HC-110 Question

keatensaba

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I have been developing my Hp5 400 in HC-110 developer at school and its been coming out super grainy i believe because my teacher has been saying to develop for 7mins when this web site says 2.5mins for dilution a
and 5mins for dilution b could that be why my images have been coming out so grainy because ive been doing the developing process for to long
also how do i know weather im using dilution a or b developer that kind of confuses me. thanks!
 
Dilution B = 1 part HC-110 syrup plus 32 parts water. HP5+ @ 400 EI in Dil. B in 20 deg-C should be as smooth as butter. Did you check your water temp? How much agitation were you applying?
 
Try dilution H, 1:63. Will give times in the 10 min. mark at 20c. Developing for longer than 5 min. will give a lot more control and less chance of errors. Will also make the HC-110 last twice as long!
 
Dilution B = 1 part HC-110 syrup plus 32 parts water. HP5+ @ 400 EI in Dil. B in 20 deg-C should be as smooth as butter. Did you check your water temp? How much agitation were you applying?

the developer was at about 21 deg i agitate at the first 10 seconds of every minute. im having the hardest time getting to the bottom of this all my shots are coming out like crap.
 
Try dilution H, 1:63. Will give times in the 10 min. mark at 20c. Developing for longer than 5 min. will give a lot more control and less chance of errors. Will also make the HC-110 last twice as long!

i really dont know what that means dilution H 1:63 could you please explain? thank you
 
the developer was at about 21 deg i agitate at the first 10 seconds of every minute. im having the hardest time getting to the bottom of this all my shots are coming out like crap.

It sounds like way too much agitation.
 
how often would you suggest agitating?

Using the inversion technique (turn your tank end over end), agitate gently for the first 5 seconds, then 5 seconds at 2 minute mark and 5 more seconds at 4 minute mark. And make sure your water temp is at 20 deg C.

That should be a good start; adjust as needed.
 
i really dont know what that means dilution H 1:63 could you please explain? thank you

All it means is you need 63 times as much water added to the amount of HC 110. So, I usually shoot 120 film and you need about 500ml of working solution per roll. That would mean I would use 8ml of HC 110 syrup and I would mix that with 500ml of water to give me the 1:63 ratio. The actual total should be 512ml, but 508ml is close enough!

If you shoot 35mm film you need about 300ml of working solution per roll. You would use 4.8ml of HC 110 added to 300ml of water to get 1:63.
 
Using the inversion technique (turn your tank end over end), agitate gently for the first 5 seconds, then 5 seconds at 2 minute mark and 5 more seconds at 4 minute mark. And make sure your water temp is at 20 deg C.

That should be a good start; adjust as needed.

thanks! ill try this out tomorrow
 
Euro syrup is different from US syrup. So get your dilutions right to start, this will help:

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

Euro concentrations are about half way down. If you are getting high grain then check your exposure meter either on your camera or handheld to be sure you are not overexposing. Then start out with a diluted solution. In America that would be dilution H. Find one on the above site something similar. HC-110 is not the worst (or best if you want grain) grain producing developer but it is certainly more fine grain than average. Then be sure that you use a time that will not overdevelop and be gentle with your agitation. You really should not have HC-110 developments with high grain.

Here is one that I took many years ago with TriX (35mm)(similar to HP5+). I was disappointed with the grain as I overexposed the film:

502669696_86a5bcfb17.jpg
 
Dilution B = 1 part HC-110 syrup plus 32 parts water. HP5+ @ 400 EI in Dil. B in 20 deg-C should be as smooth as butter. Did you check your water temp? How much agitation were you applying?

Actually, Dil. B (US) is 1:31. Dil. H is 1:62.

The thing I found out about HC-110 is that you have to be VERY consistent with your dilution, your temperature, even your agitation methods, in order to get good and consistent results. I sure hope the OP hasn't been agitating like a bartender. The harsher your agitation, the faster your contrast level will rise.

