120 HP5+ in Rodinal or Xtol ... samples?

[Keith]

I have two exposed rolls of HP5+ in 120 that are reasonably important to me and have two developers to choose from ... Rodinal or Xtol. I realise I will get less grain with the Xtol but have no experience with this film with either developer.

Does anyone have samples they can post of the two options and maybe some developing tips.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BTMarcais]

Keith- most of the images in my rff gallery are hp5 in XTOL.

(35mm though- the 120 is usually sfx200 or some other fun oddity)

It's a good combination IMHO.

-Brian

 

[EliasK]

Grain is not a big problem with Rodinal, just be gentle with agitation.
Rodinal 1+50, 12 min at 20C, initial agitation for 30sec then 2 gentle inversions every min:

 

[Brian Legge]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/6949918081/
HP5+ @ ei 320
Rodinal 1:50 12 minutes. 30 seconds initial inversions, 2 inversions every 3 minutes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cannelbrae/6794444350
HP5+ @ ei 320
Rodinal 1:50 12 minutes. 30 seconds initial inversions, 2 inversions every 3 minutes.

Note that both of these were taken either in the shade or on overcast days. The shots taken in full sunlight with a scenes with requiring a lot of dynamic range have been problematic for me with this pair if I want both shadow and highlight detail. I'd rate the film down to 200 or so when using Rodinal.

I've seen excellent shots at full speed with XTOL and play on switching to it myself in the near future for faster film. I don't have any experience yet though. My process when considering looks is to search flickr for the film/developer/'minutes' to see a range of sample images given a pair and development. Obviously their results will be different but it can give you a rough sense of what people get on average. Here is a link: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=xtol+hp5+minutes&ss=2&s=int

 

[Trius]

For scenes with more range, I would use Rodinal at 1:100, about 19 minutes, 30 seconds initial agitation and then either no agitation or 3 gentle inversions half way through.

Another option is the Rodinal/XTol combination.

 

[Bob Michaels]

I have two exposed rolls of HP5+ in 120 that are reasonably important to me and have two developers to choose from ... Rodinal or Xtol. I realise I will get less grain with the Xtol but have no experience with this film with either developer. ..............

Keith, I think your decision is already made by whatever e.i. you exposed at. I think that all iso 400 films lose about 2/3 stop when developed in Rodinal. Now you can extend the development time but that always looks a bit "pushed" to me.

If you exposed it at an e.i. of 400, Xtol is probably your best option.
If you exposed it at an e.i. of 200-250, 120 film sure looks pretty in Rodinal.

 

[Keith]

I'm leaning towards Rodinal for the extra bite it seems to give with most films I've used. Not to mention in the past I've avoided HP5+ because I found it a bit doughey.

These are my best mate's baby photos so I don't want to **** it up!

 

[Brian Legge]

I'd really suggest shooting an unimportant roll in similar lighting conditions to test it. At least personally, I really struggled with blowing out whites - like skin - in moderate lighting. If the rolls are important its probably worth shooting a test roll to be sure you're happy with your development before running those two rolls.

 

[venchka]

This works for me:
HP5+, 120 or 4x5, EI of 250.
Xtol 1:3 at 68F
10 minutes in Jobo drums, continuous agitation.

Many of the B&W medium and large format photos in my LUG Gallery were made with the above combination. Two that I am fond of...Pentax 6x7/45mm Takumar lens.

My Gallery

Good luck!

Wayne

 

[Bobfrance]

I'd go Xtol Keith.
I found Rodinal enhanced the grain in HP5 more than any other 120 film I've tried in it.

Baby photos benefit from nice skin tones. The contrast can be upped in post if needed but it's a lot harder to remove from a contrasty neg.