Pyrogallol developer

Gast · 2003-02-17T21:35:21+00:00

Moin, ich würde gerne mal den EFKE Planfilm mit Pyroentwickler ausprobieren (gerüchteweise soll der Film an Schärfe gewinnen), finde aber im Katalog keinen....

Gast

Hi, I’d like to try out EFKE sheet film with a pyro developer (rumour has it that this improves the film’s sharpness), but I can’t find any in the catalogue. Does anyone know where to buy it or have any experience with it? What about development and exposure times? Which is better: rotary or tray development? How can I control the contrast?

Gast

Hi there, I develop exclusively in pyrogallol. There are plenty of claims about it! The sharpness really does increase. The ISO, however, drops! There are various pyrogallol recipes; the best known these days is PMK by Gordon Hutchins. This PMK is available both as a tilt-and-turn developer and as a rotary developer. Pyro (pyrogallol) has the property of oxidising very quickly, so the roll-type PMK offers stronger protection against oxidation! If you have a good grasp of English, I can recommend the following reading: Gordon Hutchins, *Book of Pyro*. It’s best to enquire at Lindemanns. You can order PMK from Lotus View Camera in Austria. I always mix it myself as it’s cheaper. However, pyro is not entirely harmless as a substance. You should have a sound knowledge of handling chemicals if you intend to mix PMK yourself. If you have any further questions, just give me a call: 06442-208218 Many thanks for the tips on out-of-focus soft-masking!!!! :( Regards, Martin Trippen

Gast

Hi Martin, I’ve got a question about the PMK in the rotary processor. Do you have any experience of how the sharpness compares with that in a tilt-and-turn processor? With the Tanol, the sharpness in the rotary processor is the same for the Efke 25 as it is for any other developer. In the tilt-and-turn processor, it’s at a higher level. I’ve only just started using this type of developer and I believe it really comes into its own from medium format upwards, although the Efke 25 KB performs very well. What’s your opinion? Best regards Raimar

fotohuisrovo

I’m currently running some tests with the Maco UP25 (=Efke 25) and Tanol. We’ve already noticed here that fairly hard water causes a shift from buffering to Tanol. This is why the nominal sensitivity (test film was FP4+; ISO 80) drops further. Using a simple demineralised water solution, things are already looking better and the results are reproducible again. Best regards, Fotohuis RoVo http://www.FotohuisRoVo.nl Robert