HC-110 is a rather forgiving developer in the sense that if you screw up, you'll still get results, albeit not as pleasant ones, but something will appear from your negs either way, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't work towards a solid, consistent developing routine.
 
Hi,

Dont mind me hijacking. I rate my tri-x 400 at 1600 all the time and recently, i just got myself a rangefinder. What happen was my pictures are somewhat extra contrasty it looks like a vector graphic at times. Lens used is a vc 35 1.4. The films are developed as below

16 mins 45 secs (7.5 x 2.25 according to digital truth for 2 stop)
HC110 dil b
20 c
Agitate 30 secs upon pouring and 20 secs every other minute.

I agitate in a circular motion. In push process, do you maintain the agitation time or agitate longer ie rate at film speed 10 secs agitation, 2 stop 20 secs agitation.

Kindly advise.

Thank you!!!!!! ,)
 
Ohh i forgot to include links to see my vectorized snapshots.

Flickr.com/buluidong

Lantwiggy.tumblr.com

Thanks for your time!
 
Euro syrup is different from US syrup.

No. Syrup is syrup - the 32oz/1l bottle is the same everywhere. The 16oz/500ml bottles come in two versions, syrup and pre-diluted stock, but the latter has the consistency of tea rather than syrup - and does not seem to be particular to Europe, going by the data sheet.
 
Hi,

Dont mind me hijacking. I rate my tri-x 400 at 1600 all the time and recently, i just got myself a rangefinder. What happen was my pictures are somewhat extra contrasty it looks like a vector graphic at times. Lens used is a vc 35 1.4. The films are developed as below

16 mins 45 secs (7.5 x 2.25 according to digital truth for 2 stop)
HC110 dil b
20 c
Agitate 30 secs upon pouring and 20 secs every other minute.

I agitate in a circular motion. In push process, do you maintain the agitation time or agitate longer ie rate at film speed 10 secs agitation, 2 stop 20 secs agitation.

Kindly advise.

Thank you!!!!!! ,)

First off, pushing film will give you a higher contrast. That is only natural. I advice you moderate your expectations. You can't expect pushed film to have as much latitude in the final exposure as a film shot at box speed. You are basically underexposing, then overdeveloping to bring back the detail from underexposed film, so you will lose some latitude both ways.

Did you know you can find Tri-X and HC-110 Dil. B timings for EI 1600? The MDC timing for EI 1600 is 16 min. You may be overdeveloping and blocking your highlights. You might also be over agitating. I only agitate 30s initially, then 10s every other minute. Agitation raises your contrast levels, hence I agitate less to rein in the contrast a little.
 
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No. Syrup is syrup - the 32oz/1l bottle is the same everywhere. The 16oz/500ml bottles come in two versions, syrup and pre-diluted stock, but the latter has the consistency of tea rather than syrup - and does not seem to be particular to Europe, going by the data sheet.

What?????????? I think you know what I meant. Be sure you are mixing the correct dilutions.
 
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Re;HC110 Question

Re;HC110 Question

HC110 is a grainy developer to begin with, It is a very concentrated liquid developer that is used to process film in a hurry, that’s why the development times are so short. HP 5 at 400 will be grainy with
this developer, if you rate your film at a higher ISO, say 1600 you are going to get a lot of grain, it will look similar to Kodak Recording film in effect. HC110 was used mostly by press photographers or the publications photo department when they had to process their films to meet tight deadlines, grain was not an issue due to the fact that it would be reproduced on news print.
You should be using Ilford Ilfosol 3 Liquid developer with HP5, it will produce a fine grain result as long as you don’t develop over 74 degrees. If you are comfortable with mixing power developer, try Ilford ID-11. This developer is very fine grain and can be used with a variety of films. One final tip, don’t over agitate your film during development. Agitate your film gently for ten seconds every minute of development. I stress the word gently, if you over agitate you will over develop and get poor tonal results.
:)
P
 
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