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#1
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B&W film developing questions
Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a
little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. Questions: 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to assume it will last that long? Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix because I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, I would do a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my storage container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same developing time my negs were a little light. Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? It should be ok for a couple dozen rolls over the next couple of months? 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? Thanks, Greg |
#2
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B&W film developing questions
"G.T." wrote in message ... Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. Questions: 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to assume it will last that long? Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix because I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, I would do a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my storage container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same developing time my negs were a little light. Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? It should be ok for a couple dozen rolls over the next couple of months? 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? Thanks, Greg My two bits - Rodinal is one time use. But you are using 1:25 or 1:50 or even 1:100 such that you use so little that the one time use is plenty. No replenishment, no multiple use. My own prediliction is to decant the 500ml container into 1 oz (30 ml) glass amber bottles. I keep these tightly capped and use them in succession. No problem at all. Way back when, I recall a story about a partially used bottle of Rodinal found in the late 1940s/early 1950s amongst the bombed ruins during the German reconstruction. Turned out the contents were as good as new, despite the summer heat and the winter cold. I don't use any commercial stop. I use two successive water rinses instead. The rule of thumb with fixers is in room light to toss a piece of undeveloped film scrap into the fixer - for 35mm, the leader/trailer of the roll is ideal. Time how long it takes for the film to clear. Fix for double that time. When the fixing period extends more than 10-12 minutes or so, time for mix new fixer. Keep the fixer in a dark, cool place. |
#3
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B&W film developing questions
"G.T." wrote
1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. It lasts forever. If you are doing 35mm you may find it is not that good a choice for most work. Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? No. 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? What, me worry? It's cheap - chuck it when you chuck the fix. 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? If it smells funny (funnier than usual) or throws a yellow or white precipitate then discard. I set a limit of 8 rolls/litre of working film-strength. -- Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com |
#4
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B&W film developing questions
In article ,
G.T. wrote: Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. Questions: 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to assume it will last that long? Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix because I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, I would do a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my storage container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same developing time my negs were a little light. Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I would call both Accufine and Rodinal poor choices of developer for general use (though each has its own set of special purposes for which it works well). You might want to try D-76 or ID-11, or one of the newer developers like Xtol or DD-X. -- Thor Lancelot Simon "The inconsistency is startling, though admittedly, if consistency is to be abandoned or transcended, there is no problem." - Noam Chomsky |
#5
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B&W film developing questions
Lawrence Akutagawa wrote:
My two bits - Rodinal is one time use. But you are using 1:25 or 1:50 or even 1:100 such that you use so little that the one time use is plenty. No replenishment, no multiple use. Thanks for the confirmation. My own prediliction is to decant the 500ml container into 1 oz (30 ml) glass amber bottles. I keep these tightly capped and use them in succession. No problem at all. Way back when, I recall a story about a partially used bottle of Rodinal found in the late 1940s/early 1950s amongst the bombed ruins during the German reconstruction. Turned out the contents were as good as new, despite the summer heat and the winter cold. I don't use any commercial stop. I use two successive water rinses instead. The rule of thumb with fixers is in room light to toss a piece of undeveloped film scrap into the fixer - for 35mm, the leader/trailer of the roll is ideal. Time how long it takes for the film to clear. Fix for double that time. When the fixing period extends more than 10-12 minutes or so, time for mix new fixer. Keep the fixer in a dark, cool place. Awesome. Thanks for the tip about the fixer. Greg |
#6
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B&W film developing questions
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
