Perceptol

Simon: Yes, that's the mix. Nice treatment of the clouds especially. Any lens filter (I tend to use an orange filter)? I may have to give TMY 400 a shot... but have so doggone much FP4 and HP5 that it won't likely be for a while. FP4 seems to have different tonal response from HP5... so I'm looking forward to testing that out anyway. And yes, gonna do some more formal type zone-ish tests for ISO and dev time 1st in 120 buy then in 35mm as well.

Note that re-scanning the same images I linked here earlier with a new Sony 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens makes a whirl of difference relative to a Contax CY 100mm Macro. The other upgrade in "scanning " on a copy stand is to replace the film holders with glass. I'm still waiting for a custom cut piece of Anti-Newton glass, so that's a few days a way.

Pepe (as in Romero?): I think Simon, Erik and Nok have it down. Some is the developer, but my guess some is also the exposure to give the tonality to trigger the emulsion, developer and all the rest... i.e. the photographer. But they set a good standard... not mistaking that and tonality is an excellent goal.
 
Erik: I use an orange or yellow contrast filter by default. Given that you're reducing ISO by 1 stop, and an Orange filter cuts another 2/3 stops, I'm wondering whether you're doing the same? Whether you do or not, I've loved the skies in your shots. And though it's possible (but not likely) that the combination of TMAX and Perceptol somehow have a magic where this additional 2/3 stop burn isn't required... I thought I'd ask. Thanks!
 
johannielscom said:
Dominic, I love your stuff, didn't know you used Perceptol for it. Look at your work on Flickr regularly.
Is this shot on Tmax400, or on Acros?
Click to expand...

Thanks! In order, it's Tmax 100, Tri-X 320, Expired Tmax 400 pull to 200ASA.

It has been awhile since I've used Perceptol. Switched to Xtol because of the amount of developing I do per shoot. But there's still a look I prefer with Perceptol that I love. I have 2 boxes sitting ready to be used for specific shoots.
 
Erik:

Yes, agree there is no magic "per se", BUT the combo seems pretty doggone good. Small improvements all along the way add up. So you're not using filters, hmmmmmm.....

I've pretty much been using filters since returning to film. But will give non-filters a shot. Didn't seem to need them in digital, but rather assumed they helped with B&W film (as they did when I was young), and have been using mostly my Orange filter. With HP5+, they seemed to help. Ditto FP4+. But I'm game if it'll give me better throughput.

Thanks!
 
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I just mixed 1L of Perceptol. I have a small backlog of 4 rolls of tri-x I shoot this summer. The usual snapshots of my daughter playing around in the neighbourhood.
I will try to post some once done...we just moved into a new flat and we are not yet fully set up.

Giulio
 
Way cheaper than Perceptol and you can easily mix replenisher. My stock solution is nearly five years old, this stuff lasts forever. Ten Bucks a gallon, you can't beat the price

001 by Nokton48, on Flickr
 
Erik van Straten said:
Overexpose (Tmax400) about 1 stop. Mix 1 part Perceptol with two parts water, develope 11 minutes at 23 degrees C.

Erik.
Click to expand...

This means 1+2 for 11 minutes at 23C @200.

Pretty all the serious sheets I've just read tell 1+1 for 12 minutes at 20C @200.

11 minutes at 23C would be quite similar to 12 minutes at 20C.

Can you confirm you dilute the stock solution at 1+2 ?

Thanks Erik. 😉
 
Thanks Erik. All I had found elsewhere told times for stock, 1+1 or 1+3. Nothing which I could read mentioned 1+2. Interesting.

Another interesting thing is to see that nowadays Perceptol is used for 1 stop pulling. Back in the 1980's it was recommended by Ilford for FP4 exposed at 100 instead of 125 (1/3 stop pulling).
 
Erik van Straten said:
I always wonder why recommendations are given. Recommendations for what? Enlarging? Scanning? Contact printing?
Click to expand...
In the times I mentioned above Ilford recommended that Perceptol should be used with FP4 exposed at 100 not 125 when people wanted to have less grain and wider greyscales when enlarging on FB paper in their darkrooms.

Scanning didn't exist, FP4+ didn't exist, T-Max didn't exist, "bokeh" didn't exist, "histogram" didn't exist, PhotoShop didn't exist.

To tell the truth I had found very hard if not impossible to tell the difference between FP4 exposed at 100 and developed in Perceptol 1+1 and FP4 exposed at 125 and developed in D76 1+1.
 
My previous post refers to the early 1980's when I started developing my films and this was before the release of the T-Max films and before Ilford added a "Plus" to their HP5 and FP4 best-sellers.

I think that T-Max 400 was available in 1987 already. This was shot on T-Max 400 in November 1987.

Nikon FM2, Nikkor Ai-S 35mm f/2, T-Max 400, D76 1+1.

7180641052_8575a4cc22_o.jpg


It's a long time ago but from scratch I would say that T-Max films arrived in 1983-1984. I can remember all the debates they created in the magazines of that time. Some liked them immediatly while some Tri-X and Plus-X nuts cried and said : "Kodak, treason" ! They were said to require special developers and special fixers, and the like. The battle was even more passionate than the CCD/CMOS sensors one when Leica released the M240. Go figure.

And, that was fun, because we were young...
 
Having debugged my DSLR scans a bit with a new Sony 90mm Macro f/2.8, I rescanned with images sandwiched between dry glass and re-uploaded (see # 83)... which seems to do the negatives a tad better. Thanks!
 
Erik,

Inrigued to read that you never use a light meter, except in M5. Yet your photos always look so perfectly exposed.

Do you manage to expose correctly from experience alone, or keep a hefty book with rules of thumb, or correct very well before scanning!?

Myself, I can get it in the ball park with experience and sunny 16-derivatives but I always get messed up with indoor shots...
 
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