How well does Rodinal actually keep?

mjk · Dec 9, 2008

I'm hoping to get myself some Rodinal to use in the darkroom during my photo workshop next semester rather than relying on the rather boring 1:1 D-76 that comes with my lab fees at school. One thing I was wondering is: how well does Rodinal actually keep once the bottle is opened. I know that the working solution doesn't have much of a shelf life but it doesn't really need to... What I'm wondering is how well the concentrate keeps. Many things I've seen say it keeps fairly well, but I've also seen a few people say that once opened, Rodinal starts to degrade fairly quickly. Who's right?

fschifano · Dec 9, 2008

Rodinal starts turning to dark brown, almost to the color of black coffee, fairly quickly once the bottle is opened. Oddly, in comparison to MQ type developers, this darkening is not an indication that the developer has gone bad. The concentrate will last for at least a few years in a closed bottle.

mono · Dec 9, 2008

The concentrate will last at least for years, even when it turns dark brown! As has been stated above.

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 9, 2008

Yep, Rodinal does not deteriorate quickly. I'm on a new bottle now, but have had one in the past that was at least 3 years old and for the most part it wasn't even half full. Worked just fine! I know it's hard to believe, especially when you pour out that brown and nasty looking slurry. But it really works!

Beyond that, it's a fantastic film developer.

- Thomas

R W Penn · Dec 9, 2008

After ten years half empty bottle just filter out lumps and keep using it. Had jug about 40 years old with rubber stopper.

Neal · Dec 9, 2008

Dear mjk,

No off the shelf developer will die during a single semester. Order the small bottle from Freestyle, include some film and when you spread the shipping around you get to try a new developer for $10. It's all good.

Have fun,

Neal Wydra

Trevor Crone · Dec 9, 2008

Just finishing off a bottle that is about 3 years old. I think its birthday is next week, so I'll be having a party

mjk · Dec 9, 2008

Good to hear... Also, how does one go about getting an accurate dillution? 1:25, I can just about imagine, but 1:50 or 1:100 seem like they might be a bit tricky.

Finally, what are some good films for Rodinal. Most of what I find on the 'net about that topic seems to consist of flame wars, so some actual advice from a friendly group of people would be useful...

Venchka · Dec 9, 2008

Dilution: I use a 10ml graduate. Each ml is divided into 10 parts. Works like a charm even for 2.5ml Rodinal in 500 ml water. 1:100 is even easier.

Way back when, Agfa films were fantastic in Rodinal. That was the combination I learned on. Lately I have developed HP5+ and PanF+ in Rodinal with nice results. I don't think there is a film that doesn't like Rodinal. I always use 1:100 or higher dilutions.

Anon Ymous · Dec 9, 2008

mjk said:
Good to hear... Also, how does one go about getting an accurate dillution? 1:25, I can just about imagine, but 1:50 or 1:100 seem like they might be a bit tricky.

Finally, what are some good films for Rodinal. Most of what I find on the 'net about that topic seems to consist of flame wars, so some actual advice from a friendly group of people would be useful...

Accurate dilutions are easy if you use a syringe. As for films, well, it's up to anybody's cup of tea. Keep in mind that rodinal can give quite big grain. That said, some people find TriX in rodinal ugly, while others just love it. Tell us what you like/want and someone might be able to propose something. Help us help you

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 9, 2008

mjk - I've used a 50ml graduate with 2ml increments through all the years to measure Rodinal. I get it pretty accurate, or accurate enough. If you mix one liter of developer, it's easy to measure 10ml at the 1+100 dilution. Even 5ml is easy.

To me, and given my taste, I think any film can be made to work well with Rodinal. Lately I've used it with Plus-X for some of the sharpest negs I've ever produced, with Tri-X for glorious grain, with APX100 for some amazing tonal separations, with Delta 3200 for some really aggressive grain (love it!), and Fuji Neopan SS 100 for some lovely and grainy 35mm negs. You can use one developer in many ways and get different results. Pick a film, and try it. I would recommend an ISO 100 film like TMax, Acros, FP4+, Delta 100, Plus-X, Foma 100 to get an idea what you can do. They are all good with Rodinal for different results.
Anon Ymous said it well - help us help you. Tell us what you're after.

- Thomas

Claire Senft · Dec 9, 2008

I would be very careful about taking the statement "no off the shelf developer will die in a single semester" too literally.

mjk · Dec 9, 2008

I want some grain, but not too much. The ISO 100 recommendation sounds about right then... From what I've seen online, Fomapan 100 looks like it should provide the right look...

Trevor Crone · Dec 9, 2008

I've had excellent results at 1:25 with Fuji Acros and Ilford's FP4 and HP5.

fschifano · Dec 9, 2008

mjk said:
I want some grain, but not too much. The ISO 100 recommendation sounds about right then... From what I've seen online, Fomapan 100 looks like it should provide the right look...

Indeed, Foma 100 is pretty nice in Rodinal. But do allow extra exposure for this combination. I've recently shot two rolls of Foma 100 under controlled lighting conditions. Both films were rated at box speed. Development for one roll was in XTOL, 1+1; and for the other I used Rodinal 1+50. The film developed in XTOL had plenty of shadow detail at that speed, while the roll developed in Rodinal looked like it could have used an extra 2/3 to 1 full stop extra exposure. Your results may differ, but I'd suggest bracketing a few controlled exposures before doing anything important.

jim appleyard · Dec 9, 2008

I recently finished a bottle of Rodinal from at least 1968 ( the last year they made the glass bottle with a rubber stopper) and although it was very dark, it work just fine. So,
Rodinal will last for decades, not just years.

Colin Corneau · Dec 9, 2008

At the risk of sounding like a cheerleader, I want to back up what Venchka and Thomas said heartily. I just tried Rodinal with some Rollei Retro100 (aka APX100) and I was blown away. The grain was quite attractive, not nearly as much as I had earlier thought...and the negs are incredibly sharp.

I printed a few shots I made on my Xpan up to 20 inches wide, and they sang.

As for dilutions, I tried 1:50 and 1:200 dilutions -- no problem, just get an eyedropper or syringe (I use the glass type they use in labs) and a 10ml beaker.

I want to try this developer with a few other films, but...based on what I've seen so far? I'm a huge fan.

How well does Rodinal actually keep?

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