Ilford HP3 development times?

Necator · May 21, 2011

I just got an Agfa Box Special camera as a late birthday present from some good friends. Inside the camera, I found a roll of exposed Ilford HP3. I have Xtol, D76 and Rodinal at my disposal. I think I will use either D76, if I have more already mixed, or Xtol if I have to make a new mix.

Can I use the development times given for HP5+, or should I develop it longer?

bwrules · May 21, 2011

I doubt anything would be useful. Latent images shouldn't last this long.

pentaxuser · May 21, 2011

bwrules said:
I doubt anything would be useful. Latent images shouldn't last this long.

The poster may be right but do not take precipitative action based on this one opinion. I and others here have had latent negs produce reasonable prints when the latent image was as old as HP3. In my case it was Kodak Verichrome Pan in an Agfa camera since the late 1950s.

Wait for others to answer. If you get nothing you can use then contact Ilford who will probably come up with a dev and time worth trying.

Best of luck

pentaxuser

bwrules · May 21, 2011

I am not saying OP shouldn't try it, just that I doubt the results would be OK. Fast film has also gained really heavy fog over time.

2F/2F · May 21, 2011

bwrules said:
I doubt anything would be useful. Latent images shouldn't last this long.

Based on your doubts, what action would you suggest the OP take, and why? Or did you just want to say that for the heck of it?

bwrules said:
I am not saying OP shouldn't try it, just that I doubt the results would be OK. Fast film has also gained really heavy fog over time.

Then why didn't you just say that in the first place? What you did say originally implied the opposite of your followup post.

To the OP, I think it is worth giving it a shot. It is possible to get something sometimes, and if you don't, the loss to yourself is very minor. Some time and chemicals only.

I would look around for developer formulas that are described as "low fog." Also, HC-110 is a pretty decent commercially available developer that minimizes fog (and grain) pretty well, while also adding a bit of "pop" compared to D-76 (not unlike Rodinal in how it affects contrast).

Necator · May 23, 2011

I have contacted Ilford, hope they have a suggestion.

Steve Roberts · May 23, 2011

It's certainly worth trying. Though the fog is likely to be high, tweaks in the printing process and (dare I say it?) even a bit of digital manipulation of the negs/prints could give interesting or usable results.
Who's to say what those latent images could reveal??? Perhaps some insight into the life of a person or family who you'll never know, or on the other hand maybe Lee Harvey Oswald caught nipping out the back door of the book repository..... Go for it!
Steve

Necator · May 23, 2011

Hats off to Ilford. About an hour after sending them my question, they revert with a nice reply. I have taken the liberty of quoting it here, I hope Ilford doesn't mind:

Potentially, your film find sounds really interesting! But I'm pleased too, to see that you also acknowledge that it can be sometimes disappointing when such old films are processed ie old films can have high fog, or mottle and will inevitably have lost speed and contrast.
That said, any dev times I've typically ever given out to other people with film finds as you of obsolete/old film products - have actually led to surprisingly good results. So hopefully you too will be pleasantly surprised, and have some interesting images to try and identify a time period/faces/buildings etc! I wish you luck.

I would advise that you use D76 stock 20c - and the time I would advise you give is 12 minutes.
What you might wish to do - is simply process a few frames (clip test) at that suggested dev time, and then tweak it accordingly for the rest of the film - if you need to.

Just as a final bit of info - in case its of interest to you! HP3 was launched around 1941 - and discontinued in 1960 (when it was superseded by HP4).
So maybe that can help in your age identification - if your images are successful!

(a sidenote - They suggest D76, since I told them I had D76, Xtol and Rodinal at hand).

hpulley · May 23, 2011

I suggest HC (Kodak HC-110 or Ilford HC) for its anti-fogging properties but D-76 could work OK if it is what you have on hand.

herb · May 23, 2011

Hp3 old film

I had a roll of Kodak plus x 35mm that was in a box in an attic
for over 25 years - developed it and got visible images, badly retriculated, but memorable shots of an old relative that we would not have had. I think the retriculation was from the heat- attics in Texas get really hot.

frobozz · May 23, 2011

Here's the official word on HP3 from back in the day (and note that ID-11 = D76, so you can use that one as a guideline...)

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Duncan

Steve Roberts · May 23, 2011

>>>Just as a final bit of info - in case its of interest to you! HP3 was launched around 1941 - and discontinued in 1960 (when it was superseded by HP4).

That's interesting. Much of my early photography was done using film spooled off a giant (may have been as much as 1000') roll of HP3 that my father had 'acquired', probably from the MoD. That would have been from 1970 onwards, so the film was at least ten years old and possibly as much as 29. I don't remember any problems, but perhaps that says as much about my standards back then as it does about the film! Development was invariably in Johnsons Unitol.

Steve

J Rollinger · May 23, 2011

It would be interesting to see the images, please post them.

Necator · May 24, 2011

I developed the film as advised (12 minutes in stock D76). The only problem I encountered was getting it on the reel. It was extremely curly, and very reluctant to get on the reel. With a film exposed roughly 50 years ago, I think it turned out ok. You can see the scans on my Flickr account here. They are scanned directly from negatives, and adjusted for exposure only (I don't have a darkroom).

bwrules · May 24, 2011

Wow. It's amazing that the latent image has kept this long...

Richard S. (rich815) · May 24, 2011

A few months ago I came across a BIN auction of a bulk roll of HP3. Had to buy it since the expiration printed on the back of the tin is JULY 1963, the month of my birth. I've loaded up the roll in one of my bulk loaders and will be exposing some soon. Of course I expect huge amounts of fog and loss of speed and likely a bit of mottling in the emulsion but worth a try I think. Will likely shoot it at 10 or 25 and develop in HC-110 at HP5 times as a starting point....

hpulley · May 24, 2011

Those look great! It's fun to develop found film.

Steve Roberts · May 25, 2011

Remarkable results, especially considering the film's age and less than ideal storage conditions. I'd agree with your estimation of late 1950s, as the fashions very closely match photos that my parents took in that era. It's strange to think that the people in the pictures never actually saw them, as we are now able to do, and that they are now either elderly or possibly no longer with us. At risk of ruffling a few feathers, it would be fun to doctor one of the pictures in the digital domain to minimise the imperfections. I did this recently for the father of a friend with a glass negative from the early 1950s and he was delighted with the end result.
Well done for persevering!
Steve

Necator · May 25, 2011

If it had been pictures of my own relatives, I would probably have done some retouching. With this roll, I am just glad it was actually possible to get something. It is clear that the exposures done first, that ended up closest to center in the take-up spool, survived best. On one of the frames, there was actually a hole in the film and backing paper, and the paper looked burned. I am not sure how that happend though.

Ilford HP3 development times?

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