Getting awful photo-flo stains and water marks on "New Improved" Delta 400 120

greenspun.com : LUSENET : B&W Photo - Film & Processing : One Thread

Has anyone had problems with the "New & Improved" Ilford Delta 400? I've used two different emulsions and have had AWFUL photo-flo stains, and when I eliminated the photo flow, a hazy, uneven coating remained. The film also feels flimsier and more fragile than the pre-"improved" emulsions. I've never had these problems with any other b&w film.

-- Ben Fraker (bfraker@prodigy.net), June 25, 2001

Answers

I haven't developed my rolls of Delta 400 yet,but, I have found Kodaks' dilution recomendation for photo-flo 200 to be 2x too strong. I use my photo-flo 200 at 1/2 Kodaks' recomendation and get excellent results maximum immersion time is 30 seconds with gentle constant agitation & don't make it foam. I guess the product should be called photo-flo 400 :-). I arrived at this conclusion the hard way with stains and streaking on my negs. I use the old 400 Delta and TMax 100 & 400 with the same staining/streaking problem.

-- Robert Orofino (minotaur1949@iopener.net), June 25, 2001.

Ben, are you using distilled water? I always had problems with photo- flo till I switched to distilled water. Sorry, don't know about the Delta 400 specifically.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), June 26, 2001.


I combine the suggestions of both Robert and Christian--use 1/2 (4ml/g) the recommended photo-flo and use distilled water. Distilled water makes a significant difference.

-- Ted Kaufman (writercrmp@aol.com), June 26, 2001.

My recommendation would be to ditch the Photo-Flo and switch to Edwal LFN low foam wetting agent. It's a better product.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), June 26, 2001.

I agree with Ed! When I switched to LFN everything was fine... 2-3 drops and your all set.

-- Scott Walton (f64sw@hotmail.com), June 26, 2001.


Another excellent alternative is Ecco 121. In addition to the detergent (wetting agent), it has some alcohol to speed drying and an antistatic agent to keep dust from being attracted during drying. 2 ml into 250 ml of distilled or deionized water. Available by mail order (Calumet has it), and in some shops. Works fine on other Ilford films, but haven't tried D400. Using distilled water would probably make more difference than switching wetting agents, though.

-- Tim Nelson (timothy.nelson@yale.edu), June 26, 2001.

I generally recommend that the wetting agent be mixed rather dilute; in the case of Photo-Flo, use a ratio of 1+400-500, which is roughly half the strength that Kodak recommmends. The same ratio is appropriate with ILFOTOL Wetting Agent. Also, use distilled water, and a fairly fresh solution. Dry at room temperature; a warm drier will cause the film to dry before the wetting agent has time to run off, which will leave the stains you are seeing.

David Carper ILFORD Technical Service

-- David Carper (david.carper@ilford.com), June 27, 2001.


Moderation questions? read the FAQ