Tmax and Pyrocat result not consistent

i was building a film and developer test. Shot 6 ea of tmax 100 and 400
of a black card to find zone I. Exposed at 2x box speed, 1x, .75x, etc. down to ..25x. Developed all film in pyrocat hd 2:100 for 10 minutes in hangers. Tmax 100 came out at 125 film speed, the Tmax 400 came out too thin to measure even at 100 speed.

Anybody explain this? All film was developed in the same tank at the same time, all at 68F. Lift slow, tilt, reimmerse, etc.

Kodak's times are in this range for their developers, so wazzup?

Did you use the same batch of developer for both sets? Sounds like the developer may have been depleted or dead when you you did the Tmax 400 set. I just recently developed several TMY negs in Pyrocat HD for 8-10 minutes at 1:1:100 and 2:2:100 with no problems, but I mixed a new batch of developer for each set. Pyrocat is intended to be a one-shot solution.

Alex Hawley said:

Did you use the same batch of developer for both sets? Sounds like the developer may have been depleted or dead when you you did the Tmax 400 set. I just recently developed several TMY negs in Pyrocat HD for 8-10 minutes at 1:1:100 and 2:2:100 with no problems, but I mixed a new batch of developer for each set. Pyrocat is intended to be a one-shot solution.

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I agree with Alex. Pyrocat was designed as a one-shot developer and that is the way I always use it.

I just developed some TMY in 1+1+100 Pyrocat-HD at 72 deg F with semi-stand agitation. It came out fine (always does).

Herb, do you mix your Pyrocat A from scratch? Was it mixed in water or in Glycol?

Herb, how old was your Pyrocat A and how was it stored (glass container or plastic)?

The way i read Herb's post leads me to believe that he developed both the Tmax100 and the Tmax400 in the same process, same time, 10 minutes. That will make some very thin Tmax 400 negatives even in a 2+2+100 mix. Don't have any experience with the Tmax100.

JLP said:

The way i read Herb's post leads me to believe that he developed both the Tmax100 and the Tmax400 in the same process, same time, 10 minutes. That will make some very thin Tmax 400 negatives even in a 2+2+100 mix. Don't have any experience with the Tmax100.

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Yes, Here is the link to one of Sandy King's articles on Pyrocat-HD:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/PCat/pcat.html

It appears that a 16 minute developing time would be more appropriate for both Tmax films in the 2+2+100 mix.

Herb, can you tell the difference in underexposed as compared to underdeveloped negatives?

When you test if one set came out OK and the different film very thin the first thing to do is look at detail in the thin set. Without anything else you try more developing time. If you then get more density you can tell whether it is exposure or development.

If you don't know the difference you better learn. It will save you a lot of time in the future.

Inconsisten results

Thanks for the replies. I have been using pyrocat hd for some time , about three years, I think. Always mix it myself in water, waiting to try the glycol thingy later this year.

The two films were in the same tank, one gallon of solution freshly mixed at the time, developed together. I have the 4 up hangers, so 3 hangers with 12 sheets of 4x5 in them.

I have used the 2;2: 100 for fp4 and Hp5 with no difficulty at 10 minutes, I don't understand why the 100 speed would come out fine and the 400 not.

Kodak's times for both films in their developers are quite similar.

Maybe Sandy has some wisdom here? I am re doing the 400, will extend the time to 14 minutes and report.

Tmax not consistent

Ok, I think my approach may have been to get contact type negatives. I see on Sandy's Unblinking Eye article that he is using 1:1:100 for silver printing, where he goes out to almost 20 minutes for 1;1:100. I think that may be worth while,
so I will shoot the film at ISO of 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, and see what transpires at 18 minutes. The toe of tmy is not terribly long, so I suspect that the box speed may not work with this developer.

More later

10.5 to 11 minutes in Pyrocat HD 1:1:50 is my standard time for the old TMY and I'm an Azo printer. 16 minutes at 70 degrees would burn 'em to a crisp. There's something else wrong here.