Plus-X and Diafine?

W

wlewisiii

Guest
Picked up some Plus-X on a whim - it was much cheaper than the Tri-X and I haven't tried it since ... er... maybe 84 - 85 ish so it's really like a brand new film to me. 120 format and I'm planning on developing it in Diafine. I'm using EI400 as per the box, but was wondering if anyone here had any practical experiance using the combination.

TIA,

William
 
No, Plus-X. The box calls for EI400 rather than it's ISO of 125. Tri-X is 1250/1600 and so on, but that's why I'm wondering about real world use.

William
 
Hey, did you go and pull that while I was answering you???? Foo! :D :D :D

William
 
Heeheehee! I re-read the title and DELETED. Better to stay silent and be thought a fool than open my mouth and remove all doubt.

Just a quick note about your avatar- I had a chance to fondle a Kiev 5 that a friend is selling- interesting. Of course, the first thing I did was get the mount out of sync with the lens, but... It's nice! Went for the Contax IIIa color-dial instead (for the CV 21mm) and didn't look back.
 
Heh. It was a hoot when I hit enter and there was only me talking to me in the thread... :D

A IIIa color dial is a sweet camera too. But I do really like the 5 though; that amazing bright finder is quite the shock after the usual Contax/Kiev finder though, isn't it?

William
 
I have some Plus X in hand but am yet to shoot it (35mm). Over on PN, like you suspect, there was mention of shooting it at a lower speed than 400. I am confident that with Diafine you can mix and match on one roll (easier to do on 35mm than 120). I will most likely shoot at 320 and go from there.
 
Just shoot it at normal rate, then develop standard 3mins per A&B sols in Diafine, wash 1 min, fix ten, wash five, fotoflo and hang. Results? Here's a roll from yesterday evening, wife and I fooling around with a Yashica Lynx 5000. PXP in Diafine, film exposed at 125.
 
Mind you, this is Plus X Pan - NOT PX. Not sure what got changed in the new recipe, but if it matters, you can still pick up PXP from B&H at a fairly decent price.

More samples:
 
Only post-dev/scan adjustments: Crop, minor levels tweak. You can see that the grain stays well under control. I've even pushed the film and gotten good results, but I don't see the point of overrating it unless necessary. Even at 400 you won't gain substantial enough shutter to warrant it. If you have the time (and sufficient light) shoot it normally and chuck it into Diafine. You won't be disappointed.
 
My, look at that swirly bokeh from the Yashica's lens! Must have been wide open, or nearly so? Diafine looks to have done a good job with Plus-X, too.
 
Thanks Hither, that's the kind of information I was hoping for. I'll let you all know how it goes once it's shot, souped and scanned.

William
 
I shoot plus-x @350 and like the results. Attached are shots from a recent roll. The group shot and the kid leaning forward were taken with an orange filter (50/1.8 canon lens). The batter was shot at high noon with a 75-300 zoom, no filter. These are negatives scanned at something like 600, and my scanning isn't very good.

Don
 
Very very *very* nice, Don. Thanks for sharing your results. To be honest, I was very afraid of trying Plus-X & Diafine myself; I had never seen any samples myself. I know to keep HP5+ and Diafine away from each other like beans and radish at a BBQ night.

You know what this means? :: evil chuckle :: My Plus-X stock is going out for a spin soon...
 
tajart said:
i thought plux-x was rated at 125 by kodak. is the 400 rating a result of diafine chemistry?
Click to expand...
Yes, it is... Since the film is essentially insensitive to development time & temp, the only density control available to the user is Exposure Index. The Diafine instructions include a list of films and suggested EI, that seem in real life to be slightly optimistic. For instance, they suggest EI=1600 for Tri-X, while many users find 1/3-stop more exposure, EI=1250, is better though the difference is small.

In the same way, I like Ilford FP-4 at EI=250 and their Pan-F at EI=50 in Diafine. Not ALL films will have a higher EI in Diafine than the rated ISO speed, but most do. But to varying degrees, so if Tri-X 400 is good at 1250, don't assume that HP-5 and Neopan 400 behave likewise!
 
From everything I have read it seems that Kodak films, specifically Tri X and Plus X, behave very well in diafine. I am very happy with the results I have gotten with Tri X, and just processed 2 rolls of Plus X last weekend. My backlog is not with my scanner, but the negs look very good.
 
I'd say that you;d have to sacrifice a roll and bracket your esposures from 125 to 400 and see which one you prefer. I'd say 125, 250, 320, 400. I liked the old PXP as 320 in Diafine, haven't bought the new PX even though I've heard good things
 
thanks for clarifying. guess i'll have to give diafine a try. in years past i have been amazed at what plus-x can give, just with normal out of the box ei and d-76 chemistry. thanks again for the info.
 
Whew, been a while since I've contributed to this forum... too busy with a new camera and shooting local sports, concerts, and misc street scenes. Anyway, Gabriel, thanks. My pix show that even inexperienced folks like me can get decent tone and contrast with this combination. Good luck, post your results!
 
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