I’m switching to environmentally friendly versions of film chemicals.
I’m using Adox XT-3
.
To make it particularly cost-effective, I use it at a dilution of 1+3
(see the old Kodak data sheet, which is available for the XT-3 – many thanks to Adox and FOTOIMPEX for that).
To ensure the development time isn’t too long, I develop at 24°C
in a water bath: always swirl for
the first 30 seconds, then swirl quickly three times every minute.
So now I just needed the perfect black-and-white roll film to go with it.
After testing various films, I settled on the Kodak Ektapan 400
, which used to be called T-Max 400.
11 minutes is sufficient with the development method described above.
The results of the development match exactly my vision of the negative when taking the photograph.
The Ektapan doesn’t need a yellow or orange filter. It renders the clouds beautifully. The shadows are well defined. The highlights are all within the appropriate range.
The Ektapan’s black-shield
behaviour
is sensational: between 1 and 10 seconds, it requires only ⅓ stop more exposure.
This means that even with longer exposure times of up to half a second, the shadows do not wash out – other films should not be exposed for longer than 1/15 of a second! I know of no other film that can do this.
I do hope that ADOX continues to produce the XT-3 and Kodak the Ektapan 400 for a long time to come.
