Testing new Developer. What scene should I shoot to test dev times and what amount of deviation from the recommended time? Any other tips?

jodad · Apr 22, 2024

Going to test Exactol Lux for Foma 100 135.

As suggested to me in this forum, I’m going to find a scene, shoot a full roll of film and test at the suggested “generic” dev time and some percentage of time above and below.

What sort of scene should I shoot to test various dev times on?
A very wide latitude scene? How should I meter before shooting? Any suggestions for this test in general?

BTW, suggested dev time is 8min for starters. I’ll go over and under as well.

Paul Howell · Apr 22, 2024

You can set up a scene in open shadows, a fair skinned model for Zone VI skin tone, a dark skin model for Zone IV, one should holding a gray card, a swath of white cloth with texture for zone VII, and a swath of black cloth with texture for zone III.

Alan9940 · Apr 22, 2024

Peruse the videos on John Finch's "Pictorial Planet" YouTube channel. He did a couple of videos on this very topic.

Steven Lee · Apr 22, 2024

Great question. To test film/developer combinations and used equipment from eBay, I've been using a test scene which I had set up in my kitchen. I am not supper happy with it. Eyeballing results doesn't give me enough subtlety (only severe problems are easily visible) and I am still surprised sometimes by shooting something else.

Now I wonder that perhaps the test scene approach is flawed in principle, and I should be using a step wedge instead? A densitometer doesn't lie.

pentaxuser · Apr 22, 2024

Alan9940 said:
Peruse the videos on John Finch's "Pictorial Planet" YouTube channel. He did a couple of videos on this very topic.

Yes they seemed pretty good to me, covering in a straightforward manner both personal film speed and development time for your developer, camera and film type without requiring a step wedge or densitometer

pentaxuser

MattKing · Apr 22, 2024

Try to find or create something that you can re-create, so that you can do later testing with additional materials.
In addition to subjects with a wide range of tones, it is useful to test under a variety of different lighting conditions.
It is also useful to use subjects with some texture - towels work well!

titrisol · Apr 22, 2024

MattKing said:
Try to find or create something that you can re-create, so that you can do later testing with additional materials.
In addition to subjects with a wide range of tones, it is useful to test under a variety of different lighting conditions.
It is also useful to use subjects with some texture - towels work well!

Or a fireplace mantel made of bricks
I used that for years with books and a few houshold articles, it was easy to reproduce and test

ic-racer · Apr 22, 2024

Usually one makes a test for film speed first. Having done that, one makes a negative of a uniform target at 3 stops over exposed.

Process that negative an put it in your enlarger. Make an exposure on the paper so the film edge is just at maxiumum black. Place a coin on the paper and expose the image of the target that was 3 stops over exposed. You should see an outline of the coin when development is correct.

Testing new Developer. What scene should I shoot to test dev times and what amount of deviation from the recommended time? Any other tips?

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