who develops for 5 minutes?

BetterSense · Aug 23, 2015

I am thinking about switching from HC110 50:1 to hc110 dilution B (32:1). The reason is that tons of data is available for dilution B, and development times are usually around 5 minutes. Since I am very busy lately this is attractive. But that is shorter that I have developed before...if I want to develop at higher temperatures, times will be even shorter. Kodak warns about times less than 5 minutes, but they warn about a lot of things, like don't use less than 250ml of developer, don't use Xtol 1:3, etc that people do all the time.

Who here develops for 5 minutes or less, and:

--do you do it for 35mm and 120?
--do you pour the developer into the tank with the film in there, or do you dunk the reels in in the dark?
--how do you agitate, and have you ever had uneven development problems?

John Bragg · Aug 23, 2015

Dilution B is ok at 5-6 mins for most films, but compared to 1-50, you will likely see your highlights blown, depending on film choice and agitation. HC-110 is highly active and the stronger you mix it the more that becomes a problem. I prefer 1-63 (unofficial Dilution H) for that reason. I pour the developer into the tank and dont agitate much. No problems with uneven development.

Ko.Fe. · Aug 23, 2015

I do for Pan F and Polypan F in HC-110 B Both are 135.
1+62 will make it longer, but I see no reason for it with HC-110.
X-TOL are for those who have time to kill.

bvy · Aug 23, 2015

I developed a roll of Acros (120) in HC-110 dilution B for 5:30 -- Paterson tank, no prewet, and the usual pour-in/pour-out for all the steps. I got even development, but confirming what someone said above, I also got highlights that were much too dense. Of course, these were shot with an accessory flash that I wasn't used to working with, so that could figure into it. My agitation was inversion for the first minute and four inversion every minute after. I'm trying to make dilution H work for me now.

Gerald C Koch · Aug 23, 2015

Developing times shorter than 5 minutes are considered too short for consistent results.

MattKing · Aug 23, 2015

If you want to decrease the time in order to speed up developing of multiple rolls, just get a bigger tank.

I use HC-110, 1+47, replenished, so scaling up or down the quantity of developer is easy.

If you want to decrease the time in order to speed up developing of a single roll, I would ask you to think about whether the difference (2 minutes?) matters as much as you might think.

Longer developing times help me keep my results consistent, because I'm certainly not perfect when it comes to acting in a totally consistent manner.

I have developed film recently at higher than normal temperatures, and as a result needed to use 6 minutes instead of my normal 9 minutes. If I was using dilution B, the time would have been very short.

removed account4 · Aug 23, 2015

the only film i have ever heard worked OK for 5 mins or less
was press photographers in DEKTOL STRAIGHT for 3 mins
no agitation ... and wet they were enlarged / printed and
rc prints given to the paper ... i can't speak from my own experience
i try not develop anything for less than 5 mins because
kodak and people smarter than me suggest it is bad.
YMMV

Sirius Glass · Aug 23, 2015

I develop at five minutes or more. If necessary I cool the chemicals first or run the air conditioner when the temperature is too high for five minute development.

Doc W · Aug 23, 2015

I am going through testing for FP4 120 format in HC-110. For N, I develop for 5 minutes in dilution B at 20C. When I get around to testing for N-1 (the groundwater is too warm right now), I will probably switch to dilution D because I am still a little leery of such a short development time. I am still not convinced that 5 minutes is long enough to guarantee consistency, but so far, my negs are looking pretty good.

I should add that I develop in a Paterson tank and do not use a pre-rinse. I agitate as per Ilford instructions: invert the tank four times during the first 10 seconds, then invert the tank four times again during the first 10 seconds of each further minute.

Ricardo Miranda · Aug 24, 2015

Just because a "X" company says something, that might not be valid for company "Y".

I develop Foma Retropan in the Retro developer in 4.5 minutes.
That is half way through the recommended 4-5 minutes.

I agitate as per Ilford instructions: invert the tank four times during the first 10 seconds, then invert the tank four times again during the first 10 seconds of each further minute.

