Shooting Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

Just tried out the Barry Thornton "two teaspoon" mix. I did run the XX in Rodinal 1:50 for 7 min. and then in the B-bath for 3 min. Worked quite well except for mixing Kodalk and not allowing it to dissolve properly (it was 9 am!) - plenty of small nasty spots on the negs. About 6 shots up on the XX Flickr site now,
It actually worked better with XX than with Tri-X/Arista 400 Premium. The latter is a bit lower contrast than I like.
I suspect that dissolving the Kodalk in hot water and then cooling it down with cold water and filtering it - will cure the problem.
Next run will be with XX and Rodinal 1:75 for 11-12 min and the BT-bath for 3 min.
 
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In an attempt to simplify my life, I'm trying Rodinal 1:50 at 11mins/20C, agitation 5sec/min. This should give me a good baseline with all three films. I'm running 35mm Kodak bulk-rolled XXX at 250 (thru M2/19mm Canonflex tests) XX thru M5 (Thanksgiving family snaps with 50mm Canon F1.2 mostly) and Ilford 120 HP5+ at EI250/500CM/80mm Zeiss Planar ), shooting at the local waterfall-landscapey stuff/Planar wide-open tests.

Next I will also add Sulphite, ala Mr. Pierce. Did this thirty years ago, liked the results alot.
 
Tried the Rodinal 1:75 12 min +4 min of BT Kodalk. Way too thin negs for my taste! I have another 1/2 roll to burn off today and then I will do another 1:50/11 min (4 rolls XXX and 1 of XX). Weather is grey and miserable (f2.8 @ 250 with XXX @ 400).
I also want to try Rodinal 1:75 with continious agitation later on. This tends to bump up contrast a bit and right now, its needed. I think the combination of 12-14 min cont. agitation in Rodinal 1:75 and then 4-5 min. in Kodalk with minimum agitation ( a couple of initial once and let it stand for 5 min could prove beneficial as the highlights would be less harsh and shadow detail would come up a bit).
I used to do a two bath soup abck in the 80's - basically D23 initially and then punch up contrast with a B bath made up from Sodium Hydroxide. I have to dig up whatever information I have on that. D 23 can be a bit flat on its own and this increased contrast significantly.
 
Rodinal negs 11 mins at 20C with moderate agitation look slightly thin to my eye, compared to what I am used to, with ADOX Borax MQ. Even with copious extra exposure, the films just do not have the -black- dmax that I'm used to, with the D-76 Motion Picture Developer. But maybe that is just what happens, even with deliberate overexposure. Will have to see how they scan. And also see how the grain looks, under the loupe. The stuff you pour out after development looks like grape soda!
 
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Hey guys, shot my first roll today, on the M2. Leo was kind enough to sell me some, so I could see if I liked it. I shot it at 200 and souped it, unimaginatively, in D76 for 7.5 minutes. The negs look great. I'll scan them tomorrow. Thanks for clueing me in to this film! I feel as though I've become a true photo nerd.
 
Glad to see that you got a roll of XX 250 shot and developed.

There are so many wonderful combination's of developers that it could take a long time just trying fun developers. Many of them are very good the first try and others take a few rolls to get zeroed in to the best times and temps.

Tom I had a little problem getting all of the chemicals in Bath B dissolved also. It didn't cause any spots on the negs but I did have some residue left in my mixing jar. I think a warmer temp would also help, I mixed mine at developing temp 68. I liked the first results that I got.


Leo
 
Wow, I am amazed at this stuff. Easiest B&W scan I ever did--almost no adjustments necessary, and the scans respond well to a bit of sharpening (ie., don't disintegrate instantly into artifacty garbage), revealing the grain. I went ahead and joined the flickr group! Here's my set:

Kodak 5222 XX first shots

Thanks again, guys--when I run out of the stuff Leo sold me, I'm sure to get myself a big reel.
 
John Your Pictures looked great.

I'm glad we have another convert to Kodak 5222 XX.

I have a lot of film on hand so anyone wants to try some before buying a large roll let me know by PM.

Here is the note I sent to John.

-------------------------------

Hi,

I just rolled a huge amount of Eastman XX 250 so I don't have any 50 or 100' rolls left.

If you are interested I can sell you 36 exp rolled film of XX Eastman.

I can sell for $2 a roll in groups of 10 rolls.

If you are interested send me your zip and amount of rolls and I can give you a firm price, film plus shipping.

Let me know if you are interested.

Leo
 
Glad you liked the pics!

It's true, I bought a bunch of pre-rolled XX in snap caps from Leo at that crazy-cheap price! He's like a drug dealer luring you into addiction.
 
John,
I like 'em too, good stuff! Myself I find I like D-76 type devs the best, BTW did you know that Eastman invented D-76 back in the twenties, for the Motion Picture industry? With lots of money at stake, this is the very best they could formulate.
 
Pardon the intrusion but.... I have some 5222 listed in the classifieds, a fellow on eBay was spooling it up and selling it a few rolls at a time and I managed to accumulate some that I'm now selling.


Jim
 
I just finished a 120 roll of Bregger 400 in my EVIL Hasselblad 500CM with new 40mm C Distagon (a test roll with flash!), which will require development in Rodinal 1+25 for 7 mins at 20C. My last XX Rodinal run at 1:50 11 mins 20C looked a bit thin to my eye, so I'm going to throw in a couple of rolls of XX, to see what happens. Hopefully will run later today, depending on how other family projects proceed. I tend to like thick negatives, always have.
 
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I have trying the Xtol/Rodinal combination as recommended by Honus on Flickr. Looks very good - nice smooth grain, but a bit of a kick from the Rodinal.
Xtol 1:4 and Rodinal 1:100 for 12 minutes seems to work fine.
 
Tom A said:
I have trying the Xtol/Rodinal combination as recommended by Honus on Flickr. Looks very good - nice smooth grain, but a bit of a kick from the Rodinal.
Xtol 1:4 and Rodinal 1:100 for 12 minutes seems to work fine.
Click to expand...

Hi Tom, any samples? I looked through your flickr stream, but couldn't find any.

what ISO do you shoot the doubleXX for development in this combination?

Thanks
 
Go to my Flickr site and use the tag "Xtol" and there should be some on that. I rarely use Xtol, so most of the stuff shot in the last month are with this combination.
 
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I have developed the first roll of XX (5222). The negs look fine and scan well. Developing was according to the massive dev chart, HC-110 "B" 6 minutes (rated at 250ISO). Looking forward to shoot more of this film ! :) (Leo, thanks again for the nice deal !!)

Cheers,

Gabor
 
Tom A said:
Go to my Flickr site and use the tag "Xtol" and there should be some on that. I rarely use Xtol, so must of the stuff shot in the last month are with this combination.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tom. They look good. I am developing some Arista Premium 400 in the same combination. love the negatives...
 
Gabor,

Glad the film got to you OK and that you have started using it.

I think there are quite a few developers that work well with this film. I haven't tried HC-110 with this film lately, maybe it is about time to try it again. I think I might try Dilution H and double the time.

With all the snow we have had lately I have been using up the 100 ASA film that I have on hand. I'm sure we will get back to dark winter, rainy days soon and I will be back to XX at 250.

Leo
 
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