Hello everyone. I recently scored 4 roll of Tech Pan and 4 rolls of Panatomic-X, always frozen from a member here. Found plenty of data for the Tech Pan but coming up short on the Panatomic X . . What are your recommendations for exposing and developing?
I recently found a bulk loader at an estate sale that still has a partial roll of Panatomic-X. I have no idea when this film expired so I did a test strip where I metered several identical shots from 32 down to 12 ISO. I decided to meter mine at 25 ISO based on the test. I don’t know how it was stored over the years but slow film ages much better than fast film. Panatomic-X was discontinued in 1987 so it’s over 30 years old. The shot below was metered at ISO 25 and developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 13 minutes. The camera was a Mercury II so I’m not 100% sure the shutter speeds are spot on but they seem pretty good. Tug Boat & Fishing Boat Diptych by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr
it went out of production when tmx came out i'd rate it at Iso 4 good luck with the tech pan, i only used it high speed and with dektol for high contrast i'd probably drop it by the same amount .. 1/2 the iso for each decade YMMV
Rate it at box 32 ASA develop in HC110 OR D76. I have technical pan in my freezer, I still see packets of technidol on Ebay
The simple rotary focal plane shutter in the Mercury II was more accurate than the more complicated shutters in Leicas and Contaxes of the 1940s and 1950s. I've seen them sluggish and in need of cleaning or lubricating, but usually they work well.
I have plenty of success with Panatomic-X in D-76 1:1 for times between 7 and 10 minutes at 68-degrees F. You will find the developed, fixed and washed film appears grayish. For example I get 0.27 Base+Fog, but much of this is anti-halation gray film base. In all cases I find Panatomic-X rates fully at 32, despite being long-expired. I would recommend development time of 9 to 10 minutes. My 7 and 9 minute tests fall a little low of my aim contrast of 0.62, so 9 is ok and 10 will get closer to 0.62
BAC1967’s choice to shoot at 25 is wise. When I rate film, I find its ASA speed. From that actual rating, I often depart and set EI at 2/3 stop lower, so 20 or 25 might be a good exposure rating. Just keep in the back of your mind - shooting at lower speed is not required due to age, the film will have its full speed.
