PCatHD & JC 200

[Silverpixels5]

I recieved my chemicals for Pyrocat HD in the mail yesterday and mixed everything up. Today I ran a film test with J&C Classic 200 in order to determine the film speed in this developer. My tests indicate that the speed is about 100. The only problem is that I have no densitometer...only a 1 degree spot meter, which is what I ran the test with. So I sort of have two factors that could cause error: 1)using a spot meter and not a densitometer, and 2) being able to get only a visual channel reading and not a blue or UV one. So I was just wondering if others who use this film/dev combo have similar film speed results. Thanks for any insight!

BTW
I used the 2:2:100 dilution and will be printing on Azo.

 

[Jorge]

Sandy would be the best to answer this, but from what I have read the speed should be 200. Most likely the problem is the spot meter as it is not taking into account the stain. If a one hour lab wont read your negs, then if you feel like sending me your negs I will be glad to read them for you and send you the values.

 

[juan]

While my method doesn't go to the lengths of exactness of the methods some folks use, it's simple and doesn't require expensive tools. I call it the Fred Picker modified by Michael Smith method.
First find the printing time to reach maximum black on Azo with your printing set up. To do that, make a test strip through an unexposed but developed and fixed negative. The time required to make the last noticable strip is your proper proof time.
Then expose negatives of a full scene at various speeds - 50, 100, 200, 400 - something like that where you go above and below the manufacturer's speed. Develop normally. Make contact prints of each at your proper proof time. You will be able to see the one that is correct, or be able to make a reasonable estimate of your personal film speed.
As you make additional photographs, adjust if you think you need to. Michael has written about this.
juan

 

[Donald Miller]

eee

 

[George Losse]

If you are developing these negatives for printing on Azo then the speed should be 200. As one develops to a higher density range the effective film speed increases.

I always found lowering the film speed (ie. more exposure needed) and longer developer times to be better for making negatives which printed nicely in Plt/Pld. But then again I never bothered with densotometers either. If it printed well, then I repeated the same process, if it didn't I adjusted the process.

Your post makes it sound like a higher film speed will give a denser negative. I found this to be opposite of what I experienced.

George Losse

 

[Francesco]

I rate JC200 at 200. I develop using either the 2:2:100 or 1:1.100 dilution depending on whether it will end up as a PtPd or Silver (Azo). Beautiful film! Any deviation from 200 is so slight in my case that I do not bother with exact calibration. In fact, I find the film with Pyrocat to be so forgiving that I am able to not be bothered with exact (to the second) development times. How do you meter your scenes? Do you use low and hi EVs to determine SBRs? My typical "normal" scene registers an SBR of 9 and I develop for 6m30s using the 2:2:100 dilution.

 

[Donald Miller]

[000

 

[sanking]

I recieved my chemicals for Pyrocat HD in the mail yesterday and mixed everything up. Today I ran a film test with J&C Classic 200 in order to determine the film speed in this developer. My tests indicate that the speed is about 100. The only problem is that I have no densitometer...only a 1 degree spot meter, which is what I ran the test with.

What kind of test did you use to determine that film speed was about 100?

 

[Silverpixels5]

Sandy:

I metered for zone 1 and made an exposure, as well as exposures 1.5 stops above and below this reading in 0.5 stop increments. After processing, I metered each exposure with a one degree spot meter. The zone 1 exposure that gave me about 0.09 above base+fog corresponded to a film speed of 100. This was just one test so I havn't tried to see if it was repeatable yet. I also don't know how much density the stain added, so again my results are suspect. Is my use of the 2:2:100 dilution the correct one for printing on azo, or should I be using the 1:1:100 dilution? Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Donald Miller]

eio

 

[Silverpixels5]

Thanks everyone for the quick responses! I will test my film again to see if I get anything different. Hopefully it was all just experimental error.

 

[sanking]

Sandy:

I metered for zone 1 and made an exposure, as well as exposures 1.5 stops above and below this reading in 0.5 stop increments. After processing, I metered each exposure with a one degree spot meter. The zone 1 exposure that gave me about 0.09 above base+fog corresponded to a film speed of 100. This was just one test so I havn't tried to see if it was repeatable yet. I also don't know how much density the stain added, so again my results are suspect. Is my use of the 2:2:100 dilution the correct one for printing on azo, or should I be using the 1:1:100 dilution? Thanks for any help you can offer.

Your method is a valid way to determine your personal effective film speed because it takes into consideration your shutter and lens aperture, meter and metering system, and method development. It is not a good way, however, to provide relative data useful to other users because in practice the various parts of your system could lead to exposure errors of up to one stop and even greater. In my own work I make tests for effective film speed with a carefully calibrated system that uses a light integrator to give an accuracy of exposure of 1/100 of a second. So when I compare the relative speeds of different film/developer combinations I can be sure that these comparisons are valid.