Benjamin_
Hello,
I’m new to analogue film development and have just bought the analogue starter kits from FOTOIMPEX. I have a roll of Kentmere 400 black-and-white film and would like to know if I can develop it using the Adonal developer, and if so, how I can work out the necessary development times.
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I hope you’ll forgive my beginner’s question.
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Best regards,
Benjamin_
Neutrino
Welcome!
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In principle, you can develop any film with any black-and-white developer. Which film and which developer you choose really comes down to personal preference. With the Kentmere 400, you have a forgiving but rather coarse-grained film. Adonal produces very sharp results, keeps for a very long time even once opened, but is also rather coarse-grained. So if you’re looking for a granularity-rich look, this combination is the right one for you.
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You can check the development time, for example, in the Adonal (Rodinal) data sheet:
http://www.fotoimpex.de/shop/images/products/media/37805_1_Rodinal-Datenblatt.pdf
You won’t find your Kentmere 400 in the list, but you should know that the Ilford HP5 is almost identical. So you can use this time without any problems.
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Another source for development times is the following website:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php
Of course, you shouldn’t blindly believe everything listed there, and it always depends on personal preference and the intended use of the film as to how long you develop it at what temperature, but in many cases the times are useful as a starting point.
Benjamin_
Hi Neutrino,
Thanks for the detailed reply; it was a great help.
Morte
Hi,
I work a lot with Kentmere 400 and really enjoy it. Incidentally, I don’t find it any coarser-grained than other films in its class, such as Tri-X. The Foma 400 is coarser. They all look good, though.
Kentmere works very well with Adonal/Rodinal. You’ll find the development times for this combination in the Digital Truth database linked above. Tip: Use 1+50, not 1+25. It gives a finer result. It just takes a bit longer. However, I find the specified 20 minutes (as is almost always the case) far too long. It makes the film far too high-contrast and harder to print. I develop Kentmere 400 in Adonal at 1+50 for 13 minutes. That’s perfectly sufficient, saves you the hassle and simply produces more beautiful grey tones. Adonal brings out the ‘character’ of a film very nicely. As well as sharpness, it also produces more pronounced grain. Whether that’s a good thing depends on the image and personal taste.
If you fancy a fine grain, you can use ADOX’s Atomal 49 (A49), which is also available cheaply from FOTOIMPEX. Preparing the solution is no problem at all. The solution then keeps for ages. Not quite as long as Rodinal, but perfectly adequate. I develop the Kentmere 400 in A49 stock solution (what that is is written on the packet) for 7.5 minutes. The result is fine-grain, balanced negatives. Not quite as distinctive as with Adonal, but still very nice. Incidentally, A49 is also a classic (Orwo) chemical that has made generations of photographers happy.
Benjamin_
Hi Morte,
OK, I’ll give 1+50 for 13 minutes a go. I finished the roll this morning and I’m really looking forward to developing it. Are there any rules of thumb for how long I should leave the fixer on?
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Best regards,
Benjamin:
Photux
The rule of thumb is: fixing time = twice the clearing time. The clearing time is the time after which an undeveloped strip of film (e.g. from the start of a cassette) is visibly clear. This usually takes 1–2 minutes, so a fixing time of 4 minutes should be sufficient. Having had several instances of poorly fixed negatives, I now simply fix for 6–8 minutes every time. If the fixing time is too long, the image could suffer, but I’ve never had such problems. Perhaps this is also because I always perform dilution of my fixer (Tetenal Superfix or Adofix) at a ratio of 1+9 to save on chemicals.
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Important: Agitate during fixing too (the rhythm doesn’t really matter) to ensure truly consistent results.
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Incidentally, I can only confirm that Kentmere 400 is a good film; I actually like the results even better than with my previous standard, Kodak’s Tri-X. I usually develop in D76; it’s inexpensive, has a fine grain and produces decent results from practically any film. Personally, I’ve always found Rodinal at 1+50 rather unattractive; 1+25 suits me much better. But it’s a matter of taste, so if in doubt, just give it a go! :)
Benjamin_
Hello, I’ve just developed my first roll of film and I have to admit it’s gone completely wrong, even though I actually did it carefully. The only explanation I can think of is that I wound it on wrong and the chemicals didn’t reach every part of the film?
The film has light patches at regular intervals, each about 3 frames long, with about 2 correctly developed frames in between. See the attached image.
[ATTACHMENT NOT FOUND]
piu58
Start by performing exposure on short film clips with just a few frames – perhaps 10 – and perform development on them until you’ve got the hang of it. Only then should you put ‘proper’ photos in the canister.
Photux
What kind of can do you use? It does indeed look as though the chemical hasn’t reached every part, but I’m not sure why that is. If in doubt, it’s not a bad idea to use a roll of film as a test (it could be a cheap, expired colour film) and practise the whole process a few times in daylight, at least to avoid mistakes when winding the film.
Tandemfahren
The easiest thing, of course, would be for you to give film winding a go with someone who knows how.
I did that the other day with a rookie mate (though with 120 film), and it took him an unbelievable 30 minutes to get the streak into the canister!
Lots of giggling at the "Bärenarsch"...
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It could be that there’s something wrong with your reel, in which case you’ll be struggling in vain, all on your own, desperate and miserable!
Well, now you’ve got a film to practise on. Don’t forget to round off the corners!
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Cheers, Frank
TiMo
I can’t see even a hint of an image on the film strip you sent me, just the rough outlines of the frames
Is the developer OK?
Cheers, Tim
Benjamin_
The developer is new, and the proportions were definitely correct. I think I didn’t use enough; I’ve had a look at the specified amount and I think that’s too little. I’ll give it another go later and get back to you then.
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Thanks in advance for all the replies.
TiMo
Hi Benjamin,
The amount you need to use is usually printed on the bottom of the developer bottle.
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Best wishes, Tim