That is what I call 4/10/1.
Easy to memorise and to follow.

Foma normally recommends for most of their developers a slight modification from the above to continuous inversion for the initial 30 seconds, then it is pretty much like Ilford recommendation of 10 seconds every minute.

removed account4 · Aug 24, 2015

Ricardo Miranda said:
Just because a "X" company says something, that might not be valid for company "Y".

I develop Foma Retropan in the Retro developer in 4.5 minutes.
That is half way through the recommended 4-5 minutes.

That is what I call 4/10/1.
Easy to memorise and to follow.

Foma normally recommends for most of their developers a slight modification from the above to continuous inversion for the initial 30 seconds, then it is pretty much like Ilford recommendation of 10 seconds every minute.

exactly !

that is why all published times and iso's are starting points and
people who use x film and y developer need to decide for themselves
what they will do with it. it is a hard concept to get one's head around
because there is always loud opposition that claims everything is rigid.

different stuff works for different people

mr.datsun · Aug 24, 2015

I was running a lot of tests once and that led me to try higher concentrations and higher temperatures than normal, using 3.5 - 4 minute dev. times. I simply worked fast (getting the dev in) and I split the normal number inversions in two and then did them every 30 seconds to try and get even development. Worked fine in the context of my tests, but can't say I'd recommend working like that as normal practice.

Gerald C Koch · Aug 24, 2015

I personally prefer developing times in the 8 to 10 minute range. You are not rushed and apt to make mistakes. My question to those who want a 5 min developing time "What are you going to do with the "saved" 3 minutes?

Newt_on_Swings · Aug 24, 2015

If you buy and use older films that may have some slight fogging, dilution B can help I think as much as adding restrainers to the developer.

In the past when I was experimenting more, I could actually use a liter of dilution B up to three times by only slightly increasing the subsequent developing time by 30-60 seconds if using it directly without letting it sit. This was more economical than dilution h and faster, but you had to have 3 preloaded tanks.

I still prefer xtol 1:2 though, but I hate mixing xtol stock from powder. The liquid concentrate thread was very promising, but I am not sure where they are at with it now. I would buy it if it was a commercial product.

Sirius Glass · Aug 25, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
I personally prefer developing times in the 8 to 10 minute range. You are not rushed and apt to make mistakes. My question to those who want a 5 min developing time "What are you going to do with the "saved" 3 minutes?

Five minutes is my minimum acceptable time, eight to ten minutes is much more comfortable for me.

RalphLambrecht · Aug 25, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
I personally prefer developing times in the 8 to 10 minute range. You are not rushed and apt to make mistakes. My question to those who want a 5 min developing time "What are you going to do with the "saved" 3 minutes?

Exactly.To me photography and processing is a recreational activity.No reason to rush;got enough of that at work and it never improves anything just makes more mistakes quicker.

Sirius Glass · Aug 25, 2015

RalphLambrecht said:
Exactly.To me photography and processing is a recreational activity.No reason to rush;got enough of that at work and it never improves anything just makes more mistakes quicker.

Handling photo processing like a fine wine, sometimes aging helps.

Bill Burk · Aug 26, 2015

I occasionally throw a 4 minutes test in my film development time family tests. They look blotchy compared to development times over 5 minutes.

These are sheet film in tray with shuffling, no presoak.

So I'd vote against short development times.

But I understand the desire to speed things up. One of the things I like about Panatomic-X is the 5 minutes fix time.

Xmas · Aug 26, 2015

Gerald C Koch said:
Developing times shorter than 5 minutes are considered too short for consistent results.

Except for C41 films...

Gerald C Koch · Aug 26, 2015

Xmas said:
Except for C41 films...

Well the C-41 process was developed for commercial processers with no thought to amateur use. It is certainly not a relaxing endeavor.

Sirius Glass · Aug 26, 2015

Xmas said:
Except for C41 films...

That is an entirely different kind of processing ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wxp-NxJny8

who develops for 5 minutes?

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