Optimizing development when using an Imagon soft focus lens.

I have a 200mm Imagon coming in the mail to use on my Rolleiflex SL66. For those who don't know, it is an old design (1930s) and it has a number of holes in addition to a normal diaphragm and this is to give a soft focus effect. It can be adjusted to spill highlights strongly giving a sunny soft look. In its day it was popular for portraits.

I have a special subject who doesn't like her photo taken, and I'm thinking that the Imagon will enable me to take flattering portraits of her.

Old instructions for exposure and development advise avoiding generous exposure because of the shadow-filling effect of the soft focus and also, it seems, to accentuate the brightness of the "halo" effect of the spilled light which is also augmented by special development. The development suggested was to avoid the "popular MQ developers" and instead develop first in a strong developer (e.g. glycin maybe with bromide and maybe pre-used, or strong Rodinal) and then finish in a dilute developer, such as dilute Rodinal. If one had to use MQ type developers, it was advised to start in hydroquinone and finish in metol.

My usual developer is Pyrocat, and if I need a bit of speed for available light, Microphen or Xtol. I'm not intending to take the old instructions literally. They were for older materials, perhaps with a shorter straight line than current MF films, and possibly for development by inspection since they also recommend pinacryptol green which I understand was a desensitizer.

Other than my usual Pyrocat or Xtol and experimenting to get contrast right, does anyone have any thoughts on how I might proceed?

The main thing to keep in mind is that a harder than usual lighting will be needed to get the highlights to flair into the dark adjacent. I also use pyrocat and would suggest keeping with processes already established and adjust lighting ratios.

Fairly hard lighting easiest to work with (the lens needs some bright highlights to work with) and you may want to increase the development somewhat (all that scattered light has to go somewhere, and where it ends up it reduces the contrast). For reasons that I have never quite understood, when I use the Imagon on FP4 developed in PMK, I need about an extra half stop or so of exposure for the skin tones to have good quality. My base speed is 80 in PMK, and the extra exposure for the Imagon may be tied up in the film/developer curves rather than the lens characteristics.

Personally, I find high-key easier than low-key with the Imagon, but there was a thread on this general subject last year (can't find it now, for some reason) in which that statement led to the posting of an exceptionally good counterexample,

Bear in mind that most of the lore of Imagons derives from large-format work, and you will be considerably enlarging your negatives. A little softness then goes a long way, and you should be pleasantly surprised at the results when the softening is just short of being noticeable.

Good luck to you!

Thank you both for your advice. The Imagon arrived today and I'll start experimenting. The comment about subtlety is noted!

I have 120 & 150 Imagons (which I use on my Plaubel Makiflexes) and 200, 250, 360, and 420 Imagons, which I use in larger format (4x5, 5x7, 8x10). Agree use contrastier taking light, even with alot of specularity, as in spotlighting. Increasing exposure a bit does help. Good Luck and have FUN with your new Imagon.