Non standard dilution for E6 first developer

Totally naive question, but i was wondering what will happen if one alters both the dilution and processing time for the first developer while developing E6 slide film. I suspect color balance will be thrown off but by how much? Also, would that be a viable way to get less contrast?

For example, a simple proposal for 250ml solutions... instead of the standard 50ml FD and 200ml water (1 to 4), what about 25ml FD and 225ml water (1 to 9)? And 9/4 = 2.25x the processing time?

Probably it makes no sense, but i thought i could ask anyway

Well, others did it, e.g. tetenal e6 kit, 1+5:
https://www.alexbond.com.au/velvia-4x5-tetenal-e6-3-bath-process/

From an old Jobo discussion of E6, based on Kodak materials:
Colour contrast can be adjusted via the colour developer:
* If the image seems to need more contrast, then add 5-10 % more water to the Color Developer.
* On the other hand if the image seems too contrasty already, then you will need to use 5-10% less water

In case you try 1+8, please let us know!
Good luck!

PittP said:

Well, others did it, e.g. tetenal e6 kit, 1+5:
https://www.alexbond.com.au/velvia-4x5-tetenal-e6-3-bath-process/

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I was concerned only with changes in FD dilution, seems he altered the dilution of CD as well.

I would say that 1:5 is not so drastic... but then again he altered development time from Tetenal's recommended 6:15 to 7:30, which roughly corresponds to the change going from 1:4 to 1:5... assuming a completely linear increase in processing time one would need ~7:50 in this case.

Interesting result nevertheless. I will let you know in case i try something.

Please note, that this suggested process is not 1:5, but 5:6!

The above image shows a 1L kit diluted to 1200ml working solution for FD, CD and BX.

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Here is my personal experience with E6 FD: I dilute this developer 1+9 and use it as very nice black&white film developer for slow films. I did experiments with dilutions from 1:2 all the way to 1+39. Developer speed (the speed of development, not film speed! ) is directly proportional to concentration, i.e if you dilute twice as much you need to develop twice as much.

Note: there is no need for color balance in blacck&white films, therefore I did not investigate this issue much. There will be more developer exhaustion in lower film layers, at the same time lower film layers will be less affected by slow diffusion times. I'd say just try it!

PS: if a negative developer runs out of steam, you will get a compensating effect, which some people consider attractive. If the same happens with E6 FD, your highlights will not clear, which means dull slides. Since E6 film has more layers than black&white film, I would not take dilution beyond 1:6. I did get straight characteristic curve up to 1+19, but quite strong compensation action with black&white film at 1:39 dilution, and E6 film has three times the number of layers over black&white film.

PS: do not dilute BLIX! If you insist in stretching every last bit out of your chem kit, get potassium/ammonium bromide and neutral rapid fixer, and convert your BLIX into separate bleach and fixer.

Rudeofus said:

PS: do not dilute BLIX!

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Well, I intended to further dilute only FD and nothing else.

I haven't done any b&w development in more than a decade, but if i remember right, high FD dilutions usually yield less contrast. This is where the idea came from, as i was hoping to ease contrast without altering EI and pulling during development.