Quick advice re D76 and pushed HP5+

[Carzee]

If I get time tomorrow (in between shifts) I aim to dev a roll of HP5+


[ cue FANFARE and marching band!! ]

FIRST ROLL by me since a summer class in '78...

Norm HP5 iso is 400, but I pushed it 1 stop to 800.

The "Test Pix" on the new R4a are various; overcast/rainy exterior shots, twilight shots, boys lowlight portraits in the computer room. Lens is the Nok 40mm, mostly f5.6 to f8.


Q1. D76 blurb says it can be used straight or diluted 50/50 with water. I understand then the dev time increases. As a strategy to hold as much fine detail/grain as possible, is it better to go straight or dilute.. (as a sidebar here I also have rodinal also but I think it chews grain more than D76. Correct?)


Q2. Calculating the dev - agitate time in a single roll tank.... I have varying info here from a darkroom book and ilford's own slip of paper. Agitate for 10 secs and then 10secs every 30 secs or 10secs every 60seconds? I understand my iso800 push means I increase dev time 40percent.

Any helpful experiences please chime in.

 

[sepiareverb]

My general rule is to add 50% for pushing 1 stop. D-76 1:1 should be fine- I'm just getting back to Ilfords version (ID-11) and haven't run much yet, so can't say what the differences would be straight vs 1:1. I like 1:1 for ease of mixing, temperature can be corrected easily to 70°.

As to agitation- my usual is 30 sec. initially, then 5 inversions of my metal tank every minute. I will go to every half minute if the lighting is particularily flat- like yesterdays stuff- all overcast all day.

I believe the Ilford box only lists D-76 stock times, but the data sheet from the Ilford website may list more. They also (or used to) have a pdf of developing times for films in a wider range of developers. I may still have it if you don't find it.

(I don't find it in a quick look/search, so maybe not)

Good luck!

 

[Carzee]

Thats a good hint - to find the datasheet.

Found it:

http://www.efke.hr/catalog/Ilford/Tehnicke_informacije/HP5_Plus.pdf

It is extensive - it also lists the Rodinal times for 800.

I'll go per the data at 20degC; ie.. 9.5 mins with stock D76, no dilution.

....I'll get back on line 2morrow.

 

[lZr]

I don't think 1 stop is pushing. And what if your exposure was over?

 

[Carzee]

Exp was fine.

Ok.... lessons learnt. Well, the roll developed okay in the tank but I now think diluted D76 would've been less harsh on the grain. Or perhaps I agitated too vigorously. Maybe. Next time perhaps I'll use Microphen instead.

I could live with the grain, it looks cool in a way, but what really ruined my first roll was dust and scratches from wiping. I tried to keep it clean but the film dropped on the floor! Plastic film hangers...


pix thread:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=550329