I love the smell of Caffenol in the morning!

[burancap]

Thanks John. I hope to run two more Arista rolls tonight including the roll I shot filtered. I see no reason to alter my run from last time other than some more diligent washing.

Next on deck will be some T-Max 100 I plan on shooting tomorrow. It would have been tonight, but my camera acted up (1 roll thru a CLA, but I digress). I will again go with the same process as the Arista.

 

[Fernando2]

Some fun with Agfa Copex Rapid and Caffenol. 😀

Just a quick test shot (ugly building, I know!): this is the full image

And this is a 100% crop of the central highlighted part:

😉

Fernando

 

[zuiko85]

Wow! That is some high resolution on the Copex. I wonder if caffenol will work with Bluefire Police film? I have some in 16mm I'd like to run in Minolta 16II but want to avoid soot and chalk negs and get a reasonable range of greys.

 

[burancap]

Fernando, again that Copex looks great. May I ask, how are you scanning?

 

[burancap]

I finally finished scanning the two latest rolls. The "crud" was effectively eliminated with some solid washing. I was left with very usable negatives again. This time, I left everything identical, except that I increased KBr to 1.5 from 1.2 and went to a full stand after 10 gentle initial inversions. I feel as they I may have lost some shadow detail, but it is kind of nice to be able to walk away from the process. I will try to get some examples up later.

 

[Fernando2]

I wonder if caffenol will work with Bluefire Police film?

It should: try with Adox CMS 20 recipes for a start. Like "Caffenol LC+Cnew".

Fernando

 

[Fernando2]

May I ask, how are you scanning?

This one was scanned on a Minolta 5400 (I), with Grain Dissolver engaged.
The previous ones (shots from Spello) were scanned on a Nikon 8000.

Fernando

 

[hausen]

Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread. I am very keen to give the caffenol thing a go and the timing is perfect. Have a Nikon F6 turning up this week and Caffenol means less chemicals in my apartment makes my wife happy. Hopefully will contribute something soon.

 

[mmartin09]

Has anybody had trouble with underdeveloped negatives in caffenol? Because of this thread, I was inspired to give it a go, but after 4 rolls and two different recipes (Caffenol-C-L and Caffenol-C-H), I'm getting consistently the same thing... very thin (underdeveloped) negatives. I can barely read the "Kodak Tri-x" along the side of the negatives. I'm measuring everything very carefully using a gram scale so I'm confident that my measurements are accurate. I used the times and recipes recommended in the caffenol cookbook. I'm exposing tri-x at box speed. I'm using Maxwell House instant coffee and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda, along with 100% ascorbic acide power. Can anybody provide some suggestions/help?

 

[burancap]

I wish I had something to offer, but I am as new to this as you! Hopefully, someone may have some insight. My attempt with Tri-X was not good, but it also predated my purchase of proper KBr. To the point of your post though, I *believe* that Tri-X may be a film that doesn't particularly like the process.

To speak freely, the one thing I have learned is that this is all still a bit loose procedurally and there is not really a single source "reference" of sorts for the process. It seems to be a bit of a stumble until finding what works for you and the film that you shoot. Then, one can tweak a bit here and there to get it down to being fairly repeatable.

In my case (very limited), I seem to have found (got lucky?) that C-L and ~45 minutes works well with Plus-X and possibly Fomapan 100. I mention that because I have some T-Max 100 loaded but currently unexposed. After some more research, it seems the T *may* not like Caffenol so much, but the Foma does. So, I am going to unload the T and run Foma. Might you be able to source some and try the C-L stand? I am finding that lots of reading, and especially note-taking is critical. For everyone comment I find on the 'net, I find two that counter it. I have a notoriously short fuse and I have stuck it out so far. It is a good bit more work, don't get me wrong. But, I highly recommend it as the results are genuinely satisfying, especially after foundering as I was in the beginning.

 

[burancap]

Here are some from the most recent run. Process was the same, but KBr increased from 1.2 to 1.5, and this was a true full stand with no inversions after 10 gentle to start. Arista Premium 100 (Plus-X) via R8, 50/2 Summicron with R25 090 red filter. These seem to have increased grain and some loss of detail. In others, a seemingly appreciable loss of shadow detail. As much as I like the convenience of the true full stand, I do not particularly like the result as much as my first run from above. So, the next run will be a reduction in KBr back to 1.2 and the reintroduction of inverting but on a less frequent schedule than the first successful run. That *may* just be the magic configuration, and as in my post above -proof of the somewhat experimental nature of all this. At any rate, straight from the scanner with just a light crop...




R8 - 02 by burancap, on Flickr




R8 - 04 by burancap, on Flickr




R8 - 13 by burancap, on Flickr




R8 - 10 by burancap, on Flickr

 

[02Pilot]

In my experience, Tri-X does fine with the reduced soda version of C-H and 15 minutes with regular agitation, but not as well with other recipes. I've also had good results with TMax 100 at 13 minutes in C-M (RS). No reason in my mind not to use them, but if you're limiting development to stand or semi-stand, my experience may not be useful.

