Hp5 @ 800 & 1600

[Faintandfuzzy]

I'm just looking for some opinions on what developer combos work well with HP5 at 800 or 1600 (or 1000 or 1250). I don't mind grain at all.....in fact I add it to my digital B&W.

I'm looking to take the Bessa R2a along with me to Hong Kong instead of just digital gear.

Thanks in advance.

 

[RObert Budding]

I'd recommend that you try Fuji Neopan 1600 rated at EI 800. It's a stunningly fine film. HP5+ won't yield any appreciable shadow detail at EI 800.

 

[wintoid]

DDX is a treat with HP5 pushed.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

DDX is a treat with HP5 pushed.

Do you use the recommended processing times, or something different?

 

[SolaresLarrave]

How about T-Max and the Ilford films mentioned above? I'd be interested on them if they would work well with T-Max developer.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

I regularly push hp5 to 800 with D76 and tried a few times to 1600 with ilfosol. Always good results.

Looks like people are happy with a lot of different combos…..which means I’ll have to test a whole bunch to see what I prefer. I’ve haven’t used HP5 much for about 20+ years…..and even then, I ran it at 320 in Pyro developers.

I think I’ll give DDX, Ilfosol & HC110 (B) a try to start. Iso 800 is probably where I’ll spend most of my time. The Pentax K20D will be in the backpack for color work.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

How about T-Max and the Ilford films mentioned above? I'd be interested on them if they would work well with T-Max developer.

I’ve never liked the look of HP5 or FP4 in Tmax developer. Something about the tonality. I’ve never pushed with it though.

 

[reuno]

HP5 800 is really beautiful in rodinal. I know a lot of people will tell you it's "mushy" and stuff but the grain is really sharp and nice. I never understood why this combo seems so underrated over the ocean. Give it a try, it's a pain in the ass to scan but prints under the enlarger are really stunning.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

HP5 800 is really beautiful in rodinal. I know a lot of people will tell you it's "mushy" and stuff but the grain is really sharp and nice. I never understood why this combo seems so underrated over the ocean. Give it a try, it's a pain in the ass to scan but prints under the enlarger are really stunning.

I only scan my B&W. What do you find bad about the scanning? Density…..grain?

 

[drewbarb]

HP5+ is a fine film for pushing. I routinely push this film to 800 and run it in either HC-110 or Microphen- it gives excellent shadow detail in both. I also have no problem pushing it to 1200, 1600, or even higher- though you do generally lose some shadow detail the higher you go. For pushing almost any film beyond a stop and a half or so, I really only use Microphen (always full strength). It's one of the best formulas for push processing just about any film. I believe it was formulated specifically for use with HP5, but it certainly works very well with a great many films.

I use it slightly warm (70F, instead of 68F/20C), and as I said, always full strength. For HP5 at 1600, start with 11 minutes. Go easy with your agitation; remember the old basic rule of thumb- time controls density; agitation controls contrast. I agitate for the first 30 seconds, then two inversions per minute. Enjoy.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks Drew!

 

[kxl]

As much as I like HP5+ at 400 (w/ HC-110, Dil B), and consider it passable at 800 EI (with HC-110 or Diafine), I prefer other options (like Tri-X or Neopan 1600) when EI > 800.

I would also suggest giving XTOL a try.

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

Sample Scan?

Sample Scan?

Anyone have a sample scan of what HC110 (B) looks like at iso 800?

 

[Costo Kim]

here is a scan sample of hp5+ iso800 developed in TMAX
scanned using nikon 8000
please note that "grain" on scan is very different from grain on (optical) print

 

[cjm]

Here is HP5@800 in HC-110, Dilution B, 5 minutes at 75 degrees.

Olympus XA2:

Canon QL19: