Pancro 400 in Pyrocat

[grimp0teuthis]

I've been trying to develop Pancro 400 (120 and 4x5) in Pyrocat-MC. The shots that come out are usable enough, at least for scanning purposes (I haven't yet had time to print one in the darkroom), but show noticeably more general stain than FP4+ negatives I've developed in Pyrocat-MC. This results in lower overall contrast. Can anyone provide any development times/methods/etc to get good, moderate-contrast negatives with Pyrocat-MC (or -HD) and Pancro 400?

[For Pyrocat (or any staining developer), "general stain" refers to the minimum amount of color change (brown, in Pyrocat's case) that the entire roll/sheet undergoes, including unexposed areas. The lower the amount of general stain, the higher contrast the negative, since more stain = less difference between the unexposed and exposed parts of the negative. It's the same idea as "base fog".]

I have used the following developing times/methods, and all produced the same heightened amount of general stain:

(1) 1:2:100 @70f 16:00 in a patterson tank. Invert for 1min then for 15sec every minute thereafter

(2) 1:1:100 @ 70f 13:30 in a patterson tank. Invert for 1min then for 10sec every minute thereafter

(3) 1:1:100 @ 70f 9:00 in a patterson tank. Invert for 1min then for 10sec every minute thereafter

 

[grimp0teuthis]

I contacted Bergger about this -- they linked me to a blog that used one of the times/methods I listed above. Photographers' Formulary (where I got the Pyrocat) didn't respond to my inquiry.

 

[esearing]

Use less part B (65-75% of A) for less stain, but you may have to extend time. If you have a step wedge or other target use it to determine your times.

 

[grimp0teuthis]

Use less part B (65-75% of A) for less stain, but you may have to extend time. If you have a step wedge or other target use it to determine your times.

Thanks! I'll try it

 

[Kawaiithulhu]

I once contacted Bergger directly about adding pyrocat to their development chart, they politely replied that they didn't know if/when they'd be able to get it done.
In my one experiment before I ran out of hobby time I had much the same results as you, the 35mm negatives looked like they weren't quite there yet, but had that higher base fog you mentioned.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I had horrible frilling on the edges of my 5x7 Pancro 400 in Pyrocat HD, and the response I got regarding that was "It does that". Not terribly helpful. I also think I may have been getting a lot of that base stain you mentioned, but I wasn't sure because the shots I used it for were taken with a vintage Hermagis Eidoscope where I used a pair of darkslides as the shutter, so exposure time accuracy was questionable.