In article , G.T. wrote: Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I have a bigger tank but still am such a novice that I want to keep doing one roll at a time. I would call both Accufine and Rodinal poor choices of developer for general use (though each has its own set of special purposes for which it works well). You might want to try D-76 or ID-11, or one of the newer developers like Xtol or DD-X. My instructor suggested D-76 or Xtol, but he mentioned that I'd get good grain from the Rodinal so I wanted to give it a shot. Greg |
#7
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B&W film developing questions
"G.T." wrote in message ... Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: In article , G.T. wrote: Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I have a bigger tank but still am such a novice that I want to keep doing one roll at a time. I would call both Accufine and Rodinal poor choices of developer for general use (though each has its own set of special purposes for which it works well). You might want to try D-76 or ID-11, or one of the newer developers like Xtol or DD-X. My instructor suggested D-76 or Xtol, but he mentioned that I'd get good grain from the Rodinal so I wanted to give it a shot. Rodinal with slower film - up to and including ISO 100/125 - is superb. Ilford PanF and PanF+ with Rodinal is wonderful. Try 11 minutes at 1:50, 68 degrees F/20 degrees C, constant agitation first 30 sec and agitation 5 sec out of 30 sec thereafter. And with the faster films - ISO 400 and up - you'll get very sharp...as contrasted to mushy...grain. Great for the kind of portraiture I like. There are folks who don't like Rodinal. That's okay. After all, some folks don't like Chevrolets and others don't like Toyotas. The key is to try Rodinal. If you like the results, great. If you don't like the results, look for something else. |
#8
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B&W film developing questions
On 1/5/2008 10:00 AM G.T. spake thus:
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: I would call both Accufine and Rodinal poor choices of developer for general use (though each has its own set of special purposes for which it works well). You might want to try D-76 or ID-11, or one of the newer developers like Xtol or DD-X. My instructor suggested D-76 or Xtol, but he mentioned that I'd get good grain from the Rodinal so I wanted to give it a shot. If by "good grain" you mean "grain that you can't help but notice in the print", then that's correct. As others have pointed out, it's completely a personal preference, but you're not likely to get smooth-looking results with Rodinal. I'd try D-76, diluted 1+1. Or even the good old Microdol-X for finer grain (albeit a bit "mushier"). Best to experiment, try every combination (within reason) until you find what you like. |
#9
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B&W film developing questions
In article ,
G.T. wrote: Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: In article , G.T. wrote: Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I have a bigger tank but still am such a novice that I want to keep doing one roll at a time. I don't understand: developing one roll at a time will give you as much variation between rolls as possible, but what you should be aiming for is consistency: the exact same, predictable development results every time. A three or five-roll tank will give you three or five rolls at a time developed exactly the same way. My instructor suggested D-76 or Xtol, but he mentioned that I'd get good grain from the Rodinal so I wanted to give it a shot. What does "good grain" mean? Certainly Rodinal will give you grainy results. It will also cost you a great deal of film speed. There is a myth that circulates that Rodinal is a fine-grain developer -- it is quite certainly _not_ that. Rather, it is a developer that produces such grainy results that it's only suitable for very fine-grain films, ISO 100 or slower. The problem, of course, is that it also reduces true film speed by as much as one full stop -- so in practice, you end up with 50 speed film, at most, and then you need a tripod, unless you're shooting snowscapes at noon. -- Thor Lancelot Simon "The inconsistency is startling, though admittedly, if consistency is to be abandoned or transcended, there is no problem." - Noam Chomsky |
#10
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B&W film developing questions
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
In article , G.T. wrote: Thor Lancelot Simon wrote: In article , G.T. wrote: Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I have a bigger tank but still am such a novice that I want to keep doing one roll at a time. I don't understand: developing one roll at a time will give you as much variation between rolls as possible, but what you should be aiming for is consistency: the exact same, predictable development results every time. A three or five-roll tank will give you three or five rolls at a time developed exactly the same way. Right, but I'm still too worried that I'll screw up 5 rolls at a time by doing something really stupid like popping the top off of my tank while agitating. Once I get on a roll I'll switch to my 3 roll tank. My instructor suggested D-76 or Xtol, but he mentioned that I'd get good grain from the Rodinal so I wanted to give it a shot. What does "good grain" mean? Certainly Rodinal will give you grainy results. It will also cost you a great deal of film speed. There is a myth that circulates that Rodinal is a fine-grain developer -- it is quite certainly _not_ that. Rather, it is a developer that produces such grainy results that it's only suitable for very fine-grain films, ISO 100 or slower. The problem, of course, is that it also reduces true film speed by as much as one full stop -- so in practice, you end up with 50 speed film, at most, and then you need a tripod, unless you're shooting snowscapes at noon. Cool. As you can tell I'm very new at this and for my class last year we just used a quart of Accufine replenishing along the way. I'm still very early into my experimenting and learning phase. Greg |
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