Rodinal shelf life & Fuji 100 Acros

[Steve_F]

Hi all,
I've been developing 100 Acros in Ilford Perceptol and overall been pleased with results.
I have heard that this emulsion in Rodinal is particularly sharp.
Any views?
As I only shoot about 20 rolls a year I open the Perceptol and dev 3 rolls at a time, fresh.
If I were to use Rodinal how long does it keep once opened?

Thanks,

Steve.

 

[FrozenInTime]

Rodinal lasts ages : I recently finished a 500ml bottle that bought about a year before Agfa deceased ( 2005 ? ) .

It worked fine but towards the end it was a bit darker in color and there were a few grits of crystals forming that I could hear if I shook the bottle.

 

[Fotohuis]

Fuji Acros + Rodinal is just the opposite then Acros 100 with Perceptol which is an ultra fine grain developer.
Best time is around 11:30 Min. 1+50 with an E.I. of 64. But with Perceptol your E.I. should be around 50.

The life time of Rodinal is over 10 years, which is an exception in liquid developers.
It will form crystals and the color will go from Yellow to dark Brown but for Rodinal it doesn't matter, it will still work.
Let's say it's the miricle of the Para-Amino Phenol.

Here an example of the Acros 100 in Rodinal. Gas lights in Ravenstein.
M7 + Summarit 2,5/75mm.

 

[Steve_F]

Thanks for the reply. I guess what I'm looking for is a compromise of grain, sharpness and shelf-life - which I understand Rodinal is almost legendary.
I have read that Ilford DDX can be kept for up to 6 months once opened and is pretty much a liquid equivalent to Perceptol. Do you know if this is correct?

Thanks for your advice.

Love the Gaslight


Steve.

 

[FrankS]

Thanks for the reply. I guess what I'm looking for is a compromise of grain, sharpness and shelf-life - which I understand Rodinal is almost legendary.
I have read that Ilford DDX can be kept for up to 6 months once opened and is pretty much a liquid equivalent to Perceptol. Do you know if this is correct?
Thanks for your advice.
Love the Gaslight
Steve.

HC 110 gives less grain and also lasts long time.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Ask the Guru

Ask the Guru

Hi all,
I've been developing 100 Acros in Ilford Perceptol and overall been pleased with results.
I have heard that this emulsion in Rodinal is particularly sharp.
Any views?
As I only shoot about 20 rolls a year I open the Perceptol and dev 3 rolls at a time, fresh.
If I were to use Rodinal how long does it keep once opened?

Thanks,

Steve.

As others have said, Rodinal keeps almost forever but undergoes the physical changes mentioned.
I use Rodinal and even have some Rodinal S but that's a high speed developer and image quality suffers a little compared to the standard product.
My overall impression is that whilst Rodinal is a very good developer it's reputation was built at a time when other developers were not as good as they are now and so it's not "magic" - just very good. I also think I've got this right - it's a high acutance developer but not particularly fine grain and so it won't match up to Perceptol in a fine grain comparison.
However, I could have that all wrong and I'd suggest asking Roger Hicks who has probably tried more film/developer combinations than any of us ever will.
Also bear in mind that as a powder developer, Ilford recommend NOT splitting the packs due to possible mixing errors. See their data sheets.

 

[Freakscene]

I have read that Ilford DDX can be kept for up to 6 months once opened and is pretty much a liquid equivalent to Perceptol. Do you know if this is correct?

DDX has good shelf life but it is nothing like Perceptol. Perceptol is a metol developer with a lot of sulfite - it is probably similar to D23 but with additional components and stabilisers. DDX is a phenidone developer (maybe with metol, or with hydroquinone) but with a lot less sulfite. DDX gives box speed or higher with most films, while with Perceptol you lose speed even if you dilute it. The look is different too.

Marty