EJG
Hello forum,
I’m getting back into photography and would like to achieve good results with SW film (ASA 100–400) and paper relatively quickly,
without having to go through trial and error.
Perhaps you have some combinations that almost always produce good results.
Can anyone offer any advice?
Many thanks
EJG
Roman
Right then, I’ll get started:
Fuji Neopan 400, with an exposure at ISO 250 (preferably with a yellow-green filter), developed for 9.5 minutes in Rodinal 1+50 (20°C, agitation for 30 seconds, then twice at the start of every minute).
Printed on Foma Variant glossy, developed in Tetenal Eukobrom, possibly followed by selenium toner; or if you want baryta and warm tones: printed on Forte Polywarmtone or Fomatone, developed in Agfa Neutol WA, toned to taste.
Roman
RomanJRohleder
EJG,
use a standard developer such as D76 or, if you like, A49 (both at 1+1), expose the film (any type will do, as long as it’s readily available and can be bought again) at half the package speed (FP4+/125 ASA, so at 50 ASA) and then develop it for 25–30% less time than specified by the manufacturer.
This should always result in balanced negatives that work with g2/g3 on any photographic paper.
Steer clear of miracle cures; there’s no such thing as miracle film either, and ‘pushing’ is either unwitting self-deception or consciously ‘accepting the flaws’.
RJR
RomanJRohleder
Oh, and by the way:
It won’t work without testing or training. Our processes aren’t standardised, and there’s a huge range of variation – which, for some, might be part of the appeal.
If that’s not what you’re after, you should hand in your CN films at dm or consider something digital.
Gast
Well then, I’m going to make myself unpopular:
Kodak T-Max 100 and 400, at standard sensitivity and in T-Max developer.
I’d never use them again today, but that’s for aesthetic reasons.
That’s what I started out with, and I ended up with negatives that are still printable today.
There was the usual batch of rejects with washed-out shadows and featureless skies, but getting to grips with that only comes with experience anyway.
I’d also develop cubic films like PlusX, TriX, FP4 and HP5 with dilution in A49 at the start, as the grain has to be intentional for black-and-white printing otherwise. But then everything works fine at standard speed.
As for paper, I’d also consider Polykalt-Ton RC. It produces lovely rich blacks in Eukobrom, for example, which always requires a bit of fiddling around with warm-toned paper.
In my opinion, you can’t go far wrong with a ‘standard’ paper developer anyway.
The road from (quite) good to very good can be a bloody long one, though :)
Regards
Martin
EJG
Hello, thank you very much for your replies,
but I’m no wiser than I was before. Everyone has their own experiences, I suppose.
I’ll give the classic combination of Fomapan 200 and Fomadon LQN
a go for roll film and negative film.
Best regards,
EJG
arothaus
Hello,
The "classic" option would probably be the Fomapan 100 or 400; the 200 has those modern crystal grains.
Best regards,
Andreas
cfb_de
Hi Andreas,
Yes. And what’s more, the Fomapan 200 exhibits “a sensitivity curve that many inexperienced photographers wouldn’t expect”.
Does that qualify me for the diplomatic service?
;-)
Franz
arothaus
Franz,
Perfect!
I was actually wondering whether I should write something like that too ;-)
Although the 200 film is supposed to produce a 200 ISO result when developed in Foma developer – but I’ve only heard about it second-hand. I’ve had a pack of Sponsorware sitting in my cold store since SK; it’ll end up in the A49 at some point.
Best regards,
Andreas R.
Gast
EJG,
It’s obvious that asking a question like that won’t make you any wiser.
You need to realise that there are some basic principles for every type of film:
1) Correct exposure
2) Correct development
3) Correct printing
If you don’t do that, the results will never be really good.
Where you can get a bit more wrong (though it’s also expensive) without it turning out really bad: Kodak PlusX or Ilford FP4 and ID11/D76.
Have fun
Oleksander
heinrich
Hello,
If you’re going for the classic approach, here’s my favourite combination:
Use Ilford HP5 for exposure at 250–320 ISO
Agitate development in ID11 1+3 (made with distilled water from the supermarket) for 17 minutes at 20°C, so slightly shorter than Ilford’s recommended time
Tilting rhythm: constant for the first minute (3-second intervals), then tilt 5 times every 60 seconds (5 times in 10–12 seconds)
Don’t forget the stop bath and fixing
This produces well-defined negatives that can be enlarged well on a gradient of 2.5 to 3.5, depending on the subject
Enlarge onto multigrade paper; the choice of paper is largely a matter of taste; personally, I prefer Agfa Multicontrast (which won’t be available much longer), Polywarmton and Ilford Multigrade.
Develop in Agfa Neutol WA, alternatively Forte Fortespeed WTD (warm-tone developer) or Fortespeed NTD neutral-tone developer. Prepare the solution according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Development time: according to the manufacturer’s instructions (usually 90s to 120s), not by eye
Please note, all other suggestions made here are just as good or bad as mine. It’s best to pick one of the suggested combinations and start with that. The important thing is to settle on a combination, and you can’t do that without testing and systematically varying the process conditions until you achieve the results you want.
Best regards,
Heinrich
Gast
I’d recommend that you develop and enlarge a film, and then ask your questions. I’d suggest using Fuji film and D76. You’ll quickly get the hang of everything else, such as development at a lower ISO, etc. Go by the results you get, and if you buy Western products, you’ll be on the safe side.
Regards, Pan
RomanJRohleder
Pan,
So which is it – Westware or Fuji?
Roman
EJG
Hello forum friends,
One more question: what reduction in development time should one expect when
developing with the Jobo CPE 2 (manually agitating for one minute, then keeping the film canister rolling continuously at speed 1 or 2)? Does the speed of the film tank matter?
Are there any incompatibilities with developers such as the recommended Rodinal, ID 11, A49 and D76?
Otherwise, many thanks for the advice. I’ll start by trying out one of the combinations you’ve tested.
Regards
ejg
