• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Rodinal - What films have you used it on?

I have a problem with many of the posts to this thread and indeed many others. It is important to specify the format of the film when doing any comparison. Because of the degree of enlargement required for 35mm an entirely different technique is required. One really can't compare films unless you stick within a single format.
 

You can if you stop focusing on grain and realize there's more to a given film type.

You don't need a different technique for 135 enlargment. You just have to accept the fact that viewing distance is all that matters.
 
clayne said:
You don't need a different technique for 135 enlargment. You just have to accept the fact that viewing distance is all that matters.
Click to expand...

Ah, the goblin viewing distance - I don't think many people are interested in looking at lovely 2x3 inch prints. Grain does matter and can be intrusive unless you wish to make it the subject of the photograph. I have seen some beautiful images which were very grainy but that was the photographer's intent. In general, for 35mm the technique is to expose the film to produce a rather thin negative intended to be printed on grade 3 paper. Leica has been saying this for 75 years. That's good enough for me.
 
As with anything else, whatever works for each individual is good.

I liked Rodinal for many reasons. Sharpness, great ability to adjust contrast and tonality, economy, building texture in the prints. My favorite film to use with this developer was mostly Kodak TMax 100 in both 35mm and 120, but APX100 and 25 was great too. Long development times and low agitation gave very fine and acute grain, while short development times with strong agitation gave fairly distinctive grain and rougher tone gradation.
When I used Rodinal I didn't print anything larger than 11x14, but it was definitely possible to make very nice prints from 35mm to this size.

The proof is in the prints, and Rodinal negatives I always found printed very easily for me. I have found something that I like even better, but that's definitely not on topic, so I'll leave it at that.
 

I live in a small community in a remote corner of the world, across the Big Pond. There virtually is no such thing as *film* to be bought over here any more. Not ONE B/W! Only source is single-use "cameras" and thats a nuisance already.

Buy Agfa, Kodak, and Rollei on the net? From USA? Due to freight cost USA has priced itself out of that market too.

So the real option is HongKong who cites fixed prices and is cheap too.

I dont care if filmn goes away in USA because of this, not anywhere else either, I'm not gonna stick around forever, and somebody else gotta take care of that, I held my end of the stick in my younger days, now I don't give one flying hoot about that.

Besides I'm cheap & thrifty.

ep
 
I don't think many people are interested in looking at lovely 2x3 inch prints.
Click to expand...

All size photos become small when you look at them from across the room. An 11x14 hung over a fireplace might subtend the same angle-of-view as a 2x3 inch print held in the hand. The criteria for acceptable grain level would be the same for both, even though the enlargements are vastly different.
 

++1 on this.

We use Lucky film a lot here, since film from the big K is both hard to find, and when found, is expensive. Lucky film is about 1/3 the price of K-films.

Lucky pan 100 + (pa)Rodinal 1+50 for 11 minutes make for negatives with long tones (better than what D76 recommended by Lucky will give), no burnt highlights, and greater apparent contour sharpness.
 
Rodinal is pretty much my standard developer, if a film doesn't do well in it, I'll avoid the film. Generally I find it's at its best with slower films and higher dilutions, but for a classic B&W look it does well at 1:25 with a traditional grain ISO 400 film overexposed by 1/3-1/2 stop.

I've used it successfully with Pan-X, PanF+, APX100, Acros, Delta 100, FP4, Plus-X, Scala, 400TX, APX400, HP5+, Kentmere 400, Neopan 400, and Classic Pan 400. Use has been generally either 1 hour stand development in 1:100 @20C and box speed or Digitaltruth times at 1:25 or 1:50. I never use the Agfa times, they're too long.
 
Rodinal is no longer available in Ireland, I used it for the development of Kodak HIE. Since it's gone I use Ilford ID11 for all my B&W film development.
_____________
Vincent
 
It's my standard developer. I like the look of my images with this developer -- for my taste, it has the right balance of acutance and grain.

Any 120 film gets this developer -- my most common films are Pan F+ (fantastic in Rodinal) and occasionally TMX and APX25 or Rollei Retro100. I came into a few rolls of FP4 lately and they too look and print well.

I prefer 1:50...I'm starting to use Rodinal for 35mm in HP5+ and Neopan 400 -- curious to see those results. I forgot to mention I shoot a fair bit of Rollei Retro 100 in 35mm and I'm really really happy with my prints from that, also...just stellar in this combo.
 
Like many others here, Rodinal is my no.1 developer. I've tried it on just about every film I've ever used regularly and give it a go with all new films(Kodak Tmax 100 and 400; Ilford HP5 despite the recommendations against it; FP4; Pan F; Foma 400; Tri-X; Plus-x; ORWO; Agfa 400). The only reason I've used anything else was out of fear Rodinal would disappear. It's completely versatile and lends itself to being experimented with; on the downside its' "playfulness" might turn one off...I almost gave up on it when I first tried it over 20 years ago but having "mastered" it if you can call it that, I won't use anything else. It's also cheap and lasts forever on the shelf and of course, gives great negatives. I know some have called it excessively grainy. I had that problem. Going very easy on the agitation fixed that for me. Under a 10x loupe the grain is only a tad more than D76, but with greater sharpness and tonal scale. I use it at 1+50 or 1+100. 1+25 is a bit too strong and grainy.

It's too bad you can't have it shipped. I only know of Freestyle Photo in California that still ships it. Stockpile and order early.

Rodinal is certainly a legend. Agfa's pulling out of the market couldn't kill it. In fact we now have 3 choices (all of which supposedly come out of the same spigot according to some of the APUG posts). Rollei/Compard R09 One Shot, Fomadon R09 (new formulation), and now Adox Adonal....and the 4th choice, whatever Agfa bottles are still left in the world (it does keep nearly forever). I wonder how long the Fountain Of Rodinal will last though. Does anyone know if Photographer's Formulary still sells the kit to make your own?
 
I used it with T-Max 100 when the film first came out and liked the results. Haven't used it in a while, but I have an unopened bottle in my friend's darkroom and there's a batch of APX100/120 in the freezer waiting for the right project. It's just a matter of time.

Peter Gomena
 
I have used it to develop chinese films, Lucky 100 ISO 35mm and Shanghai GP3 100 ISO 120, both with excellent results.

I found time/temperature data on the net via wikipedia.

Also planning to develop som outdated color negative film with the stuff, but needs to do some research and get my ducks in a row beforhand.

Erik
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register