Please help with developing Lucky film

[Bosk]

Hey guys,

I have taken the plunge and ordered all the gear I need to develop B&W film at home for the first time, along with some Kodak HC-110 developer.

I have 10 rolls of Lucky SHD 100 B&W film sitting on a shelf which I intend to use to come to grips with the developing process, before trying some more expensive Illford & Kodak films.

I've consulted the massive Devchart but it doesn't seem to give any information on how to develop this film in HC-110, so I was hoping someone here could lend a hand and give me a clue on what sort of settings I ought to be using.

I believe I need to know how long to develop the film, how often to agitate it, and what kind of dulution to use.

Thanks very much for any assistance you can offer.

 

[Mauro]

Dear Bosk,
I have read on a photo magazine that the Lucky B+W 400 asa can be developed in ID11 at 20° for 7.5 minutes: I hope this help, but I will keep searching for.
Have you never tried Caffenol? I have developed Ilford 125 ASA with this unusual "soup" and it worked!!!

 

[kully]

You could try emailing these very nice, kind people in Beijing: 798@798photogallery.cn

I got all my film (including Lucky SHD 100) developed by them when I was there in the Autumn and they only use HC-110.

I think this film is a bad one to start off with, curly like private part hair and scratchy like a insect bite. I'd recommend starting with HP5+ (or Tri-X?), it's a lot more forgiving.

 

[clintock]

I like the lucky 100
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=1000001771
I used the times on that page, and found a film on a bigger chart that had similar times for those developers, and extrapolated sort of to get a time for the dilution I was using..
Seemed to work ok.
This page describes how to do a test strip to really get it right..
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/index.html

 

[ZorkiKat]

Dilute HC110 1+63 (from syrup concentrate) and develop for about 8-10 minutes at 20 degrees C. Personally, I like developing this film in D76 1+3 for about 13 minutes at 20C. And the latest Luckypan 100 which I developed went in paRodinal 1+100, for 15 minutes at 20 deg C

You will have to determine the actual time yourself, depending on your preferences. The high dilutions work well with Luckypan, taming down its tendency to flare in the highlights. There is also increased accutance. Plus, Lucky negatives developed in dilute developers scan very well.

Jay

 

[Bosk]

Thankyou very much for your instructions ZorkiKat, I will give those settings a try as soon as the developer arrives in the mail.

I have one question for you though, how often should I agitate the developing tank?
And is there a special method to use when agitating?

Thanks again for your help. 🙂

 

[ChrisN]

Hi Bosk - I'm sure Jay will get back to you, but the usual agitiation (in a small tank) is to invert the tank say 4 times after every minute ie watching the clock, as the second hand passes the 12 I pick up the tank, invert 4 times, then put the tank down, tapping it a few times to release any air bubbles that might adhere to the film.

And Jay, could you suggest a developing time for Lucky SHD 400 in Ilford DD-X 1+4?

 

[ZorkiKat]

Thankyou very much for your instructions ZorkiKat, I will give those settings a try as soon as the developer arrives in the mail.

I have one question for you though, how often should I agitate the developing tank?
And is there a special method to use when agitating?

Thanks again for your help. 🙂

Hi Bosk

ChrisN's suggested agitation frequency is good. My personal agitation method involves continuous, gentle agitation for the first minute, and then subsequent movements for 5 seconds for each succeeding minute.

Inversion agitation is preferred. Movement should be gentle, about one inversion for each second, so each inversion cycle will involve about 5 inversions. Do not shake the tank.

Avoid rotary or continuous agitation if possible. Don't overdevelop or over agitate. Lucky pan develops quickly and its contrast also increases at a fast rate. Overdeveloped Lucky film will have severely blocked highlights, high contrast, and grittier grain. Not good to scan.

Jay

 

[ZorkiKat]

And Jay, could you suggest a developing time for Lucky SHD 400 in Ilford DD-X 1+4?

Hi Chris N

The developer choice I have is limited to D76, HC-110, Rodinal, and paRodinal. Not familiar with Ilford DD-X though. I haven't used a lot of Lucky 400 too- the ISO 100 version was all that was around when it was still available here. The Lucky 400 I've developed lately went in paRodinal.

