Recommend me a Neopan developer

[JamesW]

I've just picked up a pile of my favourite B&W film - Neopan 400.

I've previously developed Neopan with Rodinal 1 + 50, 11 mins @ 20c, and Patterson Aculux 2 1+9, 12 mins @ 20c, but I'm tempted to try something else.

Any recommendations for other developers, dilutions and timings, from the weird and wacky to the easily obtainable? What do you develop your Neopan in?

I also want to experiment with giving an extra stop of exposure (i.e. setting the ISO to 200). Does anybody have any recommendations for this?

Thanks!

 

[kzim56]

How about good ole' D-76. Not very exciting but I've always been pleased with the results.

 

[peter_n]

I use NP400 a lot and get it developed in XTOL. I rate it at 320 and get it developed at 400. Take a look at my gallery. Most of the recent shots there from Madrid are Neopan 400 with this developer.

 

[JamesW]

Peter -

Some nice shots there. I like "Exit from the Plaza Mayor" particularly. Thanks for the advice!

 

[JamesW]

Kzim - Any recommended timing for the D-76?

 

[Roman]

My two favorite developers for Fuji Neopan 400:

at EI 250: Rodinal 1+50, 20°C, 9 min. (3 inversions every 60 sec.) - very sharp, high acutance, a bit grainy in 35mm format.

at EI 400: Calbe A49 (aka Adox ATM 49 - available from JandC) 1+1, 20°C, 13 min. (3 inv. every 60 sec.) - fine grain, not particularly sharp, great for portraits (very smooth, creamy skin-tones).

If you don't mind mixing your own developer from raw chemicals, I could give you the recipe for Barry Thornton's Metol 2-bath developer, which gives very sharp results, with finer grain than Rodinal, and full 400 ASA.

Roman

 

[tetrisattack]

I love, love, love neopan 400 in HC110. I use dilution H (1:64) for 10 minutes at 20 celsius, agitating 30 seconds initially then 5 secs per two minutes thereafter.

Here's what that combo looks like, I shot these on a mamiya 645e.

 

[phototone]

I have standardized on D76 1+1 dilution, (as a one shot) using the developing times on the Neopan 400 box. I am very pleased with the results, and you can view the type of results I get by viewing my gallery, which is almost 90 percent Neopan 400 in D76 1+1.

 

[alansoon]

I use Fujidol, which is probably only available in Japan and is apparently very similar to D76.

 

[peter_n]

I love, love, love neopan 400 in HC110. I use dilution H (1:64) for 10 minutes at 20 celsius, agitating 30 seconds initially then 5 secs per two minutes thereafter.

Here's what that combo looks like, I shot these on a mamiya 645e.

I do like the way these look. Excellent!! I have to say I really like Neopan 400! 🙂

 

[titrisol]

Ilfotec DDX 1+4 gets my vote.
Creamy tones, non-existant grain, perfect contrast.

 

[JamesW]

Thanks guys, this is all great stuff. There's some excellent examples of what Neopan can do. Keep them coming!

Roman - thanks for the offer of the recipe, but I'm not sure that I trust myself with raw chemicals yet! Thanks for the Calbe A49 tip too - I'd heard good things about this.

 

[P C Headland]

You can try Rodinal 1+100 for 20 minutes at 20c (minimal agitation - 15s every minute for first three minutes, then one inversion every three minutes, EI 250) too - looks good on 120 film.

Paul

 

[Shadesofgrey]

Magic

Magic

I love, love, love neopan 400 in HC110. I use dilution H (1:64) for 10 minutes at 20 celsius, agitating 30 seconds initially then 5 secs per two minutes thereafter.

Here's what that combo looks like, I shot these on a mamiya 645e.

Hi Tetris just read this thread. Really Excellent shots. Never tried HC110 but I love Neo 400; so I going to try HC110, any info you have on HC 110 will be great. What's it keep like once opened. I Realy like the look of those shots.

Cheers
B.

 

[tetrisattack]

The best page I've ever read on HC110 is:
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/
and almost all the tidbits here are based on stuff I learned from there. 🙂

HC110 was designed for high-volume lab use, so kodak's instructions are subject to interpretation.

I bought a bottle last august and I still haven't worn through it, though I'm getting close. I think I've done about 50 rolls and a few sheets of 4x5". Talk about cheap! Over time the residue oxidizes to brown but the syrup stays yellow, like frozen orange juice concentrate. It keeps for a very long time if you avoid diluting it into a working solution. Ignore the instructions on the bottle and mix it directly from syrup on a per-roll basis. The trick to doing that is to pick up some (free) medicine syringes from your local pharmacist, since it's literally as viscous as syrup and thus tricky to measure in a graduated cylinder.

