wintoid
Back to film
I've been trying a few different developers recently and after a brief affair with Tanol seem to have settled on Prescysol EF with Neopan 400. I've been enjoying it so much that I just had to share. To define its looks I would have to say that it's extremely sharp, and my images look quite 3D, but grain seems low and I like the tonality. I'm not a qualified darkroom scientist, just an enthusiastic amateur, and I really like this stuff.
It has some Diafine-like properties in that you develop all films for the same time (10.5 minutes semi-stand development). You can literally throw your Delta 400 in with your Acros and get a good result. I've also messed up some exposures and the developer seems to have saved me (apparently the concentration determines the contrast far more than temp or time).
I bought mine from Peter Hogan in the UK ( http://www.monochromephotography.com/ ) and I believe it's available stateside too (is it Photographer Formulary or something ). I do wish they'd picked a catchier and easier-to-spell name than Prescysol.
3 proud-dad amateur-snapshooter photos attached, all with Neopan 400 in Prescysol EF, all with a Hexanon 28mm lens on an R2a. The snow shot was heavily underexposed (I tried to do +2 exposure comp, messed it up and did -2 exposure comp) but still came out well I thought.
It has some Diafine-like properties in that you develop all films for the same time (10.5 minutes semi-stand development). You can literally throw your Delta 400 in with your Acros and get a good result. I've also messed up some exposures and the developer seems to have saved me (apparently the concentration determines the contrast far more than temp or time).
I bought mine from Peter Hogan in the UK ( http://www.monochromephotography.com/ ) and I believe it's available stateside too (is it Photographer Formulary or something ). I do wish they'd picked a catchier and easier-to-spell name than Prescysol.
3 proud-dad amateur-snapshooter photos attached, all with Neopan 400 in Prescysol EF, all with a Hexanon 28mm lens on an R2a. The snow shot was heavily underexposed (I tried to do +2 exposure comp, messed it up and did -2 exposure comp) but still came out well I thought.
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mrtoml
Mancunian
I am also using this developer pretty much exclusively. It's great. Very forgiving and easy to scan. I also find it good so far with acros, neopan 400 and trix. Just developed a roll of tri-x in it this afternoon.
sircarl
Well-known
I also use Prescysol EF exclusively for Ilford Delta 400 and 100, 120 size. The developed negatives are virtually grainless and, as Mark says, it's very forgiving. Highlights are rarely blown out. And I find I can expose my film at rated speed with no loss of shadow detail. Plus Peter Hogan at Monochrome Photography is very helpful if you have questions. Love it!