HP5+ and Rodinal

macgreg · Jun 15, 2015

I know there must be a thread somewhere but I don't seem to find it, so, forgive me in advance !

I have shot a roll of HP5 @1600 and Rodinal is the only developer I have. I was thinking of following the recipe of Massive Dev Chart.

The question is, are they reliable ? Has anyone tried them or any other recipe with Rodinal and HP5 @1600 ?

Thanks for any info !

R.Gould · Jun 15, 2015

I have found the MDC to be a reliable starting point for many films, however I rarely use HP5, I do know, however,that Ilford do not suggest HP5 at 1600 be developed in Rodinal, I think because the grain will be quite bad, If you are not sure try a clip test, that way you only risk a few negatives, not the whole film

TenSpeed · Jun 15, 2015

Ive been shooting HP5 at 1600 in rodinal with no issues, tonight if the weather is good im going to shoot some more hp5 at 1600 and develop at 3200 to see how it comes out

TenSpeed · Jun 15, 2015

Heres some HP5 @1600

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^ last two with a red filter

Colin Corneau · Jun 15, 2015

I mean this quite sincerely, not snarky at all, but I'd really suggest ordering a different developer. Rodinal is wonderful (although I've never liked it with HP5) but not really ideal for push processing.

If you go this route, consider DD-X, Microphen, TMax

macgreg · Jun 15, 2015

TenSpeed said:
Ive been shooting HP5 at 1600 in rodinal with no issues, tonight if the weather is good im going to shoot some more hp5 at 1600 and develop at 3200 to see how it comes out

What recipe do you use ?

@Colin Corneau I thought about getting another developer may be, but if I can get good results with Rodinal, then why not ?

John Bragg · Jun 15, 2015

Microphen is reccomended for pushing HP5+.

macgreg · Jun 15, 2015

John Bragg said:
Microphen is reccomended for pushing HP5+.

Not a bad idea but I have never tried a powder developer .... I read that for pushing HP5 Ilford recommends using stock solution. Well, it doesn't look that difficult !

TenSpeed · Jun 15, 2015

macgreg said:
What recipe do you use ?

@Colin Corneau I thought about getting another developer may be, but if I can get good results with Rodinal, then why not ?

I use the MDC recipe, I want to get some Ilfotec-HC but I figure I might as well just finish my bottle of rodinal before i get something else

TenSpeed · Jun 15, 2015

I think it was a 20min developing time

Xmas · Jun 15, 2015

macgreg said:
Not a bad idea but I have never tried a powder developer .... I read that for pushing HP5 Ilford recommends using stock solution. Well, it doesn't look that difficult !

If you can stir sugar into tea or coffee you should be ok with Microphen, but the difference between developers may be more difficult to detect... Grain maybe but that is subjective.

I do use HP5 in Rodinal and Microphen (ID68).

YMMV

brian steinberger · Jun 15, 2015

If you're looking for a liquid developer for pushing HP5 I'd suggest ilfords DD-x.

TenSpeed · Jun 15, 2015

Can someone post photos of hp5 @ 1600 in ilford-ddx or microphen ?

Xmas · Jun 15, 2015

I only use 320-400 ISO.

macgreg · Aug 3, 2015

OK, I have so far developed 3 rolls of HP5 pushed to 1600 in Rodinal. I used the Massive Dev chart times( 1+50 for 24min @20 celsius), with agitation every minute and the results are fantastic !

The contrast is very nice-for me at least-, the grain is fine although Rodinal is not "famous" for fine grain and the prints that I made yesterday are even better that the scans, of course ! It definitely worth it.

So, I would suggest anyone who wants to use that combination to try it. The results are excellent.

marciofs · Aug 4, 2015

I try avoid Rodinal for high ISO films and pushing. For that I use Ilfotec HC which is also very economical and handle very good results with big grains.

miha · Aug 4, 2015

Yes, HP5 shines in Ilfotec HC, but this developer went up in price considerably, and there are two alternatives available for half the price.

Gabino · Aug 4, 2015

hi macgreg -

HP5 and Rodinal is a great combination. If Rodinal is what you have, use it. You never mentioned what format you are working with. I've seen nicely developed negs for 35mm and medium format with this recipe, but this photographer's work stands out, he works in medium format:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/zgodzinski/3736065590/in/faves-31923226@N07/ this is from my faves page but you can go to his link to check it out.

he alternates between hp5 and trix, check the notes below each pic, and he also share some of his dev technique...

i couldn't find my 35mm reference but i will check it at home...

cheers\
Gabriel

macgreg · Aug 5, 2015

Thanks for that post Gabino I will certainly give it a good look !

I work at 35mm. I intend on shooting 120 too, as long as I get my RB serviced. Rodinal is what I have indeed, Ilfords's developers are not all available in Greece. Especially the Ilfotec HC. Only the Ilfosol is what I find but I don't believe is the best for 1600 developing, according to Ilford. Also, Ilfotec is way too expensive from what I see online.

I believe that my way with Rodinal is what suits me the best so far. I also shoot TriX and the grain is beautiful, I still have to try it in 1600 but I think I will stick to HP5 for now.

I'm just saying that Rodinal is a bit "notorious" for the grain and contrast but I think that it's a good all around developer. For me at last. I still make prints in the darkroom from these 3 rolls that I shot @1600, 8x10 and so far the results are excellent. The grain is so fine that I almost can't see it.

miha · Aug 5, 2015

Can you get Kodak HC-110 in Greece?

macgreg · Aug 7, 2015

Yes it is available and I have thought about trying it. Although all these dilutions of it seem a bit strange at first when I read about it ! I believe that it is similar to Ilford HC, right ?

miha · Aug 7, 2015

It is very similar, 1+31 is the most popular dilution, directly from the botte.

franck · Aug 7, 2015

Hello!

I have been using exclusively HC-110 for processing HP5+. I have posted some of the images and comparison here between what I get at box speed and when push processing to 1600. I quite like the results I am getting with HC-110 but I have not tried to process HP5 with Rodinal because I was under the impression that it was not a good combination. Since some of you seem to be getting good result I may give it a try to make a side by side comparison.

cheers,

Franck

macgreg · Aug 9, 2015

Very nice blog franck ! HP5 is a beautiful film and pushing it @1600 is no problem at all.

HP5+ and Rodinal

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