Scans retain developer properties

[Alan Johnson]

Here I scanned some chart lines (the full 35mm frame is about 50x the width of the chart) made from Ilford Delta 100 developed in acutance developers Rodinal 1:50 and Neofin Blue, solvent developer Xtol, and pyro developer Pyrocat HD.Scans were made with a Plustek 8100 set at 7200dpi which Scandig.com reports to be about a true 3600 dpi.All are sharpened equally
.

In order above, top-Neofin, then Pyrocat, below- Rodinal, Xtol.
Rodinal and Neofin Blue show the sharply defined black lines expected from an acutance developer.
Xtol 1+0 shows black dots between the lines, this may be redeposited silver expected from a solvent developer, giving a smoother appearance.
Pyrocat HD gives high acutance combined with more regular grain.
The contrast is not the same in all the charts, an artefact of the test procedure, nor is it meant as a resolution test.
But I hope the results support the assertion that the difference between acutance and fine grain developers known from silver gelatin printing is still retained with careful scanning at a high enough resolution.

 

[bestbefore1978]

Very interesting test Alan, The pyrocat seems to give great definition, I will have to try that someday

 

[Ian Grant]

That's why I now use Pyrocat HD

Ian

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Pyrocat-HD is the clear winner.

 

[Alan Johnson]

My test does not take into account the curve shape.
In the Film Developing Cookbook, Anchell and Troop note: "Rodinal negatives possess a beauty and impact that is recognizably their own,Agfa Rodinal offers gradation that cannot be obtained otherwise....."
I don't want to upset the fans. Xtol gives higher effective film speed. My test is mainly to show that scanning still can differentiate acutance and solvent developers. The look of the print may be something else.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I get the same speed with Xtol and Pyrocat-HD.

 

[Richard Man]

Great tests! Thank you.

 

[bdial]

Is this fresh Xtol, seasoned, or diluted?

 

[Alan Johnson]

It's just an example of a solvent developer.You can see from the RHS of the Xtol chart that the sulfite has done it's job and produced fine grain. Xtol +0 was from a few months old sealed bottle.

 

[snusmumriken]

Pyrocat-HD is the clear winner.

That's strange, maybe my eyes need testing again, but on the basis of the images above, I'd have said that Neofin Blue (presumably the second image?) was the clear winner.

 

[cramej]

That's strange, maybe my eyes need testing again, but on the basis of the images above, I'd have said that Neofin Blue (presumably the second image?) was the clear winner.

In order above, top-Neofin, then Pyrocat, below- Rodinal, Xtol.

Also left to right if the monitor is wide enough to fit them all in.

 

[snusmumriken]

• Thanks - and apologies because for some reason my monitor was showing all 4 images in one vertical column, and I overlooked the 'in order above...' instruction!