Most films suggest you carry out development in dilution "B" which is the equivalent of 1:32 from syrup. Often times that results in a very short development time, like less than five minutes, which is probably ideal for lab machines but too short for consistant processing by hand. To avoid this you can simply double the dilution (1:64) and double the time (B * 2). It doesn't seem to change the contrast tremendously. People refer to this as the unofficial dilution H, and that's usually what I use.

The last pitfall is that, as you play with different dilutions, a 36-exposure roll needs a minimum of 3ccs of syrup in order to have enough chemical to develop the film. If you use less than that, your film won't be totally developed.

Oh, and don't touch the concentrated syrup. 🙂

 

[tetrisattack]

I should also add that the shots I posted above pretty ideal, the lighting was good and the scans were carefully dodged and burned in photoshop (though nothing I can't replicate in the darkroom on VC paper), so don't panic if your shots aren't looking like that straight out-of-camera.

Neopan 400 + HC110 would probably make a great wedding combo, you can get a lonnng toe which would be perfect for black suits / white dresses.

 

[Shadesofgrey]

I should also add that the shots I posted above pretty ideal, the lighting was good and the scans were carefully dodged and burned in photoshop (though nothing I can't replicate in the darkroom on VC paper), so don't panic if your shots aren't looking like that straight out-of-camera.

Neopan 400 + HC110 would probably make a great wedding combo, you can get a lonnng toe which would be perfect for black suits / white dresses.

Thanks Tetris; great reply. Going out Monday to buy my first bottle of HC110 and start learning all over again. Went to http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/ great stuff, only got a bit confused with
( “Note: In Europe, HC-110 is also sold as a less concentrated syrup which you dilute 1:9 to make dilution B. If you are using that product (Kodak CAT 500 1466), follow the instructions for the European concentrate, not those for the syrup”)
Are there two types of concentrate? One for home use and one for? Do you decant as shown in above web-site?

Many thanks

B.

 

[tetrisattack]

I believe there are two types of HC110 concentrate; one made for the States and one made for Europe.

I've never seen the european version since I live in the pacific northwest! Presumably it's sold as a less concentrated liquid instead of a highly concentrated syrup, so the dilutions (1:32, 1:64) above don't apply to the european version. There's an equivalent listed on that page though, so if that's where you're hailing from, you can use the euro dilutions with nary a care. 🙂

There's also an HC110 replenisher out there, and it's clearly labelled as such. I see it listed at BH but not at jessops. The replenisher would almost certainly be for lab use and would make little sense for most home darkroom users developing 1 roll at a time. Replenisher would enable you to re-use the same chemical bath over multiple rolls. That way, labs can just repurchase the chemicals consumed during development and yield greater economy. If you see the replenisher, you can safely ignore it. 🙂

All you need is the bottle of HC110 concentrate, either european or american. And some medicine syringes if you're in the states.

As for decanting, well, I never decanted. Apparently it takes me about a year to go through a bottle of HC110. Maybe decant it if you realize a couple months in that you'll never finish it all off within a year or two. I mean, it comes in half-liter bottles, you use 3-6 cc's at a time, so you can see how long it will be in your cupboard! On the other hand, if it does go bad on you, $12 a year for fresh chemistry isn't so bad.

I do decant rodinal, but that's totally a psychological thing. The developer almost never goes bad but it visibly changes over time and I like that fresh, transparent rodinal look. 🙂

 

[tetrisattack]

Oh, though, now that I think of it, the euro version since it's less diluted might be smart to decant after all. From what I understand, it's the high concentration of the US syrup that gives it such a long shelf life in the first place. It looks like the euro HC110 is weaker by almost 2/3rds (different chemical import regulations?) so you might want to pick up a smaller, tightly-capping bottle at the same time.

 

[Shadesofgrey]

Oh, though, now that I think of it, the euro version since it's less diluted might be smart to decant after all. From what I understand, it's the high concentration of the US syrup that gives it such a long shelf life in the first place. It looks like the euro HC110 is weaker by almost 2/3rds (different chemical import regulations?) so you might want to pick up a smaller, tightly-capping bottle at the same time.

Bril reply as useual, thanks tertis; even more fodder for my ageing brain cell to take in 😕 Can't wait to try it and compare it with ID11/Rodinal. Been useing ID11 for so long I forgot there were other dev's out there :bang:

All the best
B.

PS...can you get Fujidol over there?