how do you figure out development time ?

[raytoei@gmail.com]

It must have been a wild evening, I just received a package of APX100 film and a package of Ultrafine XTREME 400 film.

I have hunted high and low on the internet but I could not find the development time of this Ultrafine Xtreme film.

So how does not figure out the development time of this film without wasting too many rolls ?

My developer of choice will be XTOL (since I have it lying around).

I intend to shoot this film sets of 50, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 iso. unfurl it in the dark bag, fold it into half and cut it. so that i have 2 sets from 50 to 1600 iso. Develop the first batch at a good mid-point between 8 - 15mins, say 11.5 mins as a starting point.

Develop and observe the negatives, and then adjust and develop the 2nd batch to confirm.

is there a better method ?

thanks

 

[sevo]

How about mailing the distributor? It is his fault that http://www.ultrafineonline.com/fidech.html is a dead end...

If you have HC-110 at hand, you should pick that over XTOL. HC-110 development times for most films are much less divergent than those for XTOL - in doubt, a test development of 6 min in Dil.B is within +/-20% of the recommended time for most films, and will mildly overdevelop most of the rest. There are only one or two films you might destroy with that treatment, while there is no similarly safe start value for XTOL - whatever you do there will under- or overdevelop some popular films by more than what you can correct in scanning or printing.

 

[pentaprism]

Have you read this discussion? The film should be similar to Fomapan 400, so you could use the developing times for Fomapan 400(which would be 9.5min in xtol 1:1).

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

hi sevo,

the pdf file, which is on the website somewhere does not have the "Ultrafine Xtreme" film development time, this film is "new".

Pentaprism,

thanks for your link but the thread refers to the original ultrafine film. Not the Ultrafine PLUS and certainly not the Ultrafine Xtreme.

cheers!

 

[Ronald M]

You need 6 exposures, 12 " of film so mark your bench with tape.

Expose some pics with detailed blacks and whites with texture like a cross lighted white stucco wall.

Develope and print on #2 paper for proper black density. If whites are grey, develope longer. If whites are blocked without detail, develope less.

10% change in time is one paper grade, just a rule of thumb. You need grade 4, increase time 20%.

Repeat as necessary. 6 exposures are just fine. I do 4x5 with one sheet.

The trick is to have a subject that remains the same and you can return to it anytime. Mine is a doll with black skirt and white blouse, grey scale, and color checker. Studio lights. Works rain or shine, day or night. Improvise.

Just use box speed and forget all the other. Seriously. Film works best at proper speed or one stop over with 20% cut in development time.

Experiment later when you get the basics down. And print the film. Eyeball is worthless until you get years of practice. Then different films look different but print perfectly. T Max looks too thin compared to Tri x visually, but prints fine.

Do not jump around trying different films and developers. You will never get there if you do.

It is easier to gain contrast than lose it, scanning or printing. You can use the same time for scanning and printing some films, but not all. Tri X and T Max are good in this respect. I can not find a common time for Plus X. Just the way it is. Really nice film for prints though. Really nice.

When you mix manufactures of chems and film, times have to be found by you. You might try Massive Development Chart and cut times 25% for first try. They are always way long for me, but manufactures times work perfectly so it is not me, it is the chart.

If you can not get better data,

100 iso film, 5 or 6 min straight, 7.5 diluted 1:1

400 iso, increase 20 %.

Repeat, don`t be skipping around or you will spend your life running tests and not making photos.

Xtol has a shelf life UNOPENED of two years. If the pack has no EXP date, it is already too old by a mile. Toss it. They have been marking them for 4+ years now. Old Xtol for fine for a day or three, then dies fast. Please don`t ask how I learned this the hard way. I no longer use it.

 

[raytoei@gmail.com]

thanks ronald!

 

[bsdunek]

The Massive Developing Chart - http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php If you can't find it here, it ain't worth doing!

This is the greatest collection of developing information ever IMHO. You can also contribute if you have data they don't have.

Enjoy!!!

 

[sevo]

The Massive Developing Chart - http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php If you can't find it here, it ain't worth doing!

This is the greatest collection of developing information ever IMHO.

Well, it is a nice starting point, but not much more than that, unless you have a more reliable source to check the values against. Many values in there are way off the chart - some people have strange tastes in contrast and exposure, some have broken lab gear (like misadjusted thermometers or a slow stop watch), and many fail to mix the developer according to recipe.