In D76 1+3, develop Lucky 400 for 18-25 minutes at 20 deg C.

For Rodinal and paRodinal, use a dilution of 1+50 and develop for about 15-18 minutes at 20 deg C. Rodinal and paRodinal will develop with more pronounced grain so do not use lower dilutions like 1+25. Higher dilutions like 1+100 can reduce the apparent grain, but it can also reduce effective film speed, so dilutions greater than 1+75 are not recommended.

Jay

 

[ChrisN]

Thanks Jay! Cheers!

 

[ARCHIVIST]

I would not start my processing life off with HC-110.
It would be better to start with ID-11 or D-76 untill you find your feet.

The choice of the Lucky film is OK but I adhere to the theory that you start out the way you should continue.
Ilford, Kodak and Fuji are more easily avaiable here in OZ and once you have mastered the processing it is a 99% certain that you will find your 'soul' film amongst these brands - so why not start out with them.

You may find that you perfect the Lucky film process but the supply becomes erratic as it is a fringe film in OZ. You will then have to start over with one of the other three brands.

Sure you will trial other film/dev combinations in your processing future but start with a more common film/dev combination. This will make it easier to sort out any initial problems / isssues as they will be known.

All my students in the foundation classes I've taught at TAFE start with FP4 Plus and D-76.

Regards
Peter

 

[P C Headland]

I would not start my processing life off with HC-110.
It would be better to start with ID-11 or D-76 untill you find your feet.
...

It really doesn't matter what developer you start with, as long as it is not something that no-one else uses. HC-110 is a pretty common developer, and keeps (in concentrate form) almost forever. Being "one-shot" also helps when starting.

Consistency is the key while starting out - use the same temperature, dilution and agitation scheme until it becomes second nature. I would start out with the higer dilutions (like 1+63) as this should ensure the development time is not too short - try and aim for something that gives 8-12 minutes (or longer). This gives a little more leeway if you go over or under time.

Ensure your developer is at the right temperature, usually 20-21C, before you start. Try and keep your temperatures even throughout the development process. To do this, put some water in the sink at 20 - 21C to use as a water bath - stand your tank and chemicals in here. As much as possible, ensure your rinsing water is the same temperature too.

Remember, take your time, write down what you do, and make a note of your results. Oh, and enjoy yourself!!


Good luck!

 

[Bosk]

I'd like to say Thankyou to everyone for their help and support, particularly ZorkiKat who's method I attempted to follow.

I say attempted, but I've just finished developing my first roll of Lucky SHD100 with a moderate amount of success.


Below is a scan of one of the test shots:

As you can see I made a couple of errors first time round.

As is probably most obvious - the water marks on the negative - were from using a lint-free cloth and hairdyer to dry the negs. (think I'll invest in a squeegie in future)

The exposure -blown highlights- may to some degree be a result of poor shutter speed selection as my M2 lacks a meter and the handheld Sekonic I'm using isn't deadly accurate.
Primarily though I think it's the result of incorrect development. I had difficulty reading the thermomoter and have a nagging feeling that I developed at 25c instead of 20c.
I also had issues with the cheap plastic tank I'm using (came as part of a discount 'film development kit' I purchased) which leaked when agitating upside down so I had to resort to using the plastic spindle/rod/thingiee that came with it to turn the reel inside the tank, rather than turning the tank upside down.
Speaking of the reel, loading it in the dark was one of the easiest parts of the process which surprised me.

I'm also wondering if that fact that I only used 4.7ml of developer was an issue, as the HC110 resource page I used mentioned that one should use at least 6ml of concentrate for each roll, even though dilution H only calls for 4.7ml of concentrate when making 300ml of solution for a plastic tank.

For the record I developed in dilution H for 9 minutes, used a stop bath of 300ml plain water at the same temperature for 30 secs, then 3 minutes of Ilford Rapid Fixer 1:4 followed by rinsing with water at the same temperature for 5 minutes.

I guess I'll develop a few more rolls and see if I can fine tune the process a little.


