Diafine & Efke/Adox 25?

W

wlewisiii

Guest
So in a fit of _something_ :eek: the other day I ordered three rolls of Efke 25 from J&C. Labeled Adox, they're in my bag but I'm trying to decide what to do with them :bang: as I have very little experiance with films rated less than ISO100.

The most immediate question is what EI should I use given Diafine as my primary developer? I'm currently out of D-76 which is my only other usual suspect.

Thanks,

William
 
The box that my Diafine is in shows Agfapan 25 to be rated at 64. I'd think that the Efke/Adox would rate about the same.

I'd also mention that EFKE suggests a 1 minute water pre-soak prior to developing in order to soften the backing layer on the film so that it'll dissolve fully.

Walker
 
Ah, good info. Didn't even consider comparing the Agfa info. Also thank you for the pre-soak tip - since the box recommends against it, I never presoak anything. But if the film needs it, then that becomes a different story.

Now I just need some serious sunlight and the right barn... :D

William
 
doubs43 said:
I'd also mention that EFKE suggests a 1 minute water pre-soak prior to developing in order to soften the backing layer on the film so that it'll dissolve fully.
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But that suggestion was not in connection with Diafine, I expect... Diafine instructions say not to pre-soak, and the logic is compelling: You're counting on the emulsion to soak up enough developer in bath A to fully develop the film, since Bath B is simply the activator. If the film has already absorbed water, then it's not going to absorb much developing agent... OTOH I don't know what that backing layer might do in Diafine... crud up your Bath A and/or Bath B?
 
Dougg said:
But that suggestion was not in connection with Diafine, I expect... Diafine instructions say not to pre-soak, and the logic is compelling: You're counting on the emulsion to soak up enough developer in bath A to fully develop the film, since Bath B is simply the activator. If the film has already absorbed water, then it's not going to absorb much developing agent... OTOH I don't know what that backing layer might do in Diafine... crud up your Bath A and/or Bath B?
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Doug, my real concern isn't any of the above but I have my doubts that Diafine and Efke 25 will give the best results. D-76 or Rodinal would, IMO, be better choices. But, I could be wrong.

Walker
 
Hmm. Interesting comments from both of you. May well have to go get a liter packet of D-76 just because... I prefer to use it undiluted. Any suggestions for that?

William
 
doubs43 said:
...but I have my doubts that Diafine and Efke 25 will give the best results. D-76 or Rodinal would, IMO, be better choices. But, I could be wrong.
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OTOH you could be quite right! A pre-soak with either of those would be no problem... Though it might be interesting to see what happens in Diafine with a test roll (no pre-soak). Other films have anti-halation layers that dissolve-off into the developer, and Diafine gets pretty cruddy looking after a while. I usually toss it then, but I've heard others say it gets better with use. :) With a one-shot, any crud goes down the drain too, and that appeals to the neatnik in me...
 
wlewisiii said:
Hmm. Interesting comments from both of you. May well have to go get a liter packet of D-76 just because... I prefer to use it undiluted. Any suggestions for that? William
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William, I have one roll of EFKE-25 that I've used from a 100' bulk roll. I developed it in Rodinal 1:25 for 4 minutes at 68 degrees F. The negatives are a bit dense for my taste and I think 3 1/2 minutes would have been better. It's extremely fine grain and sharp. The attached images are from that roll.

J&C Photo show Efke-25 in straight D-76 for 6-7 minutes at 68 degrees. If it were me, I'd try 6 minutes first. The same chart shows 4-5 minutes for Rodinal 1:25 and I think 4 minutes was a little too long.

Walker
 

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I've been shooting efle / adox 25 when available since the 60's and always used Rodinal 1:50. ISO 25 and 8 min 68F with moderate agitation for 8 min yields superb negs for diffusion printing or scanning. Rodinal is made for this kind of emulsion and is a more compensating developer than D76.

http://www.photo.net/photos/X-Ray
 
You can also use HC-110, which I've found quite good (although I'm going to be trying Rodinal now that I have a bulk roll of Efke 25).

There's a table with development times for the Efke films in this thread
 
I can't comment on Diafine or D-76 with Efke 25, but I can vouch for Rodinal. My favorite film/developer combination is Efke 25 at an E.I. of 25 and developed in Rodinal at 1:100 for 17 minutes at 20C, agitate for the first 30 seconds then five seconds every other minute. Two minute pre-soak too. Here's a shot I took last year using this film/developer combo.

Jim Bielecki
 

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wlewisiii said:
Ah, good info. Didn't even consider comparing the Agfa info. Also thank you for the pre-soak tip - since the box recommends against it, I never presoak anything. But if the film needs it, then that becomes a different story.

Now I just need some serious sunlight and the right barn... :D

William
Click to expand...


DO NOT PRE-SOAK if you are using Diafine.

Tom
 
I won't. What I do think I'll do is shoot one roll at EI25 & dunk it in uncut D-76, one at EI50 & one at EI64 for use in Diafine. Hopefully that should give me an idea of what I like best with it.

Thanks all for your tips,

William
 
I think using undiluted D76 wouldn't be such a great idea with the Efke 25. I would think that the solvency would decrease sharpness too much. I'd use it at 1+1 at the least, and maybe even 1+3.

allan
 
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