Stand developing HP5 Pushed to 1600 in Rodinal

hoffy · Oct 25, 2012

Hi,

I have decided to give Stand development a try - I have a roll of HP5 pushed to 1600 that I want to use as the first cab of the rank. I also have some Rodinal.

What starting figures should I use? From my research, I have been found 1:100 & 3.5ml per roll for 1 hour. Is that going to be sufficient, or should I change the dilution and/or development times? Also, what about temperature? Is the standard old 20deg C as good a starting point as any?

Cheers.

removed-user-1 · Oct 25, 2012

I don't want to discourage you, but I haven't had good results with HP5 pushed to 1600 and stand developed in Rodinal. It was too grainy for me. I used the same dilution and time you describe. As I understand it, temperature is not *that* critical for such a long development time.

pentaxuser · Oct 25, 2012

So known success at 3.5ml of Rodinal per above. So much for the absolute lower limit being 5ml as I have heard suggested. I wonder where its efficacy stops?

pentaxuser

pdeeh · Oct 25, 2012

I've used 3.5ml/roll with some success for stand development (not with hP5 tho'). Results were OK for scanning, but I found it can get a bit streaky. (bromide drag ?).
i have seen someone somewhere (perhaps it was a flickr group) claiming he regularly uses as little as 2ml/roll .

Stephanie Brim · Oct 25, 2012

No. NO NO NO. No less than 5ml per roll. NONE. Don't care what anyone says.

When I was stand developing I was using a two roll tank to do one roll of film at a time. I highly suggest this route. If you want to do two rolls, find a tank that can hold 1000ml. I regretted the hell out of it the only time I tried with less. I think I put 600ml (which is the maximum in my cheap tank), so that would have been 3ml per roll. It was awful.

ColdEye · Oct 25, 2012

Stephanie Brim said:
When I was stand developing I was using a two roll tank to do one roll of film at a time. I highly suggest this route.

True, when i tried 2 35mm rolls, the results were so bad. It's the only time I got weird streaking/whatever it's called. I usally go 1:100 Rodinal for 1 hour (2 inversions on the 30min mark) with TriX and I am happy with the results. Temperature is not that big of a deal, for me at least.

hoffy · Oct 25, 2012

rthomas said:
I don't want to discourage you, but I haven't had good results with HP5 pushed to 1600 and stand developed in Rodinal. It was too grainy for me. I used the same dilution and time you describe. As I understand it, temperature is not *that* critical for such a long development time.

You're suggesting that grain is a bad thing? Truth be told, I want grain!

Stephanie Brim said:
No. NO NO NO. No less than 5ml per roll. NONE. Don't care what anyone says.

When I was stand developing I was using a two roll tank to do one roll of film at a time. I highly suggest this route. If you want to do two rolls, find a tank that can hold 1000ml. I regretted the hell out of it the only time I tried with less. I think I put 600ml (which is the maximum in my cheap tank), so that would have been 3ml per roll. It was awful.

So, if I was only doing 1 roll, are you suggesting that I still use 500ml water, 5 ml dev, regardless?

Cheers

Dismayed · Oct 25, 2012

hoffy said:
You're suggesting that grain is a bad thing? Truth be told, I want grain! . . .

Then why use HP5+ mat all. Buy some Delta 3200. As a bonus you'll even get decent shadow detail.

Stephanie Brim · Oct 25, 2012

hoffy said:
You're suggesting that grain is a bad thing? Truth be told, I want grain!

So, if I was only doing 1 roll, are you suggesting that I still use 500ml water, 5 ml dev, regardless?

Cheers

Yes. Even though I hoard my bottle of true Agfa stuff like it was the most precious metal, I'd still not use less than that. If I had a scanner that could do 35mm negs anymore, I'd show you why.

hoffy · Oct 25, 2012

Dismayed said:
Then why use HP5+ mat all. Buy some Delta 3200. As a bonus you'll even get decent shadow detail.

That would be too easy. I have shot HP5+ @ ISO 1600 before, developed in D76 stock and Microphen and have been rather happy with the results. I just want to give it a crack and see how it comes out. Remember, one mans crap is another mans treasure.

Stephanie Brim said:
Yes. Even though I hoard my bottle of true Agfa stuff like it was the most precious metal, I'd still not use less than that. If I had a scanner that could do 35mm negs anymore, I'd show you why.

Cheers for that - I will start that way and see how I go.

removed-user-1 · Oct 26, 2012

hoffy said:
You're suggesting that grain is a bad thing? Truth be told, I want grain!

Ummm... In this particular case it was a bad thing. I thought it was rather artistic BUT it was for a musician who I photographed performing, and she was less than thrilled. We would both probably have been happier with the results from pushed Tri-X or Neopan 1600.

I didn't read the OP carefully enough and didn't notice the 3.5ml in the OP - I do 1:100 for one hour, but in a 500ml tank; therefore I am using 5ml per roll.

Ming Rider · Oct 29, 2012

I'm glad this question was asked. This is 'exactly' what I want to try. Thanks.

hoffy · Oct 29, 2012

Ming Rider said:
I'm glad this question was asked. This is 'exactly' what I want to try. Thanks.

You first and report back results

Actually, I was going to process it on the weekend, but life got in the way. Hopefully this weekend.

Ming Rider · Oct 29, 2012

hoffy said:
You first and report back results

Actually, I was going to process it on the weekend, but life got in the way. Hopefully this weekend.

No you first, I insist, 'cos I haven't finished the roll yet.

Good luck. It's always nerve racking trying something new.

john_s · Oct 29, 2012

pentaxuser said:
So known success at 3.5ml of Rodinal per above. So much for the absolute lower limit being 5ml as I have heard suggested. I wonder where its efficacy stops?

pentaxuser

My guess is that it doesn't "stop" but just changes gradually as the amount decreases. At some point shadow detail would be diminished, then with further dilution then the rest of the image. If I wanted to try extreme dilution, I would use a greater volume of diluted developer. Saving the cost of a couple of mL of Rodinal seems insignificant given the other costs of photography.

grommi · Oct 29, 2012

john_s said:
Saving the cost of a couple of mL of Rodinal seems insignificant given the other costs of photography.

Imho it's not a question of saving a few cents. High diluted Rodinal and stand development has another impact, it's more compensating, highlights don't burn too fast and yep, film speed is increased because of the long dev time. Usually with a push development you get very increased contrast, stand development with a weak developer avoids this. 60 minutes stand in Rodinal 1:100 at 20 °C is a good starting point. Most films will give usable results. If you like it depends on your taste. The slower the film, the less time you need. TechPan f.e. needs only 10 - 12 minutes or an even higher dilution.

Best - Reinhold

Stand developing HP5 Pushed to 1600 in Rodinal

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