Thanks again to everyone who lent me their advice, I really appreciate it guys. 🙂🙂🙂

 

[Edward Felcher]

Like any skill, you need repeated trial and error to get it right.

The first meal you cooked or the first roll of film you developed is not going to be perfect.

But you state the obvious. If you're not metering correctly, get a different meter. Just hang up the negatives (do they still sell Photo-Flo?) and don't wipe/blow-dry them.

Just experiment. You will need to develop dozens of rolls before you get proficient.

Now people have "issues". Huh. Not problems any more. If you use a 2 cent development tank, what do you expect? And take some photos outside, not "test photos" of your bottle of chemicals.

 

[RML]

Please! Don't use a squeegee or a blow dryer!

Wash the film, hang it up to dry and spray it with de-mineralised water with a drop of PhotoFlo in it. Let it dry by itself in a dust free room like your bath room.

I'm shooting Lucky SHD100 regularly these days and dev it in a caffenol recipe of my own brewing. It's wonderful stuff, both the film and the caffenol. Grain is exceedingly small. It scans very well. Check here ( http://shardsofphotography.blogspot.com/search?q=caffenol ) for the recipe and examples.

I only have to come to terms with dev'ing SHD400. That film doesn't go too well for me so far. Probably I dev it too long. But as I don't have any SHD400 left, I won't be finding out very soon. 🙂

 

[Bosk]

You make some fair points there Edward. 😱

 

[Bosk]

Please! Don't use a squeegee or a blow dryer!

Wash the film, hang it up to dry and spray it with de-mineralised water with a drop of PhotoFlo in it. Let it dry by itself in a dust free room like your bath room.

I'm shooting Lucky SHD100 regularly these days and dev it in a caffenol recipe of my own brewing. It's wonderful stuff, both the film and the caffenol. Grain is exceedingly small. It scans very well. Check here ( http://shardsofphotography.blogspot.com/search?q=caffenol ) for the recipe and examples.

I only have to come to terms with dev'ing SHD400. That film doesn't go too well for me so far. Probably I dev it too long. But as I don't have any SHD400 left, I won't be finding out very soon. 🙂

I think I've learnt my less re: the blow dryer but a squeegee doesn't seem like too bad an idea, what's your objection to them RML?

Thankyou for those lovely SHD100 examples, though I must confess I think the Tri-X shots up the page from them look even nicer!

 

[Edward Felcher]

You don't need a blow dryer or squeegee. The negs will not dry all that much faster and you risk damaging them or forcing more dust onto them. Use Photo-Flo and just hang them to dry and don't disturb them.

Robert Capa's priceless photos of the D-Day invasion were almost all ruined by an over-zealous lab worker who used an electric heater on his invasion beach negs and melted them. What a loss to history!

 

[rich815]

.....I adhere to the theory that you start out the way you should continue.
Ilford, Kodak and Fuji are more easily available here in OZ and once you have mastered the processing it is a 99% certain that you will find your 'soul' film amongst these brands - so why not start out with them.

You may find that you perfect the Lucky film process but the supply becomes erratic as it is a fringe film in OZ. You will then have to start over with one of the other three brands...

I could not agree with Peter on this more! Especially after the experiences I had with Lucky film when I lived in China for 5 years in the late 90's-early 00's. It's is pretty sub-standard, inconsistent stuff compared to even the cheapest Fuji or Kodak B&W films, or the Chinese ERA 100 which is fantastic stuff.

Use what you have, but incorporate something like Tri-X, FP4+, Delta 100, Plus-X, or Neopan 400 or 100 Acros, that you'll likely have more consistent availablity and are known to have good reps as high quality films.

 

[RML]

Well, let me disagree with the notion Lucky is substandard dross. I have yet to dev some rolls of Era but in my experience Lucky is more than decent and more than adequate for any artistic purposes you may have with your photography. 1999/2000 is a loooong time ago and much has changed since then, I'm sure. For instance the involvement of Kodak in the Lucky company.

Bosk, a squeegee can catch dust and grains in the blades and thus cause scratches. Don't even think of being able to prevent it. It will happen eventually. So, don't take the risk and just let the film dry by itself.