GerdK
Hello dear readers,
I accidentally exposed an APX 25 film with an exposure compensation of -1.
For correctly exposed films, I have so far developed them for 14 minutes at 20°C with agitation in A49 (1+1) or for 6 minutes in Rodinal (1+25).
Now my question is: should I extend the development time by a factor of 1.333, or would it be better to use the A49 stock solution for the same duration? Is it better to develop in Rodinal or A49 to increase sensitivity?
Thanks for reading and replying
Gerd
MirkoBoeddecker
Hello Gerd,
Actually, I’d recommend not diluting either developer too much.
So R09 at 1:20 or 1:40 and A49 at stock strength.
Although the compensating power increases with higher dilution, the sensitivity may decrease.
However, as you already have a well-established development time for A49 1+1, I’d go for 1.3333 – then nothing can go wrong.
Both developers make good use of the film’s speed.
With R09, the APX comes out with a finer grain; with A49, it’s finer-grained (if that’s even desired or necessary).
Best regards,
Mirko
MatthiasStark
Hi Gerd,
After development, I’d recommend adding a 1% soda bath or a 2–5% borax bath.
With this ‘two-bath development’ process, you can coax a bit more detail out of the under-exposed shadow areas. I’ve actually managed to salvage under-exposed films this way before. In my experience, it adds a good 1/3 stop of speed, and there’s a difference between being 1 stop short and 2/3 of a stop short.
The slightly extended development time naturally also gives you better utilisation of the film’s speed.
Best regards,
Matthias
GerdK
Thanks M&M,
for your tips – although I’ve only just read Matthias’s, the development was actually done yesterday. I just wanted to share my experience:
So I developed the film in a rotating drum at 21°C in A49 (1+1) for 18 minutes and 40 seconds. The negatives look the same as always. That means I would have had to extend the time at 20°C (20 minutes, roughly speaking).
I won’t be able to tell whether the contrast is greater and the shadows have become more similar until I perform an enlargement. But that will take a while.
Bye, Gerd
