Wolfi
Hello,
I developed a roll of Fuji Neopan SS (ASA 100) in Ilford ID-11 stock solution and fixed it in Tetenal Superfix Plus for 10 minutes. Afterwards, the film had a magenta cast. Will a clearing bath remove this? If so, which one?
Has anyone here had any experience with this film?
The film isn’t available in Germany; I bought it in Italy.
Best regards,
Wolfi
WolfgangMoersch
When using a low-alkaline developer such as ID-11, the colorant in this film (Neopan SS = ACROS) is not fixed during development or in the fixer, but only after approximately ten minutes of washing. The very intense magenta cast is normal in this case and does not in any way indicate that the fixing time was too short. Question: How was Superfix diluted? At a ratio of 1:3, three minutes is entirely sufficient.
A clearing bath is not necessary; whether it might accelerate the bleaching process depends, in turn, on the dilution and pH value.
Wolfi
Hello Mr Moersch,
Thank you very much for your reply.
I had a dilution of Superfix plus 1+9.
Does anyone know where one can get other Far Eastern black-and-white films (Aiko Lightpan or Luckypan)?
Best regards,
Wolfi
Gast
Hello Wolfi & Mr Moersch!
I don’t think the Neopan SS is identical to the Neopan Acros 100 – the Acros is still fairly new (even on the US and Japanese markets, it’s certainly only been around for a year or two), it’s probably a ‘flat-crystal’ film, whereas the ‘classic cubic’ Neopan SS 100 has been around for quite a while (I can remember spotting it at a camera shop as early as the mid-1990s), though I have a vague recollection that it hasn’t been produced since the introduction of the Acros. Barry Thornton praises this film on his website; in Europe, it never really caught on (perhaps because of the name?), even less so than the Neopan 400 (which, in my opinion, is the best 400 film ever...)!
Gast
...oh yes, one more thing: there was once a thread on the Russian Camera User Forum at www.beststuff.com about the Chinese Luckypan (notorious for overexposure due to a lack of antihalation) and its availability – just click through to the user forum via 'Forums' > 'Photography' > 'Russian Cameras' and then click 'Search'!
WolfgangMoersch
Hello Wolfi & Mr Moersch!
I don’t think the Neopan SS is identical to the Neopan Acros 100 – the Acros is still fairly new (even on the US and Japanese markets, it’s surely been available for no more than 1 or 2 years), it’s probably a ‘flat-crystal’ film, whereas the ‘classic cubic’ Neopan SS 100 has been around for quite a while (I can remember spotting it at a camera shop as early as the mid-1990s), though I’ve heard rumours that it’s no longer produced since the introduction of the Acros. Barry Thornton praises this film on his website; in Europe, it never really caught on (perhaps because of the name?), even less so than the Neopan 400 (which, in my opinion, is the best 400 film ever...)!
Roman
Hello Mr Sonnleitner,
Your objection is justified. Nonsense on the internet is a nightmare; I should have taken more time – if I was going to do it, I should have done it properly. Although I haven’t been able to test the Neopan SS extensively, I tend to agree with Thornton’s assessment.
Neopan SS and Acros differ from the Neopans we are familiar with in terms of the colouring of the base or the emulsion dyes. These phenomena are well known with the old T-Maxes and the Deltas. Some require longer fixing times, whilst with others the colour fades due to exposure to light. When conducting the first development of Acros in ID-11 or similar developers with ‘normal’ fixing times, the user may be startled by the colour of the film. Putting the lid on and continuing to fix as if it were a normal reaction is, however, unnecessary and achieves nothing. In this respect, SS and Acros behave similarly (though not necessarily identically).
The new Tmax also exhibits a very intense magenta cast when using low-alkaline developers, and here too this colour disappears completely during washing.
In both cases (in my opinion), it is not that the fixer is unsuitable or even inferior, or that the time is too short; our experience can lead us astray.
Wolfi
Hello,
Thank you very much for all your replies.
I’m going to develop a roll of Fuji Neopan SS in Rodinal 1+25 soon and then rinse it more thoroughly than usual.
I’ll post the results here.
Best regards,
Wolfi
Gast
Hi Wolfi,
If you use Rodinal, the colorant should dissolve in the developer, so the film should come out of the fixer clear.
Wolfi
Hello,
Yes, I think so too. Rodinal is much more alkaline than ID-11, as it contains potassium hydroxide, whereas ID-11
contains ‘only’ borax.
One more thing regarding Roman’s post: Neopan SS is even older; it is pictured in the instruction manual for the Yashica Mat 124 G from 1975, albeit as a roll film. Neopan SS in this format has apparently been out of stock for quite some time.
Best regards,
Wolfi
Wolfi
Hello,
I’ve now developed the Neopan SS in Rodinal 1+25 at 20°C for 7 minutes. The exposure was at ISO 100/21.
The film really doesn’t have a magenta cast anymore! However, the background has a strong grey tint.
It reminds me of Agfa Agfapan APX 100.
Best regards,
Wolfi
WolfgangMoersch
OK, a clear base has certainly a high level of sharpness, but that’s probably just the base fog. Because of Rodinal’s high alkalinity, the base fog density can increase significantly. If the densities are otherwise correct, this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. If the mid-tones don’t show overly coarse grain and the highlights are still open, I wouldn’t worry about “grey” – it’s simply overexposed. Only if the film is too dense overall would the time and/or agitation need to be reduced.
Regards
wm
Wolfi
Hello,
The enlargements I made from the film developed in my last post all look
"washed out". The fog was probably too dense.
Can I avoid this fog by performing a dilution of Rodinal to 1:50 instead of 1:25? According to the instructions, it would then need to be developed for 16 minutes at 20°C.
Is it just as much of a mess with the new Acros?
Best regards,
Wolfi
WolfgangMoersch
I’m afraid I can’t help there. But I suspect the fog won’t change much.
With Acros, I’ve had absolutely no trouble using MZB since I started using the B solution undiluted. The film is brilliant; I wouldn’t go so far as to say that applies only to this combination. What really surprises me, though, is how forgiving the film is when it comes to slight ‘under-exposures’. With exposures between 64 and 100 ISO on a roll of film, every negative can be printed perfectly. Above 100, it gets a bit too steep for my liking, but it’s still not completely off the mark.
Best regards
