Austerby
Well-known
This doesn't seem to get much mention these days - I don't think I've actually used it before. I've found some at a good price so just ordered five rolls to try it out - what should I expect and what's a good developer for it?
Kodak Plus-X 125asa
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Darkhorse
pointed and shot
HC110, D76. The classic Kodak developers for a classic Kodak film.
Ronald M
Veteran
D76 1;1 7 min at 68 for a condenser enlarger, 7.5 for diffusion V35, 6.5 to 6.0 for a scanner. Agitation is 5 inversions every 30 sec or two if you have a Patterson with lots of air space in the top to receive developer.
For darkroom prints, it is absolutely georgeous. It is the worst film to scan I have ever encountered because of highlight blocking even with my diffusion light KM5400.
With any other film I ever tried, a neg that prints on my Focomat I c with #2 paper, will scan properly. I can not find a time that works for both for plus X.
T MAX 100 or T Max 400-2 scan and print at the same times So does Tri X and Delta 100.
For darkroom prints, it is absolutely georgeous. It is the worst film to scan I have ever encountered because of highlight blocking even with my diffusion light KM5400.
With any other film I ever tried, a neg that prints on my Focomat I c with #2 paper, will scan properly. I can not find a time that works for both for plus X.
T MAX 100 or T Max 400-2 scan and print at the same times So does Tri X and Delta 100.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
It's a superb film. I'd not call HC110 'classic' -- its sole merit is that it keeps well -- but yes, D76/ID 11 or Xtol for the best overall mix, DD-X or Microphen for speed, Perceptol/Microdol for fine grain. I keep meaning to try it in PMK, which should be superb, and from what I've seen, Rodinal gives good sharpness and tonality without having too detrimental an effect on grain or speed. In other words, it's near bullet proof: just choose the dev that you think will give the best balance between speed, grain, sharpness and tonality, with whatever bias suits your prejudices. Except perhaps those who say it's EI 1,000,000 in Diafine. It's quite nice at EI 200 or even a little faster if you are OK with compressed mid-tones.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
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Dave Wilkinson
Veteran
Brings back memories of twenty years back! - I have not seen any over here for ages, and thought it had been discontinued!.
Dave.
Dave.
Darkhorse
pointed and shot
I've always developed it at 8.5 minutes. I've never really had a problem scanning it either. hmm.
Gumby
Veteran
Only the sheet film sizes have been discontinued. Plus-X is alive and well, but not always easy to find even in the US.
Harry Lime
Practitioner
Great fiilm. Actually a big seller, but for some reason it doesn't get much press.
D76 may be a classic, but I get better results with two bath developers. Try Divided D76. Also Barry Thornton's 2-bath, which is a variation of the classic Stoekler or D23 developer.
DD76 or BT 2-bath should give better shadow and highlight detail, than straight D76. This looks particularly beautiful with Plus-X, because of how it handles highlights.
http://www.photosensitive.ca/wp/archives/115
D76 may be a classic, but I get better results with two bath developers. Try Divided D76. Also Barry Thornton's 2-bath, which is a variation of the classic Stoekler or D23 developer.
DD76 or BT 2-bath should give better shadow and highlight detail, than straight D76. This looks particularly beautiful with Plus-X, because of how it handles highlights.
http://www.photosensitive.ca/wp/archives/115
Tim Gray
Well-known
I love it. I rate at box speed and develop in XTOL 1:1. It's great stuff.
Nokton48
Veteran
I like the Motion Picture version, which comes in a 400 foot roll. Plus-X 5231 is EI 80, just like the original Plus-X, before it was reformulated.
Great film for bright-light shooting.
Great film for bright-light shooting.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Probably a very rational combination. I regard Xtol at the modern version of D76. Slightly more speed; slightly better grain; slightly more sharpness; an all-round slight improvement, as you might expect after several decades.
I was a bit surprised by the OP's '5 rolls', though. I'd regard that as about the amount of film that is required to zero in on good developer/dilution/developer time. The pictures should be usable from roll 1 but are unlikely to be spot in until roll 5 or later.
