What's so special about Rodinal

Mike1234

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If you think well-executed Rodinal negs are nice then try the following:

1. Shoot at 1/2 ISO +/- as appropriate to compensate for target development time for contrast control.

2. Underdevelop w/ 1:50 or 1:100 Rodinal (depending on dev methods) to set "important" highlight details at Zone VI (yes... muddy negs).

3. Selenium tone negs as needed to raise contrast enough to print on grade 2 or 3.

4. "Very" slightly underexpose prints to prevent shadow blockage.

5. Tone the prints to deepen shadows.

Results: If done properly shadows are open/detailed and highlights are unblocked/detailed.
 
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Thomas Bertilsson

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It certainly is. But you change your results more by varying your technique than varying your materials. Plus if you keep it simple with a single emulsion/developer combo you'll learn intuitively what to expect instead of having to think about it.
Now I'm nearing a place where I don't even think about what developer I'm going to use. I just react emotionally to what's in front of me, make the picture, go back home and make it happen. The path to visualizing your end results becomes so much easier to navigate when you know your materials intimately. You eliminate chance to a much larger degree.

This is my opinion. You may not agree.

Rodinal can certainly work well, and it's a tool. Same as Xtol is. Both are fine tools. Both work well. You can even use both of them on the same roll by either mixing them, or using a two bath. Xtol first and finish in Rodinal.

Consistency is the only silver bullet I've come across so far.

- Thomas

Mike1234 said:
Ahh... but choice of materials IS part of technique.
Click to expand...
 

Anthony Sanson

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Rodinal has become special because, of its different and unique look when compared to D76 throughout the years. I can't add anything to this discussion, since others have pretty much said it all.

I would like to say, choosing any devoloper takes time and is very important to review the results after lots of printing sessions. I do not choose Rodinal for my developer because the results don't match the feel I want in the finial image. I do love the sharpness it gives...but the tones do not produce the look I enjoy.

Thomas Bertilsson talks about the need to keep certain aspect simple...and film developer, film, paper, paper developer and, camera+lens are on my KISS list.

If a person is a hobiest, then playing and using different developers with different films, with different papers is fun and great to debate the end results. But, if you are more serious in your art of photography, the KISS method has a problem of take your art to a higher level. What happens is, you start to compare your end result to what is going on in side you...as opposed to comparing the end result to other opinion based aspects.

I say this to let you know the world of photography is great, fun and enjoyable when you just react to life and yourself....and developers, papers, films and, cameras just help the reaction take place and are all subordinate to the IT.

Anthony

www.sansamcoffee.com
 
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Mike1234

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I agree with keeping things simple. Once one finds something that works very well it's best to stick with it and hone his understanding of these materials. It's been many years but for me this was Agfapan 25 and 100 using the steps outlined in post #26. Adding to that, I always shot at least two identical images and often four... two of them with a stop more or less exposure depending on my doubts of film response to a given filter. I always processed one sheet at my calculated dilution/time so I could re-evaluate and adjust as needed with development of the second exposure. The second sheet was always very very close to perfect (IMO) once toned. There were times that I processed the first sheet only to decide on a different exposure and process one of those to verify development accuracy. So there were times I process three pieces of film separately to get one really good neg.

I did experiment occasionally but I always returned to my old process that never let me down.
 

MaximusM3

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Old thread but I have just joined so...sorry for the belated post.

Rodinal discussions are always so polarizing..love it! Too much grain, not enough of this or that, magic potion, and everything in between. The truth is that it really does work wonders with just about about everything, as long as the many variables are dealt with properly (exposure, agitation (mostly), temperatures, etc). And, as always, all is matter of taste, as what floats my boat, may not float yours.
Personally, I recently had nightmare experiences with Rollei ATP 1.1..a real pain, with Rollei developers, black dots, you name it. So, enter Rodinal 1:300..perfect! Grain you could not see with a magnifier and, for me, plenty of character..

Here is an example shot (with Leica M7 and Noctilux f1)..
 

Curt

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What's so special about Rodinal, it's a club and I joined it three or four decades ago and it hasn't let me down. It's predictable right out of the bottle, keeps nearly forever in the brown bottle, isn't that expensive, I bought a case last year, and works great with the films I use. It's an excellent developer that is just right for some of us who use it.
 

andrewkirkby

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MaximusM3 said:
Thanks..great community and happy to be here!
Click to expand...

I have seen your images on Flickr - very impressive - welcome!

I love Rodinal & HP5+ 120 film. It gives good sharpness and i find the film speed is fairly accurate when processed in Rodinal.

Also, it's versatile. It can be used with pretty much any film by just varying the working solution concentration.

I'm in the process of buying a few boxes of Adonal (fresh Rodinal) for my Australian friends...
 

Gerald C Koch

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Advantages of Rodinal

Paraminophenol, the developing agent in Rodinal, produces the least amount of fog of any of the common developing agents.
Rodinal is extremely versatile and is used in many dilutions. For finer grain it can be diluted with a 9% solution of sodium sulfite. Development times are somewhat less than when using just water for dilution.
 
OP
OP

BetterSense

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Well it's been a while since I've started this thread, but I switched to a new 35mm film (legacyPro 400) and while I was at it I decided to try Rodinal. I'm using the Agfa rodinal from Freestyle photo. I develop for 8 min at 20C with agitation every minute. Results are beautiful, with good sharpness and seemingly boosted micro-contrast. Hard to say what effect the developer is having since it's a new film, but you can't beat the convenience. I keep it in a 50mL syringe hanging by my darkroom sink, so all I have to do is uncap the syringe and squirt in 5mL.
 

dpurdy

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That is interesting. I have not heard it before. The lack of fog might explain why Rodinal can give such clear watery highlights.
 

MaximusM3

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Hi Gerald,

Sodium sulfite..absolutely. This is with Efke 25 (120), Rodinal 1:100 and 1 tbs of sodium sulfite. Great sharpness and tones..http://www.flickr.com/photos/leicaman/4703146506/in/set-72157623318963523/
 

Lee L

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See: http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Rodinal/rodinal

It includes info on using sodium ascorbate (vitamin C, and not the ascorbic acid form) rather than sodium sulfite with Rodinal. Sodium sulfite dissolves the grain enough that it loses some of the Rodinal character. Sodium ascorbate gives finer grain, but doesn't lose some of the acutance that sodium sulfite does.

If you can find the article 'Salt to Taste' by Patrick Gainer in Photo Techniques in about 2002, you can see his results from trying several different developers with added salts.

Lee
 

boswald

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I have a cute Rodinal story. Two score and a few years ago, a Chicago photographer, the late great Bill
Pierce, who used to write in Camera 35, told this story: he wanted to keep new air(hence oxygen) out of
his Rodinal bottle- the old bottle had a rubber plug under the cap. So he went to a pharmacy; he showed
the old man behind the counter the bottle, and explained that he wanted a hypodermic syringe to extract
the Rodinal, while maintaining the seal. The old man looks at the bottle, looks over his glasses at Bill,
and says "sure you do, hippie boy!"
 

Curt

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The best way I've found to draw it up is a glass syringe with a leur lock connector and a blunt end stainless steel needle that's long enough to get into the bottle.
 

ruilourosa

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nice graphics from kodak hein! rodinal has a unique tonality and has a nice grain, also, lasts forever and comes with the convenience of a concentrate with one shot use, try it man...
 
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