So I've been using HP5+ for a while and really love this film. I used it in both 35mm and 120. It's my go to film because I can always get a good neg out of it. But I've looking for a developer that might be a bit easier on the environment than ID-11 or xtol, and I also wanted a liquid developer.
Being a big fan of Ilford products, I thought I would give their Ilfotec HC a try. It comes as a liquid, although it is thicker than Mrs. Butterworth's maple syrup. It is the Ilford equivalent to Kodak's HC-110. I believe they both have the same mixing and dilution directions.
I ordered up some HP5+ and an expensive bottle of Ilfotec HC from Freestyle. The one liter bottle costs $35.
I shot a roll of the film at 250, outside, on a day that had sun and clouds. I would normally rate this film at 250, even when using ID-11 or xtol.
I grabbed my new bottle of HC and headed to the darkroom. Following the directions, I mixed a 500ml working solution using the 1+31 dilution. This was 16ml of HC and 485ml water. It goes without saying that this stuff is thick! It settled quickly to the bottom of my graduate. Without mixing it up, I poured this into my film canister. The syrup is so thick, that is sticks to the side of the graduate. After a few moments, it finally slides out.
Total development time (as per the bottle) was 6.5 minutes at 68 with agitation for the first minute, and then 3 inversions once a minute there after. The negatives look really good to my eye. Under an 8x loupe, there is grain, but it is not bothersome (to me). I have not made contact sheets or a print yet but will tonight.
So, onto the second roll.
The second roll of film was shot indoors, at an ISO of 800. The exposures where made at 4/125 and 5.6/125. Using the instructions on the bottle, I developed for 9.5 minutes at 68. I used the same dilution (1+31) and the same agitation. But this time, I mixed the syrup thoroughly BEFORE pouring it into the film canister. The negatives came out very contrasty and thick.
So, I think I will need to back off on the developement a bit, when shooting at 800. Kodak says to use 7.5 minutes when using HC-110 with HP5+ that has been exposed at 800. I will probably try 8.5 minutes.
I will be making contact sheets tonight and probably a print or two. I will post the results here.
Side Notes:
When making a working solution, pour 100ml of water into your mixing container. Then pour in your HC. Stir constantly. Then keep filling the graduate that was used to measure out the HC and use this to continue making your total working solution, making sure you get it all into the working solution. Once it is all in, mix thoroughly.
Being a big fan of Ilford products, I thought I would give their Ilfotec HC a try. It comes as a liquid, although it is thicker than Mrs. Butterworth's maple syrup. It is the Ilford equivalent to Kodak's HC-110. I believe they both have the same mixing and dilution directions.
I ordered up some HP5+ and an expensive bottle of Ilfotec HC from Freestyle. The one liter bottle costs $35.
I shot a roll of the film at 250, outside, on a day that had sun and clouds. I would normally rate this film at 250, even when using ID-11 or xtol.
I grabbed my new bottle of HC and headed to the darkroom. Following the directions, I mixed a 500ml working solution using the 1+31 dilution. This was 16ml of HC and 485ml water. It goes without saying that this stuff is thick! It settled quickly to the bottom of my graduate. Without mixing it up, I poured this into my film canister. The syrup is so thick, that is sticks to the side of the graduate. After a few moments, it finally slides out.
Total development time (as per the bottle) was 6.5 minutes at 68 with agitation for the first minute, and then 3 inversions once a minute there after. The negatives look really good to my eye. Under an 8x loupe, there is grain, but it is not bothersome (to me). I have not made contact sheets or a print yet but will tonight.
So, onto the second roll.
The second roll of film was shot indoors, at an ISO of 800. The exposures where made at 4/125 and 5.6/125. Using the instructions on the bottle, I developed for 9.5 minutes at 68. I used the same dilution (1+31) and the same agitation. But this time, I mixed the syrup thoroughly BEFORE pouring it into the film canister. The negatives came out very contrasty and thick.
So, I think I will need to back off on the developement a bit, when shooting at 800. Kodak says to use 7.5 minutes when using HC-110 with HP5+ that has been exposed at 800. I will probably try 8.5 minutes.
I will be making contact sheets tonight and probably a print or two. I will post the results here.
Side Notes:
When making a working solution, pour 100ml of water into your mixing container. Then pour in your HC. Stir constantly. Then keep filling the graduate that was used to measure out the HC and use this to continue making your total working solution, making sure you get it all into the working solution. Once it is all in, mix thoroughly.
