FP4 at ISO 100

digiconvert · Jul 8, 2007

Just shot a roll of the above. I used R09 at 1+99 for 15 min at 23C / 74F. The rebate looks slightly underexposed but contrast seems good (my intention was to get good contrast). Anyone else have any suggestions on development for future reference ?

nworth · Jul 8, 2007

If you're happy with the contrast, the development is probably right. You might try EI 80, or even 64. Try bracketing shots between EI 50 and 100, then pick the exposure that works best and use that EI in the future. I've used D-76 with FP-4 in the past. It gives less apparent (not less) grain and a somewhat softer look.

david b · Jul 8, 2007

I am shooting FP4+ at 100 and using rodinal 1+50 for 15 at 68 and my negs look great.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jul 8, 2007

I'll second the notion to perhaps expose at a slightly higher EI if the negs are a bit thin on the low value end. EI 100 works great in some developers, like Pyrocat that I use. R09 is, I believe, a Rodinal clone, and will probably give you less speed, so an EI of 64 or so might be right on the money for you. I remember getting good printable negs with Rodinal at EI64.
- Thomas

gainer · Jul 9, 2007

If your meter is that accurate, you spent too much on it. Manufacturing tolerances of film, shutters and f-stops do not warrant it. Now if you are convinced that your system has a 1/3 f-stop bias with respect to your meter, go with it, but don't expect it to make a difference, and don't tell everyone that such-and-such a film is off by 1/3 f-stop, because without some pretty accurate tests you will not know where the bias exists even if it does make a noticable difference.
I'm not trying to be mean, just realistic.

ingobohn · Jul 9, 2007

As R09 is very similar to Rodinal, I guess that 23°C/74F is a bit too high. Normally, Rodinal should be used not at "high" temperatures (i.e. at 20°C or below)

timeUnit · Jul 9, 2007

I recently developed three rolls of FP4+ in Rod 1+50. I do 15 minutes total, init. agitation 45 s, then 10 sec (four inversions) / 3 min. 20°C. They were all shot with my Natura S pocket camera, so I haven't an exact EI, but if anything, the negs have good shadow detail.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jul 9, 2007

You're probably right, I don't get very technical with photography. But I developed six sheets of Tri-X 4x5 the other day at 75*F in Rodinal 1+50, by inspection. Worked very well, the prints came out nice.
Not saying you're wrong, just saying I got it to work somehow. Probably more luck than anything.
- Thomas

ingobohn said:
As R09 is very similar to Rodinal, I guess that 23°C/74F is a bit too high. Normally, Rodinal should be used not at "high" temperatures (i.e. at 20°C or below)

Earl Dunbar · Jul 9, 2007

With slightly elevated developing temperature, you can keep the time down, which means less wet time. Naturally, all steps need to be at the same temp. 74F is not too high for Rodinal from my experience.

ic-racer · Jul 10, 2007

Testing Results of FP4-Rodinal

digiconvert said:
Just shot a roll of the above. I used R09 at 1+99 for 15 min at 23C / 74F. The rebate looks slightly underexposed but contrast seems good (my intention was to get good contrast). Anyone else have any suggestions on development for future reference ?

I frequently use FP4 120 in Rodinal at about 1:99. Using rotary processing I have obtained the following results with 10cc of Rodinal per roll of film:
Relative ISO = 2 1/3 stops slower than Tmax 400 developed in Tmax developer when the FP4 was developed to a Contrast Index of 0.73 (10 min @ 24 deg. in Rodinal 1:99). The Tmax 400 comparison roll was developed to a CI of 0.65 in Tmax non-RS developer one shot.
Testing method speed point was 0.1 above film base plus fog. Exposue was Wejex 'white light' sensitometer. Contrast Index was calculated as the linear regression of the first 11 data points above 0.1 (personal method). These tests were with a test strip of film alone in the drum. Previous experience tells me the CI is lower then multiple complete rolls of film are processed.

Therefore, In practical terms, I usually use an exposure index of 50 and rotary process for about 10 min.

FP4 at ISO 100

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