how many sheets in a tray with min. agitation?

[eddie gunks]

hi all,
i am interested in using hi dilutions with HC110. i use a daylight tank with my 4x5 and i use 1:119. i agitate every 3rd min.
how many 8x10 can i leave in a tray and use minimal agitation/shuffle. how many can i leave together in one tray, if any, with out affecting the development?
thanks
eddie

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

If you want to use tray development, you are probably best off not attempting minimal agitation techniques with more than one sheet. Too long in the soup with another sheet on top and you'll see the shape of the other sheet as an underdeveloped area where the one sheet stuck to the other. Ideally, you should do minimal agitation/stand/semi-stand in a tube where you can put one or two sheets at a time, or in deep tanks where you can use hangers, and have enough volume of chemistry to assure proper development even with highly dilute chemistry.

 

[climbabout]

8x10 min agit

I concur with FC's reply. For any kind of reduced agitation, I develop my 8x10 in home made pvc tubes in a vertical orientation with the tubes filled with chemistry.
Tim

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

I concur with Scott and Tim. One sheet with a generous volume of developer.

I use 1,5 to 2 liters of diluted developer for semi-stand development.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Also, it is generally accepted practice with stand/semi-stand/minimal-agitation development NOT to lay your film flat, but to stand it up. It is more prone to mottling and uneven density patches when developed horizontally, because locally exhausted developer byproducts don't have anywhere to go, and just lay on top of the film.

 

[Richard Wasserman]

I agree that it is not a good idea to have multiple sheets of film on top of each other, that is asking for trouble. I only use 4x5 and have very successfully devloped many sheets using a Slosher tray and semi stand agitation with Pyrocat HD. I found that the trick is to agitate briskly for 1 minute as soon as the film touches the developer. The initial agitation cured the problem I had with mottling and I now get very even and well developed negatives.

Richard Wasserman