Shooting Eastman (Double-X) 5222 in the Leica

Just bought a can of this to try.

For the lazy of us (its a long thread to go through, but a hell of a resource) could someone collate times and agitation techniques for Double-x in different developers? I have Tmax, Xtol, D76 and Rodinal to have a go with, but its a long trawl to find suitable start times for them.
 
From a roll that was gifted to me by another kind RFFer.


Georgetown, Seattle, WA

Leica M6, W-Nikkor 3.5cm f/2.5 LTM.

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I have now gone thru 2 x 400ft Double-X cans, tried rodinal, acufine, HC-110 and ther Rollei D-74/ Spur RPX-D developers. I accidentally mixed a batch of two litres developers with 30cc of Rodinal and 30cc of HC-110. I forgot they were different developers and poured into a large kindermann tank , had a run of Double -X in it. 20C for 11 minutes. The results are in my mind the best of them all! I think my " accident soup" combines the nice grain and latitude of HC-110 with the sharp grain of rodinal. maybe someone with knowledge in chemicals will explain why, For me it is enough that this combination works !!
 
I've been running XX in a mixture of HC110 and Rodinal, and I also like it alot.

Water 600-700 ml
HC-110 16 ml Raw HC110 syrup
Rodinal 10 ml Raw Concentrate
Water to Make 1000 ml

Not sure how it works, either.
Just know I like it.

ISO 250 11.5 mins @ 20C ensures full even development with no streaks.
Often I shoot one additional frame, with an extra stop of exposure.
Frequently I prefer that one, but not always.
Good to have a choice as far as I am concerned.
 
I've recently run sixteen rolls of XX through my ADOX Borax MQ, and I'm very pleased with the results. Full emulsion speed, although I like thicker negatives, and expose at EI 250. Nine minutes at 20C does a great job for me.

I have another eight rolls to process, and I think i will try the HC-110/Rodinal combo I've also been using. As much as to use up the Rodinal, as anything else. This combo does appear to really be something special with the XX.

Loaded up ten more Kodak Snap Caps in the dark too, right off the 400 foot core. So I have film for the next few weeks. Been running it in my Minolta SRT's and everything looks -really- -really- good. Not a bad body in the bunch.
 
Tom A said:
You can get about 400 out of the XX with similar times as with Tri X (D-76 10,5-11 min) and Rodinal 1:50/ 12 min ( "lumpy" grain though). The XX has a fair bit of latitude, but watch the shadows, they block easily.
First shoot yourself in with it at 250asa and then start pushing it - you can probably gain about 3/4-1 stop without too much loss of quality, but trying for 800 is probably "chalk and soot" time!
Will be interesting what the diafine/acufine will do with it?
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Tom: I think Double-X in Diafine will give flat negatives, which I don`t like.
 
I find the best combination for the XX has been the Pyrocat HD as a semi stand developer (17-18 min with agitation at 3/6/9/12/15 min). Gives me full 320 iso and very sharp "edges". A bit "messy" to mix as you need some non standard chemicals - but 500mlA/1000ml B will do several 100 rolls.
 
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Double X, rated at 320 in Pyrocat HD for 15 min (cut the time due to the bright sun - not really necessary as Pyrocat HD is not that sensitive to over development). M2 and Zeiss C Biogon 35mm f2.8
 
Tom A said:
I find the best combination for the XX has been the Pyrocat HD (...)
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How strange ! I followed your experiments with 5222 and various developers on Flickr (thanks for sharing, by the way): to my eyes, the tonal rendition of this combo is highly "artificial" (or should I say "unatural" ?) with a kind of "plastic" feeling in the highlight. I appreciate much more your results in PCK, Adox or D96.
 
To each his own! I like a slightly edgy look to my films - probably due to long time use of Rodinal/Beutler. The Pyrocat HD is very sharp edged - and as a portrait film with a good lens - it is probably overkill. The D76/D96 is smoother and sometimes I like that. At the moment we are going into the NorthWest "gloom" - low contrast, flat light and, yes. rain - and the Pyrocat gives that bit of extra snap that I like.
PCK is my "fall back" developer as it can be mixed in room temperature when nothing else is available.
I suspect that scanning does change the look slightly, tends to accentuate contrast. Printing in the darkroom I find the Pyrocat HD works well.
 
Tom A said:
To each his own! I like a slightly edgy look to my films - probably due to long time use of Rodinal/Beutler. The Pyrocat HD is very sharp edged - and as a portrait film with a good lens - it is probably overkill (...)
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With Pyrocat HD, I'm disturbed by mid-tones and highlights separation. Of course, it's difficult to say anything about sharpness and/or grain from scans for the internet.

About 10 years ago, I liked a lot PMK+Tri-X, but when I look the prints today, I'm surprised to see how unatural they look, even if I admit that grain and sharpness are outstanding !
 
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Raining outside - great time for doing weird stuff with cameras on the table. I was trying out a bunch of odd ball films with Rodinal, 1:200 dilution for 120 minutes stand development. This shot was under exposed by two stops on purpose to get the metallic edges of the flattened film cartridges to stand out.
Speed drops to about 100 iso, grain is OK but certainly not super-fine.
 
Anyone tried Aerocon Double-X in 70mm? I have 5 rolls on the way. Not many people seem to have to have tried it. I'm assuming its based on Double-X by with extra infra-red sensitivity.

Daniel.
 
snaggs said:
Anyone tried Aerocon Double-X in 70mm? I have 5 rolls on the way. Not many people seem to have to have tried it. I'm assuming its based on Double-X by with extra infra-red sensitivity.

Daniel.
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I would like to know about what you find out, after using it a bit. I use 70mm myself in my Hasselblads, does this emulsion have type-2 perforations or otherwise? I'm very interested in a 70mm version of Double-X, or something reasonably similar.
-Dan
 
Yes, its Perf 2, going to load in a blad myself. I'm also trying to rescue 55300 ft of 2008 Plus-X Aerocon in Perf II from the Airforce. Check out my "Who can explain 70mm" and a also in the B&W forum on APUG.

Looks like good stuff.

Daniel.
 
snaggs said:
Yes, its Perf 2, going to load in a blad myself. I'm also trying to rescue 55300 ft of 2008 Plus-X Aerocon in Perf II from the Airforce. Check out my "Who can explain 70mm" and a also in the B&W forum on APUG.

Looks like good stuff.

Daniel.
Click to expand...

55300ft !? That requires some freezer space ... :cool::)
 
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