Developer for Neopan SS

[L Collins]

I'm sitting on about 50 rolls of Neopan SS. The few rolls I've shot we're developed in Rodinal 1:50. Way too much grain for a 100 ISO film.

Any suggestions for decent tonality while keeping grain minimal?

 

[sevo]

Special (small grain, high acutance or speed enhancing) developers are somewhat too uncontrollable for old film, the more so as the film may have aged to grow different properties across the roll's length.

HC-110 is generally considered the best off the shelf developer for severely expired film, being free from oddities, having very uniform development speed across film speeds and brands (so that guesses at the development time are easy) and already containing a anti-fogging additive. The other common recommendation is D-76/ID-11 with some added benzotriazole (Kodak anti-fogging #1).

For film exposed ages ago, two stage developers might be worth considering for their speed benefit, to regain the loss in latent image - but as they also tend to increase fogging, that is a last resort to recover near-dead film. When you expose old film now, you'd better decrease the speed you expose at, if a test proves the negatives to be too faint at nominal speed.

 

[John Bragg]

Plus one for HC-110.

 

[tunalegs]

I used D-76 for Neopan SS, didn't have a grain problem.

 

[leicapixie]

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2149046#post2149046

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2149046#post2149046

Use a fine grain developer not Rodinal or HC-110.
I found the film way too grainy for me!
I like grain.. this was over the top.
I think even fine grain developers you will still have lots..
The salesperson did say it was really grainy..:bang:
Question? why so many rolls before seeing results?
i shot 2 rolls before jumping ship.

 

[dogbunny]

I developed it in D76 as well. I had some grain but less than say plus-x.

 

[L Collins]

Thanks for the replies.

I've tracked down an article on SS and it's recommendation, after much experimenting, is dilute Perceptol. Since I have a box of Perceptol to mix up, that's what I'm going for.

Interesting to hear of other's grain experience with SS. In Rodinal it looked like Neopan 1600!

 

[CliveC]

Perhaps Neopan SS likes to be treated differently at the exposure stage? I just bought some at a camera show myself, just a couple of years expired, so I'm most curious as well.

 

[f16sunshine]

I shot a ton of it a few years back. It's grainy and not very good with fine details.
I like liquid Tmax Dev at 1:4 for 7minutes. The film has it's charm with fast soft lenses although looking nice and clean is not it.
Here are a couple using what I considered SS's best match... a canon 50mm f1.2

 

[Highway 61]

D76 1+3 for 20' @20C.

But don't expect miracles re grain. Not a very good film, and probably not made by Fuji actually.

If budget is the target, the Fomapan 100 will be a considerably better choice...

PS : the harvest machine photo above is beautiful.