Wolfgang
Hello,
I used Calbe R 09 for the first time today. Is it normal for the developer to have a dark brown colour in a brand-new bottle?
With Agfa Rodinal, this discolouration only starts after a few weeks!
Oh, and one more thing: does anyone know of an affordable alternative to Kodak Tri-X-Pan?
Best regards,
Wolfgang
Gast
Hi Wolfgang,
Yes, the dark colour of the R09 is completely normal, and the best bit is that the stuff keeps for ages even in an opened bottle, at least if you add a few drops
of Protectan.
An alternative to Tri-X …
I reckon questions like this could spark a proper ‘war of words’ on the forum.
There are a few nice classic alternatives in the 400 range: Foma 400, HP5, APX400; the
Fuji 400 is supposed to be quite good. I’m about to write another post on the Forte 400 myself, as
I haven’t tried that one yet.
Regards,
Michael
MirkoBoeddecker
Hello Wolfgang,
Agfa’s Rodinal is so clear at first because it is bottled under nitrogen.
Once opened, it turns brown.
R09 has a shelf life of decades – brown as it is, and actually even without Protectan.
Classicpan is the film from our own range that comes closest to TriX.
Fomapan is significantly more finely grainy and paler than TriX.
The alternatives mentioned by Michael are also valid, but they aren’t any cheaper.
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Hello!
Just another question about R09: the development times for this are always given for dilutions such as 1+40, 1+80, etc., whereas for Rodinal they’re given for 1+25, 1+50, etc.
So just how similar are the two? If I prepare the R09 at 1+50 instead of 1+40, can I simply use the Agfa times?
Reason: I’ve found the best combination of speed, dilution and development for a few films, I’ve still got a bottle of R09 lying around, and I’d quite like to keep using it if I don’t have to retest everything from scratch…
Roman
Gast
Roman,
The developers are very similar in how they work. R09 is the original Rodinal. Agfa has modified and further developed its Rodinal. In particular, the concentration has been increased.
Your assumption is correct: AGFA 1+50 corresponds roughly to R09 1+40.
However, the results will not be 100% identical.
That said, this isn’t a major issue with a developer that works so well to balance the process.
Mirko
