Acros at 50 and 25

[f16sunshine]

Hi All

Recently I bought in to a couple of larger lots of across and Legacy pro100 in 35mm. Previously I only used it much for 120.
I also have a quite a bit of Tmax100 which although not exactly the same is similar enough for me.
I now have two Hexar AF's and intend t keep one loaded for day use (across at 25-100) and one with faster film for evening and night (HP5 or tri-x).

It would be great to get some feedback from other members who use acros, tmax100, delta, and any other modern "T-grain" films at speeds of 25-50 (-1stop or -2stops below box speed).


So Far I have used Tmax dev with decent results although highlights have looked a bit dull. I'm working to adjust agitation to get more negative density with out blocking up the shadows.
Maybe another developer is the solution (punny 🙂 )

Any image samples and developer advise would be great and much appreciated .
I image many of you have experimented more than I have with holding back these films.

Cheers!

 

[Brian Legge]

I routinely use Acros ~50 with Rodinal. The negatives are 'dull' but have tons or range where I want it. I usually add a bit of contrast later but and end up with lots if shadow detail it still have good highlights. I usually go 1:50 for 10:30 to 13 minutes, depending on the lighting conditions. 30 seconds initial agitation, 2 inversions a minute after. A few examples:

 

[f16sunshine]

Brian Thanks!
I'll give 1:50 a try. I see you vary your time depending on conditions. Do you also alter agitation?

 

[Brian Legge]

I leave agitation alone. I played with it. While ago - mostly reducing agitation - and ended up with banding or other sorts of irregular development. Exposure and time have given me enough control.

 

[Fotohuis]

In any Ultra Fine Grain type developer (Rollei) R.L.S./CG-512 ( @ 24C 1+4), Windisch W665 1+0, Perceptol 1+0, Microdol-X 1+0 you can expose on E.I. 32-50 and reach the same grain as with any good iso 25 B&W film (like Rollei RPX-25, Efke 25 or Agfa APX-25).

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

And for direct sun, if you want to really control contrast and have very clean shades, any film can be used at +3 from box speed, using a yellow or orange filter...
For example, I use TMax100 at ASA12 (in camera metering): with my HexarAF that's great for shooting with its lens wide open under direct sun, usually at 1/250 f2 with the orange filter on.
For this case, I use Microdol-X 1+2 22C 12minutes with gentle agitation every second minute.
The same can be done with Tri-X at ASA50, Rodinal 1+100 18C 20minutes with gentle agitation every 5 minutes. For depth of field with Tri-X under direct sun and orange filter, I commonly get 1/125 f8, and with my Bessas I use 1/2000 f2 for selective focus.
Cheers,
Juan