Pushing Tri-X to 1600 with HC-110

pau3

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Hi!

I've been pushing Tri-X to 1600 with HC-110 (dil. B). I gave it 12 minutes
at 20C (68F?), with constant agitation the first 30'' and then 5''
every 30''. The results are ok, but a bit muddy. They could have
more highlights. Do you have any experience with this film/developer? Should I use more time?

I was thinking in doing some serious tests, but, well, maybe someone
out there has already done them.
 
If it's more highlight density that you're after, then yes, just increase time.

You might want to look at the most recent post on my info blog. It's a link to a thread on PN with some good information from Donald Qualls on using HC-110 and TXT at dilution G.

allan
 
Hi and welcome to RFF!

Here is a web page where someone explains how he uses HC-110. He uses dilution "H" (1+63), which in combination with decreased agitation gives a compensation effect: the developer exhausts locally on the highlights, effectively reducing development there while the developer keeps going in the shadows. Result: more detail in shadows (although you will still be getting very little in the shadows since you've pushed the film 2 stops), and less blown out highlights. This could be something for you to test (he gives 19 minutes at 24°C (I assume from the rest of his text) and I think he agitates only once or twice during the entire development (I also assume from the rest of his text).

Sounds good in theory -- I haven't tested it yet. I'm still using D76 (TriX @ 200). If I push TriX to 1600 I use X-tol because this gives relatively little grain and a bit more effective film speed (which you can use if pushing film) than D76.

Dirk
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the inputs, comments and links.

I've read a lot about this technique of prolongued
developing times with very few agitations, but never
tried.
 
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