Neopan SS in Rodinal

Hello! I'm in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After searching for faster films in vain I've decided to stock up on Neopan SS. I will develop in Rodinal. I usually shoot 400 speed films and cut the film speed in half. I am currently shooting APX 400 and rating it at 200. My question is, as I don't have the luxury of testing and as box speeds vary a lot vs real speed, what speed would SS users recommend as a starting place. My gut is EI 50, but slow speed films get away from me sometimes as I rarely use them. Any suggestions? Or better yet, got a few bricks of Neopan 1600 stashed away somewhere in Chiang Mai!!?

Thanks!

Fortepan 100 too....

Looks like I'll be buying some Fortepan 100 as well. So advice for that film would be appreciated as well.

Thanks again!

SS in Rodinal

I tend to rate SS at 100 for Rodinal. SS has the funny nature of actually looking too dense and then printing right, and Rodinal makes a nice beefy neg. Actually, Rodinal is not my favorite dev for this film, you'd think with the extra snap and acutance of Rodinal would help this film but the grain kinda turns out a bit corse and mealy looking. I prefer either Xtol 1:1 or better yet Microdol-X or Perceptol 1:3 make the grain be all it can be. I've tinkered with this film for years, done it in Agfa 8, V222, Rodinal Xtol D-76, 23 25, Microphen, Microdol-x, and Diafine (also quite nice at 250). Have fun.

I've been using Neopan SS at 64 ASA in D76 1+1 for some time.

I originally exposed it at 80 ASA in D76 1+1 and found slight shadow detail problems which I fixed once I went to 64 ASA.

I thought the negs were too dense as well, but found they printed beautifully.

The same goes for Neopan Presto (400) I expose at 320 and D76 1+1. The negs look slightly dense, but print beautifully.

Mick.

I've only shot two rolls of Fuji Neopan 100 SS. The first one I developed in D-76 1+3 for 9:45 at 20C. It's been a while, but I don't recall any problems with that combination. The second roll I developed in Rodinal 1+50 for 15:00 at 20C, which was the middle of the 14-16 minute time range given on the Massive Dev Chart. The result was horribly dense negatives (they both looked dense and required printing at a low grade, although I don't recall precisely what I had to use). I also agree with RidingWaves that this combination produced ugly grain. Overall, I'd say to avoid using Rodinal with this film. If you do use Rodinal, I'd recommend cutting the development time to 14:00 or less (at 1+50 dilution). (OTOH, that's based on my development techniques; maybe yours would produce thinner negatives than mine do to begin with....)

Neg density

I like dense negs. Less propensity for dust showing. Slightly more grain, but oh so easy to print.

Mick Fagan said:

I've been using Neopan SS at 64 ASA in D76 1+1 for some time.

I originally exposed it at 80 ASA in D76 1+1 and found slight shadow detail problems which I fixed once I went to 64 ASA.

I thought the negs were too dense as well, but found they printed beautifully.

The same goes for Neopan Presto (400) I expose at 320 and D76 1+1. The negs look slightly dense, but print beautifully.

Mick.

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