New Kodak B&W Films

[RAP]

Like so many others, I have been looking for comments on the new line of Kodak B&W films. I personally have not tried any yet but I will eventually face that inevidable decision. One concern is the shortened development time. For Tri-X, under 4 minutes for dilution B which makes it useless. Another experience from another board is that the emulsion is very soft and floats off the film.

Any thoughts, comments, experiences?

 

[SteveGangi]

After hearing all the complaints, I decided to just wait and see. Meanwhile, I've just been using Ilford FP4+ and HP5+. I decided I like them a lot, and the developing times are well known.

 

[G O'Connor]

I used Kodak more, but then when they made the switch, I freaked and switched to Ilford. Eventually I went back to Kodak and besides developing times, I notcie no difference. I have developed tri-x in HC-110 B, I just make sure to do a pre-water soak to assure even development.

 

[RAP]

I see that plenty of people are wondering what the new Kodak films are really like but not too many have gotten to it yet. I am still going through my last few boxes of older Tri-x and being careful how I use it. Maybe I will just switch to Ilford and be done with it.

Still, Kodak invested plenty of money into a new plant, just for B&W film so you would think that they see a future for it still. They should iron out the rough spots, like fixing Tri-X development times into a more useful range.

 

[Tom Duffy]

I'd read somewhere that Kodak drastically modified their HC110 development times on their new tech sheets, because they were traditionally too long, i.e., always incorrect. I thought their old times gave a really plus development.

I'd bet that the real Tri-x, Plus-x times haven't really changed too much; your personal development times will only require tweaking...

 

[Aggie]

.

 

[dr bob]

</span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (RAP @ Dec 17 2002, 02:19 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> Like so many others, I have been looking for comments on the new line of Kodak B&amp;W films. I personally have not tried any yet but I will eventually face that inevidable decision. One concern is the shortened development time. For Tri-X, under 4 minutes for dilution B which makes it useless. Another experience from another board is that the emulsion is very soft and floats off the film.

Any thoughts, comments, experiences? </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'>
M. Covington, http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/, has mentioned that he believes the Kodak times for Tri-X in HC110b to be erroneous. I hope so as that has been one of my stand-by combinations for several years.

Concerning Ilford's HP5, I find it rather soft when exopsing at an ISO of 200 and "normal" development in D76 (undiluted). Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Truly, dr bob.

 

[Les McLean]

Any development time listed by a manufacturer is a guide or suggested time so why not carry out your own test using a variety of time, dilution and temperature. Clearly, film manufacturers give reliable information but since I started carrying out my own tests using their information as a starting point I think that I have even more control over the end result. I quickly learned how to adjust development to suit any lighting situation I experience. Testing as I suggest does not take up much of your time and it does increase your confidence when dealing with difficult situations.