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ColColt

ColColt

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I'm going to be shooting some PanF 120 this weekend and according to Ilford's recommendation, they list 8 1/2 minutes with ID-11 1:1 at 68 degrees. Knowing that in most cases manufacturers list times that are too long on average and that I"ll be using 75 degrees instead I'm figuring perhaps 6 minutes may be a better place to try rather than their recommendation. I'll most likely use box speed.

Does this sound about the right place to be?
 
It's years since I have used Pan F but when I did use it I found it a rather fussy film in terms of both exposure and development. I often ended up with negatives that lacked a good tonal range and had harsh contrast. I'd suggest looking up the exact development times and only adjusting according to your individual results. I gave up with it in the end because at the time I lived in Scotland and the light was usually so poor that I could not shoot hand-held with such a slow film and it was tedious to go everywhere with a tripod. I have some on order and will be using some again soon. Hope your shots turn out well.
 
According to my app:

image.png
 
Svenedin said:
It's years since I have used Pan F but when I did use it I found it a rather fussy film in terms of both exposure and development. I often ended up with negatives that lacked a good tonal range and had harsh contrast. I'd suggest looking up the exact development times and only adjusting according to your individual results. I gave up with it in the end
Click to expand...

+1

"Knowing that in most cases manufacturers list times that are too long on average"

How do you know this? My experience is that manufactures are very good at publishing the correct times for their films.
 
Last edited:
Data from Digital truth should always be taken with a grain of salt. This site is not "peer reviewed" and anyone can post any sort of nonsense without it being checked. The site contains quit a few errors,
 
Have a look here for Pan F+ with different developer and different times. There are several with D-76 and 1 with ID-11. It may help you get what you want.
 
Gerald C Koch said:
Data from Digital truth should always be taken with a grain of salt. This site is not "peer reviewed" and anyone can post any sort of nonsense without it being checked. The site contains quit a few errors,
Click to expand...

Agreed but it's a good starting point for film / developer combinations that the manufacturer may not list.
 
Svenedin said:
It's years since I have used Pan F but when I did use it I found it a rather fussy film in terms of both exposure and development. I often ended up with negatives that lacked a good tonal range and had harsh contrast. I'd suggest looking up the exact development times and only adjusting according to your individual results. I gave up with it in the end because at the time I lived in Scotland and the light was usually so poor that I could not shoot hand-held with such a slow film and it was tedious to go everywhere with a tripod. I have some on order and will be using some again soon. Hope your shots turn out well.
Click to expand...

It's sunny much of the time here and hand holding on a sunny day, around 125@f5.6 with this film is no problem. Since this is a test with 120 I'll probably use a tripod for most shots anyway.

If that's Greensboro, NC you have about the same lighting conditions as here.
 
" I'll most likely use box speed."

Does this sound about the right place to be?[/QUOTE]

If it's a film test, then why not try half box speed as well? You'll see the difference for yourself. Very noticeable if your scene has extended shadows.
 
I mostly use it in HC-110 and Rodinal and for both developers, I expose at 25 ISO. I would assume it's a good place to start for most developers. But I would run a test roll and bracket.
 
Ricardo Miranda said:
You need this: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/20131021134532242.pdf
Follow it to the letter.
There is a compensation times table for different temperatures both in F as well as in C.
Enjoy it and don't go overboard about it.
Click to expand...
As Pan F+ has a tendency to be quite contrasty I think an EI setting of 25 and corresponding developing times ( according to the link mentioned above ) will help you to get good negatives. Correctly exposed and developed, Pan F+ is a marvelous film. Just remember to process as soon as possible as the stability of the latent image is rather limited.

Karl-Gustaf
 
Pan F can be lovely for moderate contrast situations. It has a pronounced S-curve, so is very easy to underexpose or overdevelop. Long ago I switched to Pyro developer and a shorter development time, and routinely rate it at 25, even with ordinary developers like #76. It would be hard
to get good results at a higher temp than 68F because the timing would realistically be so brief. And as already noted, process relatively soon after
exposure. I wouldn't worry about a week or two; but it does have a latent image limit.
 
I'm going to give 6 minutes a stab and see what happens. If necessary I don't know how low you can go with ID-11/D76 developers but may try 5 1/2 if needed. If not, onward to another developer...maybe HC-110.

I don't wait long after developing-certainly not two weeks...more like hours or the next day.
 
A lot also depends on your agitation method. But with simple hand-inversion tanks and traditional Kodak-recommended inversion technique, 6 min
@ 68F/20C is a pretty good starting point for experimentation.
 
I shot some yesterday in a 6x12 roll film back in flat light, developed it in Xtol 1+1 for 7:45 and it came out great, nice and sharp with great tonality. I tend to not want to go below 6 minutes with 120 film because of the risk of development streaks when pouring it in so 8-10 minutes are my favorite times.

But I love Pan-F for flat to medium flat light and when I want super long exposure times in the daytime with ND filters. It's poor reciprocity past 30 seconds is awesome for that.
 
DREW WILEY said:
A lot also depends on your agitation method. But with simple hand-inversion tanks and traditional Kodak-recommended inversion technique, 6 min
@ 68F/20C is a pretty good starting point for experimentation.
Click to expand...
I really don't know why one would follow Koda methods when Ilford publishes not only the times, but also the agitation method.
If I used koda films and developers, I would use their recommendations.
Don't you think it is a better policy, especially with a film one isn't familiar with?

For the record Ilford intermittent agitation is 4/10/1, that is 4 inversions for 10 seconds every minute.
Easy peasy.
 
Not quite that simple. Everyone darkroom worker introduces their own variables. How you personally, specifically standardize your agitation and other
variable are what counts, along with your own specific equipment. If you have fussed around trying to OPTIMIZE Pan F and certain other Ilford films
as much as I, along with numerous other individuals have, you'd realize that "easy peasy" might not be the best way to do something at all. Easy
peasy negatives on Pan F can be hell to print. Mine aren't.
 
Rekated problem, already noted: Pan F is slightly more prone to developer streaks than most other films. Try one or two drops of 1% EDTA in your
developer.
 
I typically will agitate for 15 seconds once the developer is dumped in the Patersen tank. Then three slow inversions per minute afterward. With HC-110 Dil H it's a different time/method but everything else I use as mentioned.
 
It's more commonly used in color film developers, but is available from the usual darkroom chem suppliers. You mix up a 1% stock solution in distilled
water and use only a drop of so per session, very very little. Can help the developer flow more evenly.
 
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