Rodinal + TMX (TMAX 100)

[clarence]

Hello, I just spent half a day in the darkroom, spooling bulk film, processing the huge backlog of film I had accumulated, and making prints.

I tried Rodinal for the first time, after finally getting it from Silverprint (near Waterloo Station in London). I chose it because I needed an acutance developer. Previously I had only been using fine grain and general purpose developers like Paterson Aculux 2 and HC110.

The recipe was taken from the Massive Development Chart and can be summarised as such:

1+50 Rodinal, TMX (TMAX 100, pre-2002 formula)
EI: 80-100
Temperature: 20 degrees Celsius
Agitation: Agitate for first 30 seconds, then give 3 inversions for 10 seconds every minute.
Time: 12 minutes (35mm and 120)

NB: I used a temperature of 21 degrees Celsius instead and a time of 11 minutes.

The designer grain and the acutance developer combined to give edge effects that were breathtaking, most noticeably on shots that were taken on a tripod. Contrast was impressive as well, considering that I had not used any filters. I was shooting day landscapes in Oxford with 80mm and 55mm lenses on my Mamiya C220.

The TMAX film I was using was an old 120 film dated from 2000. However, I also developed a roll of 35mm FP4+ with excellent results.

I hope this encourages more people to use Rodinal with TMAX films. Initially I was fearful of the grain that some had complained about, but this experiment has let me know that I have nothing to fear.

Unfortunately I don't have access to a film scanner, so you will just have to take my word for it. I might scan the prints sometime, though.

With My Regards,
Clarence

 

[John]

I know the feeling of not having access to a film scanner and it sucks. 🙂 🙂

 

[clarence]

I got desperate for good scans, so I also shot a roll of 35mm colour C41 film today and sent it to the minilab. Should get it tomorrow.

But what I really want are high quality scans of my monochrome work.

Clarence

 

[dadsm3]

I also tried Rodinal for the 1st time with Tmax100 yesterday. I'm impressed....being a newbie and only using Tmax developer previously, the quality of my negs was immediately apparent. Having only shot Tmax400 and Ilford HP5 previously I'm not quite sure whether it was the film or the Rodinal....
I went with 1+25 for 5 1/2 minutes @ 20celsius.
First one was actually in quite low light, overcast day inside the car, 90mm Summicron 1/30th @ F2.8. Second one was same lens, 1/50th @ F8.

 

[clarence]

First one was actually in quite low light, overcast day inside the car, 90mm Summicron 1/30th @ F2.8. Second one was same lens, 1/50th @ F8.

I am impressed. I cannot hand-hold a 90mm lens at anything below 1/100 or 1/125. And the picture of the wok is rather sharp even for being hand-held at that speed.

Clarence

 

[r-brian]

I've done Tmax 100 in Rodinal, 1+50 and very much liked the results. Even more impressive, the TMax was 7 years past date. Still worked fine. I've also done Tmax 100 at 160 EI developed in Diafine. Another nice combination.

Brian

 

[clarence]

I've done Tmax 100 in Rodinal, 1+50 and very much liked the results. Even more impressive, the TMax was 7 years past date. Still worked fine. I've also done Tmax 100 at 160 EI developed in Diafine. Another nice combination.

Brian

I use expired film regularly too. The only time something went wrong with expired monochrome film was with a roll of FP4+ of unknown vintage. It was so old (or so badly kept), that when I was peeling the backing off to load it onto the reel, the backing refused to come off.

Development was acceptable, but I think it must have caused some uneven development in some parts, as I had to load it onto the reel with bits of paper still attached.

Clarence

 

[Trius]

Mike: Ya gotta love Rodinal! The second shot is a bit contrasty, IMO, but it DOES have guts. 1:50, and/or perhaps less agitation might be interesting in lighting like that.

Oh, and that is one helluva hockey puck, eh? Looks like it was treated to a McCabe slapshot!

 

[markinlondon]

Glad to see the FP4 worked OK, Clarence. What dilution/time did you use?

Mark

 

[titrisol]

Rodinal is an excellent developer for Tmaxes, Deltas and Acros film.
The T-grain/epitaxial/sigma or whatvever they call it is an excellent match for the accutance obtained by p-aminophenol.

I prefer Delta to Tmax, personal preference and yes the results are awesome.

Re: Scanner, if you have access to a flat bed you might as well scan with a triangular prism of paper above the film. Works fine.
Instructions here:
http://www.abstractconcreteworks.com/essays/scanning/Backlighter.html

 

[kaiyen]

One of he criticisms of TMX is that it doesn't "seem" sharp. The grain is so fine that it has a lack of _apparent_ sharpness, even though actual resolution is very high. That's why using even a mild acutance developer like Rodinal works so well.

allan

 

[clarence]

Mark, I was too lazy to develop the FP4+ separately, so I put it in the same tank, with the 1+50 dilution of Rodinal.

Time at 20 Degrees Celsius: 15 Minutes (I developed it for 14 Minutes at 21 Degrees Celsius)

Thanks, Kaiyen. Now I know why it works.

Next time, I might try using a 1+100 dilution to see how far I can push the acutance / grain compromise frontier. It's a lot more forgiving on Medium format, I suppose, but Medium's my primary medium, after all.

Clarence

 

[kaiyen]

If you like the sharpness you're getting, and you're shooting MF anyway, consider something like Acutol for your FP4 or FX-39 for the TMX. Even more sharpness but low grain. Rodinal isn't that much of an acutance developer compared to many others (FX-2 anyone?).

allan

 

[dadsm3]

Clarence, I was surprised at the quality at that speed myself. I did prop the camera on my leg, and the fact that the M3 and that lens must weigh 6 lbs must also help.
Trius, thanks for the comments....last year's bbq & last year's road hockey stick....do ya' think I can get another year out of that bbq? 😉
Shot another roll of Tmax100, and dev in Rodinal.....I'm converted. By far better results than anything else I've tried, both film and developer.
This was with an old 90mm Elmar F4 LTM with an M adapter, M3, F8 @ 1/125th.

 

[dadsm3]

People look great with Tmax.....
M3, 35mm bugeyed Summaron, 1/125th @ F5.6...
Bright sunlight is a challenge with b&w....

 

[Trius]

You can do it, Mike ... a bit of duct tape and you're good to go. Time for the meetin'; if Bernice calls, tell her I'll be home as soon as I get one of these or one of these .

 

[Todd.Hanz]

dadsm3,
great shot with the summaron, I think 5.6 may be the optimal fstop for that lens ( I have one too).

todd