I have grainy HP5 negatives. What did I do wrong? Please help.

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Dirck Halstead : One Thread

Hello there. I was testing a lens on my M4 and I shot two rolls of Ilford's HP5. I've never run into this problem and was looking for some help.

I developed them both in separate tanks using HC-110 Dilution B at the right temperature, right time, and right agitation. Both negatives came out very very grainy and when I made prints it looked like I had shot 3200 film. I can't figure it out. Could the temperature change from the HC-110 to the water wash cause this?

Any help would truly be appreciated.

Sincerely,

-- Gabe Sachs (egabe@earthlink.net), November 01, 2001

Answers

I think you may have cooked your negatives because you didn't dilute the HC110 into a working mixture first. HC110 comes in a concentration that requires dilution - you wind up with 5 L of it if you dilute the whole bottle. THEN you follow the dilution instructions so that you have a working mixture to develop your negs. I made the same mistake ONCE. It looks like 3200 or even 6400. If it's a personal project, call it art. Hope this helps.

-- Heather Faulkner (faulkner@volny.cz), March 25, 2002.

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