapan-r. It has incredibly beautiful tonal response, contrast and fine grain.
If you're looking for easy and early results, I suggest beginning with this film or more getable HP5+ in 120 format (the grain still being bigger than with 35mm fomapan-r though!).

Good luck! B&W slides are fantastic.

Vaclav

 

[Ian Grant]

Fomadon LQR is I think based on one of Ilford's published PQ formulae and so look at the Ilford Reversal suggestions for an alternative. It should work with any film but will need tweaking to get the best results.

Ian

 

[Ian Grant]

Kodak recommend D67 which is D19 with 2 gm/litre Potassium Thiocyanate, but other companies like Ilford suggest Hypo, Sodium Thiosulphate, but more Hypo is needed as Alessandro indicates above. Ilford recommend altering the hypo level until you get results that suit you best.

Ian

 

[vencahaus]

I guess we require the first developer to give a high contrast while producing a fine grain. Using paper developer, I was able to get the contrast but the grain was always a problem. I wonder what is the problem with developing films in paper developers. All the guidelines (Ilford etc..) recommend not to prolong the time of development. What are the side effects?

When I use the Fomadon LQR I have no problem with grain. I think I can let the film in the developer quite long without any side effects. I have never tried to brew D67 when LQR is quite cheap.

The amount of thiocyanate or hypo have to be calibrated for each kind of film separately. Thus Adox CHS 25 and CHS 100 need different amount. If I am not wrong, generally, the lower the speed of the film the more silver and thus the more halide-solvent needed.

Second, if we decide to keep the film in the developer longer, the halide-solvent is going to work more and thus smaller amount is needed. In this respect, it may be easier to settle on one time in the developer (previously tested as negative process) and then calibrate the amount of solvent agent.


I think when Kodak recommended some developer with some amount of solvent agent, they meant it as suitable solution for their film like reversal tri-x or so.

But maybe I am totally wrong.

Vaclav

 

[dr5chrome]

..stay away from this film for positive work. It will not reverse.
There really isnt any other film on the market like FOMA-R. Any other film type in this kit will produce poor results at best.

For the sake of no argument, id disagree with greatly with the published ILFORD recipe and many of the formula suggestions, but we already know this... :rolleyes:

dw

Thanks vencahaus. I have been informed that it will work well on films with a clear base so I might try it on some Acros.