Trying out new film development recipes

[rayonline_nz]

Hi all - I have done some film developments now just at the usual ones - at box rated speeds and the last was Tri-X 400 at 250 it did gave lower contrast.

One of my developer I have now is ID-11. I usually use 1+1. If I use 1+3 what differences am I going to see?

The other question is I have a bottle of Rodinal unopened. I read on Wikipedia many enjoyed using this at ISO 3200/6400 with stand developments at high dilutions. What kind of look does this provide? Also what difference would stand development look versus a quicker 10-16min development time at the same ISO 3200?

 

[Athiril]

That might be referring to the 2 hour semi-stand at 1+100, I've done it once, wasn't too bad, agitation at 40 minutes and again at 1 hr and 20 minutes.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Please read following Kodak technical paper erspecially the section on push processing . Kodak designed Tri-X and knows its capabilities in contrast to some idiot on the web. You are aware that you lose shadow detail when you under expose film and NO developer can get it back.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4017/f4017.pdf

 

[mrred]

I spent a year completely devoted to stand developing and pushing. I learned much. I'm not sure why apuguser19 could have such an absolute opinion that could be so utterly false.

As Gerry said, you will lose shadow detail. Well, not so much lose as it stays at box speed. So, tx developed at ei 3200 will have shadow detail of ei 400. This is why pushing one stop is often unnoticeable.

Get some cheap film and play. Get good at it and then decide if it is what you want to stick with.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Gerald C Koch]

When faced with a low light situation there are several options. Faster film, a speed increasing developer, using a longer exposure, supplemental lighting, etc. Pushing can be useful if that is the only remaining option. Then too certain subjects do not need shadow detail. I think that the main objection to push processing comes when it is presented as the best ad only option.

 

[removed account4]

I spent a year completely devoted to stand developing and pushing. I learned much. I'm not sure why apuguser19 could have such an absolute opinion that could be so utterly false.

As Gerry said, you will lose shadow detail. Well, not so much lose as it stays at box speed. So, tx developed at ei 3200 will have shadow detail of ei 400. This is why pushing one stop is often unnoticeable.

Get some cheap film and play. Get good at it and then decide if it is what you want to stick with.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

+1

i've experience pushing plus x and tri x to very high iso's and processing them in coffee and ansco 130 ...
like mrred says get some film do your thing and get an idea if your results are what you like ... if they aren't, at least you experimented with an open mind,
learned and moved on, and if they are, now you have another way to get results you like

Because I'm one of those who believes that the only true "push developers" are the likes of Acufine or Microphen and similar. With pushing, all you're really doing is taking advantage of film latitude. But that only goes so far. Seems to me if you wanted 3200, then use a 1250, or 1600 speed film. Remember, you can pull a semi trailer with a lawn tractor, if you're intent on doing so, for however well it works out.

for some people it works out just fine and they don't use acufine or microphen ...
( not everyone is looking for the exact same results .. )

 

[mrred]

A practical use for pushing is with my zorkie. To get stealth "from the hip" street shots, I exposed hp5+ at 3200. This allowed me to greatly bump the fstop to F22 and not worry about focus on the subject. Another useful application was when I photographed some people with dark skin. The slight loss of detail was an advantage over fixing of bad skin in post, similar to shooting older people one stop over.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

A practical use for pushing is with my zorkie. To get stealth "from the hip" street shots, I exposed hp5+ at 3200. This allowed me to greatly bump the fstop to F22 and not worry about focus on the subject. Another useful application was when I photographed some people with dark skin. The slight loss of detail was an advantage over fixing of bad skin in post, similar to shooting older people one stop over.

While the typical Zorki lenses are good they are not great. At f/22 you are going to get some aberrations. It would be better to use a wider aperture along with the hyperfocal setting on the lens. For candid street photography many people use a TLR. Most people today do not even recognize these cameras as cameras as they are not held at eye level. Then again use a wider aperture and the focusing trick. The larger format will also help mask camera shake.

 

[kossi008]

I hope we can all agree what pushing can and cannot achieve.

But why not start with developers that truly increase the ISO of your film? Of course not by 3 stops... but 2/3 of a stop to 1 stop is possible (depending on the combination). Then you can go the rest of the way with pushing. That seems to be a better starting point than something that just gets you box speed.

This is not voodoo; I've done it with Rodinal Stand for Iso 100 films, Caffenol for Iso 100 and 400 films, and Emofin for anything from Iso 50 to 400. I'm guessing Diafine and some others do the same, while some fine-grain developers do the opposite.

And when I say I've done it, I mean this: you expose for Zone I at a range of EIs and find the one that's just log D = 0.1 above base fog. That's the true ISO of your camera/film/developer combo. A Zone VIII exposure helps determine the optimum development time...

 

[RalphLambrecht]

Hi all - I have done some film developments now just at the usual ones - at box rated speeds and the last was Tri-X 400 at 250 it did gave lower contrast.

One of my developer I have now is ID-11. I usually use 1+1. If I use 1+3 what differences am I going to see?

The other question is I have a bottle of Rodinal unopened. I read on Wikipedia many enjoyed using this at ISO 3200/6400 with stand developments at high dilutions. What kind of look does this provide? Also what difference would stand development look versus a quicker 10-16min development time at the same ISO 3200?

ID11 or D76 at 1+3 rather than 1+1 will increase sharpness.