 

[sreed2006]

Has anybody had trouble with underdeveloped negatives in caffenol? Because of this thread, I was inspired to give it a go, but after 4 rolls and two different recipes (Caffenol-C-L and Caffenol-C-H), I'm getting consistently the same thing... very thin (underdeveloped) negatives. I can barely read the "Kodak Tri-x" along the side of the negatives. I'm measuring everything very carefully using a gram scale so I'm confident that my measurements are accurate. I used the times and recipes recommended in the caffenol cookbook. I'm exposing tri-x at box speed. I'm using Maxwell House instant coffee and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda, along with 100% ascorbic acide power. Can anybody provide some suggestions/help?

On the web page at the link below, see the entry dated August 25, 2011, "it's so easy", about a third of the way down the page. There is a recipe that works with Tri-X, according to the author. I have not tried it.

[http://caffenol.blogspot.de/search/label/Caffenol-C-L]

 

[burancap]

In my experience, Tri-X does fine with the reduced soda version of C-H and 15 minutes with regular agitation, but not as well with other recipes. I've also had good results with TMax 100 at 13 minutes in C-M (RS). No reason in my mind not to use them, but if you're limiting development to stand or semi-stand, my experience may not be useful.

Thank you, that helps. Hopefully, the other fellow might want to try again?

Personally, I may well be limiting myself, but it sure was nice to find an island so quickly in my case -and I am hanging onto it! I will, of course, try your suggestion with the T-Max!

 

[sreed2006]

@burancap - What I really like the most in the most recent pictures is the way the clouds turned out, with all the detail and different shades of grey.

Today I am using Caffenol-CL for the first time with Efke R100, after getting really nice results with Caffenol-CM(RS). One roll is hanging to dry now, the other is in the tank. I will say that there is a scarcity of solid information on how to process with Caffenol. That makes it somewhat of an adventure.

 

[burancap]

@burancap - What I really like the most in the most recent pictures is the way the clouds turned out, with all the detail and different shades of grey.

Thanks, it was one of those puffy cloud days we get down here, so out came the R25 red filter -credit where credit is due. I am impressed with how the Caffenol handled the gradations.

I will say that there is a scarcity of solid information on how to process with Caffenol. That makes it somewhat of an adventure.

That is my struggle and one of the reasons I like the stand and its seeming less involvement. I am a simple person requiring simple instructions. Minimize your variables and take notes -lots of them!

 

[mmartin09]

On the web page at the link below, see the entry dated August 25, 2011, "it's so easy", about a third of the way down the page. There is a recipe that works with Tri-X, according to the author. I have not tried it.

[http://caffenol.blogspot.de/search/label/Caffenol-C-L]

That's whats a little frustrating... thats exactly what I started out with. Piecing what I can together from various places around the web, it may be that my soda contains some water and I need to increase that by say ~10%. I have no real idea where to go from here besides trying that and maybe increasing development time.

 

[sreed2006]

That's whats a little frustrating... thats exactly what I started out with. Piecing what I can together from various places around the web, it may be that my soda contains some water and I need to increase that by say ~10%. I have no real idea where to go from here besides trying that and maybe increasing development time.

The Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda is what I use. I baked some in the oven for 30 minutes, and the before and after weights were the same, so as it comes from the store it has no water in it.

Sorry to hear the recipe I linked to didn't work - I have lots of Tri-X and was hoping to use that.

The only other thing I can think of to check is the thermometer's accuracy, and to make sure the developer is at the right temperature. I'm sure you've thought of that, though.

 

[burancap]

The Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda is what I use. I baked some in the oven for 30 minutes, and the before and after weights were the same, so as it comes from the store it has no water in it.

Me too and I agree, using it as anhydrous and stock weights.

I am going to go out on a limb. It seems like something is maybe too strong. My understanding is that KBr acts a restrainer. If you are not using it, check your salts -iodized or not, makes a difference regarding measurement. I bit the bullet and bought my KBr from Freestyle after reaching a GO-NO GO point in all of this. And, how are you doing your STOP?

Oh, and the best advice of all I have received so far: get a better, more accurate scale. You don't have to spend a lot, but get one that goes to .01 accuracy.

 

[02Pilot]

Has anybody had trouble with underdeveloped negatives in caffenol? Because of this thread, I was inspired to give it a go, but after 4 rolls and two different recipes (Caffenol-C-L and Caffenol-C-H), I'm getting consistently the same thing... very thin (underdeveloped) negatives. I can barely read the "Kodak Tri-x" along the side of the negatives. I'm measuring everything very carefully using a gram scale so I'm confident that my measurements are accurate. I used the times and recipes recommended in the caffenol cookbook. I'm exposing tri-x at box speed. I'm using Maxwell House instant coffee and Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda, along with 100% ascorbic acide power. Can anybody provide some suggestions/help?

Are you mixing a full liter or a smaller amount? If the latter, what are the exact measurements you are using? What restrainer are you using and in what quantity? Distilled water or no?

If I had to guess I'd be thinking there's too much restrainer in the mix, but that's not the only possibility.