Acurol N

[gho]

Thanks to some posts here Acurol N has come to my attention. I like high acutance, Eberhard effects, well defined grain and long tonal gradation.

In particular I was curious about its stand development capabilities so I tossed 2 rolls of 135 Tri-X into Acurol N 1+100 and let it stand for one hour without any agitation. Yes, there was some uneven development and the bottom roll came out a bit fogged.

Next I tried some Tri-X roll film with one inversion at 5, 20, 30 and 45 minutes. Development was also a bit uneven, but nothing too dramatic.

My procedures are a bit experimental, but for now I would say it is a quite good high acutance developer. The rolls scanned very well.

Have you tried the developer? Share your images here.

 

[Koolzakukumba]

I wrote up a test of Acurol-N at:
http://www.theonlinedarkroom.com/2013/05/developer-test-spur-acurol-n.html

I'm not sure why people want to try stand developing quite so much. it's not a magic bullet! If used as directed by Spur, Acurol-N is a great developer.

 

[redisburning]

if only there was someone in the States carrying this stuff, I would buy some in a heartbeat

 

[gho]

I'm not sure why people want to try stand developing quite so much. it's not a magic bullet!.

Sure, sure. The first tests were a bit on the extreme end of the scale. However, I like using stand development because of the tonality it can produce with Rodinal for example. High dilutions (1+100) seem to improve the acutance while keeping the grain under control. Sometimes the edge effects are enhanced or even exaggerated. But uneven development surely is a drawback.

I guess a sensible approach for my intents could be using a high dilution and a regular agitation scheme. Maybe I will do that next, still 30ml in the bottle.

 

[Jockos]

if only there was someone in the States carrying this stuff, I would buy some in a heartbeat

What's wrong with importing? You'd be able to dodge the VAT, which should compensate for the higher shipping cost.

 

[gho]

Playing with the Acurol is a good opportunity to get rid of my backlog. Here are some exposures from Japan.

Tri-X, 1+100, 31 min, 30 sec initial agitation, 1 inversion each 5 minutes thereafter.

I simply hit scan without curve adjustments. I guess exposing Tri-X@ISO 200 may be a good starting point for this development scheme. No uneven development, everything ok.

But I must admit, so far I like the results with less agitation and longer time better. They simply have more bite, but the uneven development surely is a drawback. Or maybe not? ;-) Still around 30 ml to go.

 

[Koolzakukumba]

Are you going to try Acurol according to Spur's instructions to see if you like it that way? If so, you'd better hurry up before you run out!

Here's one of Ilford Delta 100 in Acurol-N.

 

[gho]

Are you going to try Acurol according to Spur's instructions to see if you like it that way? If so, you'd better hurry up before you run out!

Oh la la, yes, I developed 4 rolls today, two with an experimental procedure that I better won't reveal 😉 and two according to Spur.

The normally developed negatives are drying right now and are looking clean and great!

Anyhow, here are two from the experimental rolls.

🙂

 

[gho]

Ok, here are some of the roll according to Spur. Tri-X, 1+50, 15 min @ 20 C, 1 minute slow agitation, then 1 slow inversion each minute. Straight scans, no curve tweaking.

 

[gho]

Tri-X, 1+100, 15 minutes.

 

[shadowfox]

That is one high contrast developer.

 

[gho]

That is one high contrast developer.

Not necessarily. It depends on how one uses it. I also have a few very low contrast negatives with pulled Tri-X. Here I just posted the straight scans I liked without curve tweaking. So far I am super pleased with the results. The histograms are quite informative.

As for stand development, I do not really see the point now. What I am looking for can be achieved by pulling Tri-X, using a higher dilution and a normal time. I have the impression that contrast in the negative can be controlled by agitation.

Of course exposure, dilution, temperature, time, and agitation all affect contrast.

 

[gho]

Ok, here are a few more. Again, Tri-X, 1+100, N-1 development, 15 minutes. Today was a rather overcast day and I was curious how the negatives would turn out.

The slight unevenness in the sky is my scanner. My enlarger should be capable of carrying 6x6 negatives, but I can not find the correct carrier.

Here I set the white point to bring out the shininess of the chrome. Tons of leeway in the highlights.