Cheers,
R.
payasam
a.k.a. Mukul Dube
Didn't know it was still made. Used miles of it 30+ years ago. D-76 or another "standard" MQ developer should be fine. The Promicrol kind gives fine grain and slightly more speed. I've made quite reasonable 24" by 16" prints from 35mm negatives. Didn't have larger paper.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
I usually shoot one or two cans of 400ft of the 5231 +X every summer It works really well in Beutler 1:1:10 dilution for 6 min. I rate it at around 100 asa. Great mid-tones and sharp, fine grain. Haven't done my "can" this summer - but this week I got some XX (6000ft) and a couple of 5231 cans coming in.
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Dave Wilkinson
Veteran
Austerby
Well-known
Dear Roger, I have much to learn: the five rolls is just a start to see what happens but I'd like to learn more about how to "zero in" in just five rolls.
I was planning on using it with my existing ID11 and Rodinal stocks to commence with. I may try some of the Kodak developers which are also new to me - if the recommendations are there.
Since I first started using black and white and developing myself as a teenager in the mid-80's I've almost only used Ilford, only picking up Kodak if it was on special offer (as this Plus-X is) and now more recently exploring Fuji and Adox films. My developers have also most been Ilford, or Paterson in the past, so I've been pretty parochial in my patronage until relatively recent times.
Kind regards
Austerby
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Austerby,
Fair do's. I originally wrote 'the minimum required to zero in' and then changed it as too off-putting. You no doubt know the following but I post it for others who are prepared to 'waste' the first roll or two, which will get them pretty close.
Roll 1: 3x 12 pics @ metered (or 'best guess') for a wide variety of subjects, +/- 1 stop. Process as recommended by the film or developer manufacturer.
What prints best (with good shadow detail) on grade 2? If none, you are over developing (need grades 2-1-0-00) or under developing (need grades 2-3-4-5)
Roll 2: 3x 12 pics as above, exposures +/- 1/2 stop based on Roll 1. Development +/- 10% or even 20% based on grade needed above.
Roll 3: Refine in light of (2)
Rolls 4 et seq Is the tonality OK? Consider repeating (1) - (2) - (3) with different developers/dilutions.
Sometimes you'll get lucky on Roll 1, as I did when going back to HP5 after some years' gap, or with Fomapan 200 (at 125, because I'd read the spec sheet) in FX-39. Other times you'll need rolls 6-7-8, as I did with Acros (EI 64, dev 1+1, +80% dev time as compared with undiluted).
This is why I hesitate to buy film that I'm not used to.
Cheers,
R.
Al Kaplan
Veteran
Pick a film, pick a developer. Figure out which ISO setting on your meter gives you the best results. The idea is to make photos. If your negatives tend to be a bit flat then increase development time, reduce it if the negatives have too much contrast.
If you jump around from this film to that, one developer to another, you'll learn a lot more about how to get great prints, but that should be the easy part, not an excersize in frustration.
If you jump around from this film to that, one developer to another, you'll learn a lot more about how to get great prints, but that should be the easy part, not an excersize in frustration.
Tom A
RFF Sponsor
Dave - thank good it is not a for a couple weeks shooting. It is about 13-14 months supply of XX! The thought of rolling up 1000+ rolls of XX in one go is scary. I can usually do 200 rolls in Leica's IXMOO cassettes and that last about 2-3 month - or less, depending on weather and my mood.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Al,
Complete agreement, unless your negs are really sh1t, in which case you need to change either film or developer. The advice you give in this post is spot on UNLESS a given film/dev combination really doesn't work at all for you, which is unlikely but not impossible with any sane film/dev combination. But if you try something faddish, such as microfilm in POTA, and it doesn't work, consider something mainstream such as HP5 in ID-11 or Plus-X in D76 instead.
Cheers,
R.
kxl
Social Documentary
Arista Premium 100 from Fresstyle = Plus-x.
AP 100 + Microdol = sweet!
AP 100 + Microdol = sweet!
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