Canon-AE1
Hello everyone,
Does anyone have any experience using Rodinal at a high dilution of 1:100? I’m hoping this will result in finer grain and a better overall image. What have your experiences been like? Do you have any recommended development times? I’m talking about developing in a tank with a 1-minute agitation cycle at 20 degrees.
I’ve now loaded an APX 400 NEW and would like to develop it with this tomorrow. I also use Ilford Delta 100 and Ilford HP-5.
Best regards
Bonderer
I’ve had some experience, but not a good one. I tried it once, but the negatives weren’t worth enlarging. Moving to digital might be an option, but that’s not possible because I don’t have the kit for it – just a darkroom. Rodinal or its knock-offs just emphasise the grain. You can’t override the basic principles of chemistry. Have a look at Digitaltruth – nothing’s impossible there, but there are no guarantees.
I’m developing a friend’s reportage films – Kodak TriX in Rodi-Ado or whatever it’s called – and he pushes it to the limit because he wants grain and contrast. That’s exactly why he uses this developer.
For less grain, I’d recommend a different developer, but it’s a case of trial and error. If he asks here which one, he’ll get as many recommendations as there are answers, so the only option is to try it out for himself.
Morte
Rodinal can be used as a "cold developer" (prepared a few degrees cooler), in which case it produces noticeably finer grain. Uwe Pilz has a lot to say on this subject, and it’s also on his website.
http://home.arcor.de/piu58/fotoweb/ftechnik.html
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Addendum: The PDF on this subject also mentions a dilution of 1:100.
Pitt23
I can only agree with Uwe Pilz.
Under my rather basic conditions – 20°C and variable water quality, which tends to be soft and rich in iron:
A 1:100 dilution is a faff: Boiled water is required (due to dissolved air), very long development times; with normal agitation: the developer seems to become inactive after 15–20 minutes; with (semi-)stand development over 1–2 hours, there is very uneven development and processing (and sometimes Eberhard lines), films always look flat, grain tends to be large and mushy...
1:50 has turned out to be the better mixture.
If it has to be Rodinal.
The same resolution and less pronounced grain can be achieved with Xtol and many other developers.
The real contrast and grain wasteland: paper developer achieves more than any Rodinal, especially with a bit of heat.
Have fun experimenting!
Wolfgg
Hello,
Just to share my experience with RPX400 and Rodinal: 70 minutes at 1+140 at 20°C, a large tank with wide spirals (Jobo2000) filled to the brim (all air removed), tilting the tank for the first minute, then leaving it upside down for the first third of the time, and standing it upright for the remainder. This ensures sufficiently even development. These specifications apply to N-development.
You get a great edge effect, i.e. very high sharpness of edges, good balance and, thanks to the high dilution (= low pH value), no annoying clustering of crystals as with higher concentrations. And this method of development is convenient too.
For developers, I always use purified water (osmosis unit) for the sake of consistency. Nothing goes off; even after 3 hours, the Rodinal still develops vividly (all tested previously).
Regards, Wolfgang
Tandemfahren
Hi,
In my experience, Rodinal is completely unsuitable for high-speed films. It doesn’t make good use of the film’s speed, and the already coarse grain becomes even more pronounced – not good at all.
There aren’t that many films that react well with a homeopathic dose of Rodinal. CHS25, for example, is one such film.
Generally speaking, a low-speed film that is naturally prone to streaking can be tamed in this way. Develop cold (I’ve tried as low as 13°C) and with minimal agitation.
You can avoid streaks during stand development by agitating a few times at the start (after the usual 30 seconds of slow continuous tilting) at longer intervals, e.g. every 2 minutes, and only then leaving it to stand.
Just shaking it around ‘as usual’ probably won’t do the trick.
Frank
grommi
There’s hardly a more divisive topic than stand development with Rodinal at a 1:100 dilution for 60 minutes. I’ve done this loads of times, always agitating gently but continuously for the first minute, and I’ve never had any bromide streaks. “Just like that”... try it yourself and don’t believe everything you hear. Not even me ;-) I learnt this lesson on forums.
michael-kielgmxnet
So far, I’ve only developed low-speed films in Rodinal 1+100, always with good results. I’ve been swirling the tank quite gently once a minute.
I’ve had good results with the following films: Efke KB 25, Efke KB 50, Orwo NP 15 and ADOX Pan 25.
I’ve doubled the development time compared to the recommendation for 1+50, and that’s always worked out fine. But I don’t think the development time is all that critical when it comes to dilution anyway.
Wolf_XL
... what size do you want to enlarge the negatives to? It may well be that you actually start to see differences at sizes of 1m by x – or at least think you do... My experience with Rodinal suggests that, in the range I usually work with – say, up to 30x40 – I honestly can’t spot any difference, whether using a dilution of 1:25, 1:50, 1:100, between 16? – 24? or whether shaken or stirred...?
?
There’s a lot of voodoo going on in this regard...
