IlfordFP4 Rodinal

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 26, 2021

I use Rodinal for developing all my film, I use alot of Fomapan or TriX, i am venturing into using Ilford FP4 and am thinking of shooting it at 80asa and dev. For 9 minutes at 1:50. Would this be a good start? This is for printing in darkroom with 120 negs. Thanks.

relistan · Apr 26, 2021

If you haven't shot a film before, IMO the best place to start is the manufacturer's data sheet. Ilford's sheet https://www.ilfordphoto.com/amfile/file/download/file/1919/product/686/ says it's good for EI 125 in Rodinal 1+50 for 15 minutes. Is there a specific reason you want to shoot it at EI 80?

Juan Valdenebro · Apr 26, 2021

There's a development time difference depending on the type of light of your enlarger... Do you use condenser or soft light head/enlager ?

Horatio · Apr 26, 2021

I souped some FP4 in Rodinal last year in 1:50 for 11 minutes. Turned out pretty good. I exposed at box speed.

edit to reflect actual processing time

Juan Valdenebro · Apr 26, 2021

FP4+ is gorgeous in Rodinal at EI64.
If you use 1:50, that's good both for overcast and sunny scenes.
20C with 2 inversions in the beginning, and 2 inversions every minute.
8-10 minutes depending on your enlarger.

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 26, 2021

Juan Valdenebro said:
There's a development time difference depending on the type of light of your enlarger... Do you use condenser or soft light head/enlager ?

Its a soft light head enlarger.

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 26, 2021

I

relistan said:
If you haven't shot a film before, IMO the best place to start is the manufacturer's data sheet. Ilford's sheet https://www.ilfordphoto.com/amfile/file/download/file/1919/product/686/ says it's good for EI 125 in Rodinal 1+50 for 15 minutes. Is there a specific reason you want to shoot it at EI 80?

I expose all my films lower than box speed to get a good negative for printing

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 26, 2021

Juan Valdenebro said:
FP4+ is gorgeous in Rodinal at EI64.
If you use 1:50, that's good both for overcast and sunny scenes.
20C with 2 inversions in the beginning, and 2 inversions every minute.
8-10 minutes depending on your enlarger.

Thank you, sounds good.

Pieter12 · Apr 26, 2021

I shoot FP4+ at 80 and process in Rodinal 1+24 for 7.5 minutes, per the Massive development chart. Works great.

Juan Valdenebro · Apr 27, 2021

Anton: Pieter's recipe (and dilution) looks fine for soft light. An option if you don't seek direct sunlight.
If in the future you use FP4+ in MF and 35mm, EI64 is great for Perceptol 1+2: sharp grain as with Rodinal, but smaller and tighter. And middle grays are brighter, not depressed. Fine detail is better too IMO.

Tom Kershaw · Apr 27, 2021

Anton,
I have used Tetenal Ultrafin and FP4 with good results (EI 100), but Rodinal 1+49 should also work well - suspect your intentions of 64/80 EI are sensible.

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 27, 2021

Juan Valdenebro said:
Anton: Pieter's recipe (and dilution) looks fine for soft light. An option if you don't seek direct sunlight.
If in the future you use FP4+ in MF and 35mm, EI64 is great for Perceptol 1+2: sharp grain as with Rodinal, but smaller and tighter. And middle grays are brighter, not depressed. Fine detail is better too IMO.

Thanks!

Anton Lukoszevieze · Apr 27, 2021

Tom Kershaw said:
Anton,
I have used Tetenal Ultrafin and FP4 with good results (EI 100), but Rodinal 1+49 should also work well - suspect your intentions of 64/80 EI are sensible.

Thanks Tom!

jay moussy · Jun 1, 2021

Hmm, I ended up loading FP4 in a Brownie Hawkeye test, so I have no exposure measure.
What would be the best Rodinal application, in my case?

I have been collecting the forum wisdom on Rodinal, but it is confusing. TMI in a way!

Note that I will shoot other box cameras, and
1. is FP4 best to use here?
2. could I standardize on a suitable Rodinal-FP4 mode with these?

Donald Qualls · Jun 1, 2021

The recommended film for a Brownie Hawkeye back in the day was Verichrome Pan, and FP4+ is the closest there is (in terms of film speed, anyway) in today's market to that lost and lamented gem of the 1950s. I'd recommend using the Massive Dev Chart listing for either 1:25 or 1:50 dilution of your Rodinal. Given the negatives are 6x6, you needn't worry much about grain (FP4+ doesn't have bad grain in Rodinal, even in 35mm, in my limited experience). Once you have the negatives processed, you can make a decision whether to adjust your development time.

Colin Corneau · Jun 1, 2021

Pieter12 said:
I shoot FP4+ at 80 and process in Rodinal 1+24 for 7.5 minutes, per the Massive development chart. Works great.

View attachment 273191

Can't argue with results! Very nice.

IlfordFP4 Rodinal

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