Ilford FP4

M

Michael Moore

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Sep 10, 2006
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Hi just a quick one.

Was looking for developing time for FP4 using agfa Rodinal.

Also any hints on great B & W portraiture film.

Many thanks
 
I wish you had asked about souping it up in D-76. That's what I do, and I like what I get.

In any event, the FP4 is an excellent film. Use it for portraiture too... it's fine grained enough. :)
 
Michael-
My favorite and most used combination is FP4 and Rodinal. It is quite grainy, with the grain looking like sharp sand. Grain is only a little finer than HP5/ rodinal, but even sharper. Image sharpness with this combination is phenomenal.
I expose ISO 64, then process with 1:50 dilution and the following agitation (stainless tank): 4 inversions at the beginning and then 4 inversions at the 4 and 8 minute marks, then finish at 12 minutes. I use a thorough rinse in place of a stop bath to avoid pinholes.
And it is pretty good for portraiture, provided you get plenty of exposure, maybe expose ISO 40; shadows can be quite harsh otherwise, the film seems to have a rather sudden toe. If you're using 35mm, you won't want to crop much or enlarge past 8x10 because of the grain.
For other, more mainstream recommendations try the Massive Dev Chart.
Enjoy!
 
Bryce - thanks for posting that, confirmed what I had long suspected...

I have used Rodinal with FP4, 1+50 for 15 minutes @ 20C, exposing at around box speed, numbers pretty much straight from the massive dev chart, although I usually expose it at EI100 (similar reasons to above) and use HC-110 these days. Was rather grainy for 35mm use but looked very nice in 120.
 
Bryce - interesting agitation technique.

jmi - that's an awfully long dev time from my experiences. BUT...I shoot at 80, so 2/3 of a stop more light, and dev for 9:30 for normal contrast scenes, 1+50. I don't know if the 2/3 stop equates for the 6 minute difference (are you wet printing on a diffusion enlarger?), but..

anyway. that's my time. 10s of agitation every 60s.
allan
 
Rich - yet another person who develops for way longer than I do. weird.

I will say - some of those could use a touch more contrast. Just a tad. Overall tonality is excellent, but a bit more of a toe and shoulder would be nice.

allan
 
I'd think about using Rodinal 1:100, ~ 20 minutes ... might not as be good for low contrast situations, but it might help with the grain. From Rich's samples, I don't find the grain bad, but it's hard to tell on the web. And I differ from Allan ... I think the contrast is fine, at least on my LCD display.
 
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