Fomapan R 100 in PQ Universal, box speed by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
Historically I have had some problems reversing Fomapan R 100 - just didn't work that well, unlike pretty much any other film. Until now - bought a bulk roll of it to torture and push it around, and nailed box speed & Push 2/3 development with Ilford Reversal! Got far better results than I got with Foma Reversal Set back in 2020. The trick was to reverse for shorter time in almost straight PQ Universal without any hypo added, and to reduce bleach activity to be safer for emulsion.
The usual problems with reversal are: 1) insufficient strength of 1st development; 2) gritty highlights not cleared to the base; 3) Bleach and re-exposure problems resulting in poor reversal, emulsion damage, or solarisation-like effect in densest areas. I decided to share my workflow of how I approach reversal of unknown films (to me) with Ilford Reversal, minimal expenses, touching some of the reversal issues along the way.
Left: Box speed test with highlights problem - not cleared to the base, "grit" left on film - to be removed by adding hypo crystals to 1st developer
Right: -1EI underexposure to check latitude and control 1st development time. Also has the same highlights problem...
Can you see some strange lines running across the power-lines? That's how you know you should add some hypo to remove "the highlight fog". Less is more - to hunt this down, test hypo in 0,2g increments at 500ml working developer solution. Tell-tale sign of this is also coloration of rinse aid - it should run off clear instead of gray. If it runs off black or gray, hypo is needed in 1st developer.
ON OPTIMAL FILM SPEED/EI FOR REVERSAL
- there is no such a thing, you can now stop treating reversal as a mysterious untamed beast -
- there is no such a thing, you can now stop treating reversal as a mysterious untamed beast -
One thing that bugs me is the religious beliefs and mythos piling about and around reversal. Far too often I see statements like these: "Shoot film X at ISO X for reversal", which simply is misinformed at best. Let me give you an example: you must shoot HP5+ at 3200 for it to be compatible with XTOL. Sounds stupid, right? And it really IS that stupid. I guess it stems from lack of understanding that you can control the first developer to arrive at development grade you're after.
Want to reverse for box speed? Sure, go ahead! Want to do push or pull with reversal? What's stopping you? Do you want to do stand reversal and enjoy benefits of stand or EMA development? Again - what's stopping you exactly?
Fomapan R 100 in challenging natural lighting conditions, box speed on a tripod.
No strange performance of rite of "shoot film X at Ei X" is needed.
URBEX LV by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
An old stand reversal experiment. Rated Delta 100 at 400 and illuminated the shot with a flashlight. Didn't hope for much, expected this to be completely unusable, alas... Stand Reversal gave an image.
By controlling hypo amount in tandem with development time and agitation frequency, you essentially are controlling where you want to land your film: normal development, pushing, pulling… all the traditional development techniques apply - down to agitation frequency and its effect on image contrast - which applies to slides even more so than to regular negatives, as slides often are the final product, ready for projection.
Pushing 2 stops? Sure, why not - just underexpose your film for 2 stops and guesstimate +2 development time in 1st developer the first time around.
Need to pull a contrasty film? Say Ferrania P30 or Aviphot 80? Sure, just overexpose your film for a stop, then come up with reduced development time. Employ even a coefficient for a pull or push time. Note too the hypo amount needed to achieve it, go from there. The rest of reversal process doesn't change with push or pull development as it is there just to reverse what you achieved in 1st developer.
Best and cheapest way to come up with usable push and pull times/hypo is to completely reverse a single roll of film… in 4 iterations! Shoot a roll and take just 1/4 of it per reversal to nail your time and hypo number with just a single roll of film. I know it's very time-consuming and tedious, but this is completely worth the effort.
X-TRA 400 Cross Processed/Reversed in PQ Universal by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
If box speed develops in around 10min, +2 development could be 10/0,40=25. Develop, evaluate and go from there. If no significant improvement is gained with additional development time, add 0,5g hypo per 500ml developer and reverse again.
Note that T grain films need so much more hypo. Delta takes about 4-6 grams per 500ml developer (I should re-check more precise value). "0,4" is just a random Push 2 value - adjust it to your liking via experimentation.
R 100 at night, box speed - nice latitude!
Reduced bleach strength at the same bleaching time sounds iffy to you?
To question everything is nice up to a point when a test is needed. So do one. What are effects of over-bleaching? Our beloved emulsion departing from the base, of course.
Much rarer does one ask: what are the effects of under-bleaching? Something similar to solarisation in the densest parts of slide:
URBEX LV by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
URBEX LV by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
Zaķusalas TV tornis infrasarkanajā by Ivo Stunga, on Flickr
An example of emulsion damage due to overbleaching. To fix this, reduce bleach concentration or time.
There might arise questions about reusing 1st dev as 2nd too, concern being that hypo might reduce density and contrast.
In my testing and eyeballing it, I haven't noticed such a behavior, and opt to save on chems. In the example below the left slide in the slide mount was redeveloped in 1st dev, on the right - in separate 1+5 developer Ilford Reversal recipe requires. If anything - shadows are lighter and slide is less dense on the right side, redeveloped in 2nd developer... This appears so also in second test I did that day with Superpan 200 @125. Makes also sense - the stronger first developer could develop to completion quicker, and the hypo amount could simply not play a noticeable role in the already fully formed, reversed picture - likewise as fixer wont bleach stuff out. And hypo is fixer. Therefore I will stick to DEV2=1, thus enjoy festivities for a tad longer/cheaper. There are modern reversal recipes doing exactly the same and who knows what are in those kit developers.
"TLDR":
- BW Reversal is controlled by 1st developer strenght that you can boost by adding small amount of hypo crystals. Rest of the process is there to reverse negative to positive, so it needs just to be done to sufficient degree as to not be a variable. Once nailed, it won't change with pulling or pushing - 1st dev is where that happens.
- If your box-speed shots are overcooked, reduce the development time and/or hypo amount. If your film is way dense and black, add some hypo and reverse again, compare the results and go from there!
- If your shadows are shit, rate film slower (expose more). If your highlights are blown, try reducing 1st development time (keeps highlights).
- By adding hypo you increase the activity of the developer, therefore larger hypo quantities might require reduced development time. This is also key for pushing slides.
- If you are using a kit, you can control only time, agitation frequency and temperature - strong tools nonetheless, so experiment with these well. Increase agitation frequency for increased contrast, reduce it to give shadows some chance.
- Hypo crystals are abundant, add these if needed.
- If freshly hung film is dripping gray/black, hypo is needed to clear it to the base and remove this loose material that can be fingered away just like that. Try +0.2g per 500ml
- Save emulsion (and feel that much greener about yourself) - use dilute Permanganate bleach. In my experience it completes the same bleaching job in the same amount of bleaching time whilst being that much friendlier to emulsions, costing less and producing way less waste. To do this, to your 1 Part A and 1 Part B add 1 Part Water to make the required amount of bleach. Agitate constantly for 5-6 minutes, discard. Foma films will be especially thankful, so will be Aviphot 80 and 200 derivatives among others.
Thanks for reading, hopefully this is useful!
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