Hi!

I have been using AGFA B&W films for some time now. I also changed from Xtol to Rodinal, at least for the APX 25 & 100.

For the 400 I developped one roll in Rodinal and went back to Xtol because it was way too grainy. With Xtol I have used dilutions of 1:1 and 1:3. The 11 X 14s I printed with the 1:3 dilution were very nice, very little grain, but not as contrasty as Rodinal.

Does anybody out there have a secret recipe he would like to share developping AGFA APX 400 to get better results?

Also Ive heard and read a lot on people developping AGFA APX 25 in Rodinal diluted 1:75 and 1:100 but Ive never found development times. Could someone help me with this, please?

Thank you

Richard G

-- Richard Gingras (Richard.Gingras@Cexpert.com), November 02, 1999

Answers

Hi Richard,

I personally prefer Ilford Delta 400 or Kodak Tri-X 400. I process them both with Xtol at either 1:1 or 1:3 with very fine grains and much better contrast than APX 400. I've also had good results using Microdol-X using the same films. Hmmm...I am sure I am going to get nailed now for supporting Microdol-X..., but then again, it is only in my humble opion. Good luck.

PS. As for APX 25, have you tried Kodak Techpan?

-- David (dna2367@hotmail.com), November 03, 1999.

Richard - Here's a link to a page describing APX 25 in very dilute Rodinal:

http://www.slonet.org/~dkrehbie/2photo/film/develop/develop.htm#rodina l

This site was done by Don Krehbiel, an expert photographer and utter master of getting downright AMAZING results with tiny Minox negatives. His entire site is worth checking out, quite informative and interesting.

And regarding Microdol-X, I used it 1:3 with APX 100 shot in my Minox for a year or two. The results were mixed: the grain WAS absoultely wonderful - very tight, invisible in 4x5 prints from Minox negs - but in other regards, the MicX wasn't so hot. While I never experienced the infamous "loss of film speed", the negatives were mostly very flat and lacking in contrast (I had to use a #4 filter for nearly everything). What's more, this particular solution had a much higher level of crud in it than anything else I've ever used (DK-50 for sheet film, D-76 and XTOL for smaller formats), and the negatives were frequently ruined by bits of undissolved chemical grains, dust, tiny hairs, etc., which adhered to the negatives and wouldn't wash away. Plus, the MicX had a very short lifespan once mixed - only about 10 weeks before it suddenly went bad - so for the miniscule amounts I needed for Minox work, I ended up throwing quite a bit away. But the grain WAS excellent...

XTOL is probably a better bet these days. Personally, call me old- fashioned, but I still love good old D-76 1:1, and use it for nearly everything!

-- Michael Goldfarb (mgoldfar@mobius-inc.com), November 03, 1999.

Hmmm... I just checked, and it seems Don doesn't really discuss APX 25 in Rodinal on those pages anymore, although some of his gallery images were made with that film. I still think his site is worth a visit, but while there, you might want to email him and ask about his processing times for APX 25 in very dilute Rodinal...

-- Michael Goldfarb (mgoldfar@mobius-inc.com), November 03, 1999.

Rodinal is OK for negatives not smaller than 6*7.

-- Lot Wouda (lotw@wxs.nl), November 03, 1999.

A time for APX 25 in Rodinal 1:75 is shown on the unblinkingeye.com. Found it at this address: http://www.unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Developers/Times_Rodinal/times_r odinal.html

I have not used this combination myself.

-- Sam (sselkind@home.com), November 03, 1999.

"The 11 X 14s I printed with the 1:3 dilution were very nice, very little grain, but not as contrasty as Rodinal." It could have been developer exhaustion. Did you use at least 100 ml of stock per roll of film? Try 1:2 dilution and/or more developing time. The speed/grain performance of Xtol is much better than Rodinal.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), November 04, 1999.

You can find developing times for AGFA films and Xtol in the "Film Developing Cookbook" by anchell/troop or by finding the Massive Developing Chart on the Digital Darkroom website. I have found it in the past by searching "massive developing chart". Good luck.

-- kevin kemner (kkemner@tateandsnyder.com), November 05, 1999.

I find the combination APX 400 developed in Agfa Studional 1+32 very good as far as tonality and grain are concerned. Try to develop for 6.5 min @ 200C, continuous agitation for 60 s, then 10 s every 30 s.

-- flavio simeone (simeonem@tin.it), November 07, 1999.