Neopan 400 in Pyro devs anyone?

Anyone tried this film in P'cat for example? I have found that I really like Neopan 400 and 1600 (35mm only), but find that it has a much softer grain structure compared to HP5 (sharpest grain of any film IMHO). The tonality is wonderful though I would like to sharpen it up a bit. I shot some 1600 at its true speed in DDX of just about 800. Grain was not that prominent at all and tonality actually very good on skin tones (my kids), but for street shots the grain is too soft and fluffy looking in DDX for me (Neopan 400 also seems a bit soft grained in normal devs to me). HP5 is great stuff, but a bit too low in contrast at times, so I figured Neopan might sharpen up nicely in pyro and serve as a medium speed film for general travel/street use. I want a faster alternative to FP4 plus for use in my soon to arrive RF645. I love HP5, but want something a bit contrastier for general use.

For some examples of Neopan400 in PMK have a look at:

http://edkrebs.com/

I'm using Neopan400 (120 size) in Pyrocat-HD and it's sharp! I use the metol version of Pyrocat-HD since I had some trouble with my first normal batch (probably my fault), and I use a film speed of about 320 and develop in dilute (3mL+3mL+500mL) with minimal agitation for about 18minutes at 20degC. (My agitation for what it's worth is constant for 2min, then a couple of inversions each 3min. Also, if you have a 250mL tank that would cover a 35mm film I don't know if 250mL is enough for a full 36 exposure film if you use dilute Pyrocat-HD)

My metering style is to give more exposure than a "point and shoot" use of an auto meter would give, because I think that this film's character makes it harder to salvage underexposed negs. If I was thinking of a setting for a "set and forget" auto meter I would set 200 or less.

This film works well in diluted developers, and also in Xtol 1+1 (and I have read raves about 1+3, but haven't tried it)

Hi,

PMK is one of my favorite developers for a number of films. Despite reports from photographers whom I respect that it has no significant differences from conventional developers, my experience is that both its tonalities and its ability to preserve highlights are truly exceptional
I have used the PMK Fuji 400 combination in 35 MM and think you will really like it. The tones are very nice and the grain moderate, but not objectionable. Acutance is very good also. My favorite developer for this film is FX 15 but to use it you would have to mix your own from the raw chemicals.

Good Luck,

Jay

Cheers! Just as an aside at my 1.5:1.5:100 dilution, pyrocat HD will develop a 10x8 film easily in just 200ml developer solution. Capacity is very good. I just love the flexibility for pyrocat and I thing it is even more of a boon to have almost unblowable highlight when shooting rolls as you can always expose for shadows and let the highlights fall wherever they wish! I will certainly give it a try soon.

Tom

Tom Stanworth said:

Cheers! Just as an aside at my 1.5:1.5:100 dilution, pyrocat HD will develop a 10x8 film easily in just 200ml developer solution.

Tom

Click to expand...

Your active ingredients equate exactly to my 3+3+500 for the same area of film. Although I use very dilute Pcat, more time still gives more contrast, so it doesn't die as PMK does.