Fp4, pyrocat-HD, and a Jobo cpp2

rootberry · May 15, 2007

I've got a couple of boxes of 8x10 fp4 that I'd love to give a try. I've been shooting efke pl100 pretty much exclusively for years now and developing it in expert drums at 68F. Where is a good starting point with fp4 as far as N developing time and film speed with pcat-HD? I mix the developer with distilled water, and use the motor on the slowest possible setting. Thanks for peekin!

sanking · May 16, 2007

rootberry said:
I've got a couple of boxes of 8x10 fp4 that I'd love to give a try. I've been shooting efke pl100 pretty much exclusively for years now and developing it in expert drums at 68F. Where is a good starting point with fp4 as far as N developing time and film speed with pcat-HD? I mix the developer with distilled water, and use the motor on the slowest possible setting. Thanks for peekin!

First, I think FP4+ and Pyrocat-HD is a great combination. For times, assuming you are developing for printing on VC silver papers I would suggest a development time of about 14 minutes at 72F with the Jobo. Add or substract about 4% for each degree of temperature change.

Sandy

rootberry · May 16, 2007

Wow! I'm glad you spotted this thread Sandy- The massive dev chart says 64asa, with 8min dev time at 68 degrees F ! I am actually developing these for contact printing on kentmere bromide graded papers. I will also be experimenting with digital applications, such as digitally enlarged negatives to be contact printed. I get to experiment tommorow with this combination, as I will be getting an epson v750 scanner and HP b1980 printer. I can't wait to try it out!

sanking · May 16, 2007

rootberry said:
Wow! I'm glad you spotted this thread Sandy- The massive dev chart says 64asa, with 8min dev time at 68 degrees F ! I am actually developing these for contact printing on kentmere bromide graded papers. I will also be experimenting with digital applications, such as digitally enlarged negatives to be contact printed. I get to experiment tommorow with this combination, as I will be getting an epson v750 scanner and HP b1980 printer. I can't wait to try it out!

If you are printing on graded silver papers it would be good to reduce develoment time to the 10-12 minute range at 72F. If you go the route of digital negatives you could drop the time even more.

Sandy

rootberry · May 16, 2007

Would you also start by rating the film at 64, or a little higher?

sanking · May 16, 2007

rootberry said:
Would you also start by rating the film at 64, or a little higher?

That depends entirely on where you want to place shadow density on the curve. Pyrocat-HD give full emulsion speed, and slightly more, with FP4+, but many people over-expose by a stop or so to get better separation in the shadows.

There is a short and long story, but the short story is this. If exposing and developing for printing on silver papers you will probably get better results by rating the film at EF 50. If you are exposing and developing for scanning, rate at EF 100 and adjust the tonal values in Photoshop.

Sandy King

rootberry · May 16, 2007

Thank you for you help sandy. I spotted the 20x24 in the classifieds, and I sure would love to have it.. Hmm.. I wonder if there are any college aged kids lugging around a 20x24 these days...

Shawn Dougherty · May 16, 2007

I've decided to switch from my beloved Tri-X to FP4+ as I think it's better for photography to support Ilford at this point... so, thanks for asking my question rootberry and thanks to Sandy for answering it! This should give me a good starting point. I shot a box of FP4+ in 4x5 a couple years ago, developed it in Pyrocat HD and loved it... however I lost my times somewhere along the way. Best. Shawn
Shawn

Fp4, pyrocat-HD, and a Jobo cpp2

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