here we go again with Rodinal and sodium ascorbate

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Hello !

The very first rolls of film I shot and processed myself were HP5+ in rodinal (1+25), and I was very disappointed with the very grainy result, so I didn't want to bother with Rodinal any more... I didn't even care about sharpness, nor about the contrast-compensating effect.

I now use to shoot ISO 100 films like T-Max, Delta or FP4+, and I was wondering if using Rodinal with sodium ascorbate was worth the effort, especially when using "finer-grained" new-tech films.

I use to process these films in Tetenal Ultrafin plus or Negafin and I am very satisfied with the result (very fine grain). What I would like now is to compare these developers with Rodinal (whith or without sodium ascorbate), concerning sharpness, tonal range, and compensating effect, but without sacrifying the fine grain I have managed to obtain...

Would you please share your experiences ? How does Rodinal dilution influence its compensating effect and sharpness ? What about the addition of sodium ascorbate ? Any advice is welcome...

Thank you very much, make nice pics ! Eric.

-- Eric Escolano (eric@escolano.com), June 02, 2002

Answers

I would like to comment on just one point of your multi-faceted question. - You said that you tried HP5+ in Rodinal and didn't like the grainy results, so you gave up on Rodinal. That's a bit like saying: "John and Mary got married, and the marriage didn't work out, so it must be Mary's fault!" Do you still have some fresh Rodinal? If so, you might be very pleasantly surprised to see what beautiful results you will get when you mate it with a slow film, such as Pan F+. Slow films really show what good old Rodinal can do. You will get fine grain, long tonal range and wonderful sharpness and accutance. I'm very happy with the 11"X14" enlargements from 35mm Pan F+ negatives which were developed in Rodinal. Some Pan F+ in Rodinal photos are posted at: http://www.web-graphics.com/steinerphoto

-- Ollie Steiner (violindevil@yahoo.com), June 02, 2002.

Eric, one thing I recommend is that you go to Rodinal @ 1:100 - 20 minutes at 70 degrees, 2minutes agitation, and then 5 seconds every minute.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), June 03, 2002.


re HP5+ in Rodinal.

Eric, one part of the problem is terminological. You speak about "fine" grain. If it means the grain should be invisible, the HP5+ is not an option at all: it gives an acute, crisply defined grain. Personally I like this effect very much, but if you don't I'd recommend you swith to Delta 100 or TMax 100. D76 or XTOL will do.

-- Andrey Vorobyov (AndreyVorobyov@hotbox.ru), June 04, 2002.


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