Diagnosis ?

[srtiwari]

Struggling with trying get some smooth tonality, and consistently have large (to me) grain- even compared with other photos on RFF. Haven't quite got the protocol down yet.
Today developed 3 films- 2 Fomapan classic 100, and 1 Legacy pro 400, all shot at box speed, developed in D76 1:1. 10 mins for the Fomapan and 9:30 mins for the Legacy Pro.
Agitation gentle, 10 secs at onset and 5 secs each min.
Water stop
Fixed for 5 mins
Wash water Ilford method.
Permawash 1 minute

Wash again waterPhotFlo drops.

I monitored the temps for ALL the solutions (and water) within 2 degrees.

Scanned about 3000DPI on KM 5400 II as B+W negative.

And the result ?

Looks grainy and "washed out", but highlights look blown, and some shadow detail loss, looks better with some contrast increase, and noise reduction- all in LR3


Can't seem to get this right. Any thoughts on what I might be doing wrong ??

100% crop...

 

[maddoc]

My guess only, slightly to dense negative (over-exposure / over-developed) and / or automatic exposure control can`t deal with it. This is only from my experience with slightly over-exposed negs and auto-setting of the software. About visible grain, all FOMAPAN films that I have used tend to look grainier after scanning than other films ...

 

[sepiareverb]

Looks over exposed to me as well- and I've also found Fomapan is grainy even on a cold light head enlarger. I'd say to try bracketing some images on the next roll- so you've got a range of exposures to compare for scanning.

 

[Keith]

I would agree with over exposure and also that Fomapan is prone to this look. As for legacy pro I always under develop it slightly for optimal scanning output and I'm not convinced that as a film it's that happy in D76. It's nice in Xtol with very little grain and even better in Rodinal IMO, though you do tend to get a lot more grain with the rodinal.

 

[shadowfox]

Subash,

Overexposure issue aside, I think you have to adjust your expectation about grain. Especially when dealing with scanning silver-B&W films, which usually increases the edge contrast of the grain making it worse than what it would look like when printed on paper in a darkroom.

If you like low grain scans, consider slower film like Adox CHS 25 or better yet, use C-41 B&W films like Ilford XP2 or Kodak BW400CN. These will give you smooth tone progression and low grain. Contrast is lower, but you can boost that easily in photoshop.