Tell me about Plus-X ...

[Doug]

Some very nice Plus-X samples! Better than I recall, but I haven't used it since 1972. I souped a lot of it in Diafine, and also Edwal FG-7, at higher than box speed, and I didn't like the harshness and grain. I might well have been wiser to run it at a lower EI (my last roll was at 125), and go for tonal qualities over speed... scarcely considered in those days!

 

[Keith]

I bought some from an ebay seller who sells a lot of short dated film and I noticed he has some available at the moment! http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160206113696&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:AU:1123

 

[TheHub]

I emailed Kodak asking if Plus-X is going to be around for a while. Still awaiting an answer ...

 

[mhv]

It's a very good film for brilliant highlights. It has a slightly upswept curve, and developed in HC-110, you get a very nice look. In XTOL I did not find it as interesting. But it's definitely a sleeper film that needs to be used more.

 

[sauerwald]

I used to shoot a lot of Plus-X in the winter. It has a very soft shoulder which makes it handle highlights well - which is good for snowy landscapes, and you can get loads of tonal separation through the mid range of the film - again, good for getting details in snowscapes or portraits. Unfortunately I shoot mostly in 4x5, and Plus-X has been discontinued for quite some time now. I shoot almost exclusively HP5 now, which has a very different character from Plus-X, but Kodak has changed or discontinued enough films and papers that I won't invest my time in learning to use their products any more.

 

[jbf]

Hey R.M.S. what development times/agitation did you use for the Plus-X in rodinal?

 

[amateriat]

I emailed Kodak asking if Plus-X is going to be around for a while. Still awaiting an answer ...

The answer, IMO, lies in picking up a few rolls next time you're buying film. It helps, anyway. 🙂


- Barrett

 

[TheHub]

I did better and bought a 100' roll 😉

 

[zgeeRF]

Plus-X in Rodinal

Plus-X in Rodinal

I used to develop it in D76, and discovered recently that it looks great in Rodinal! I use it at 1:50 for 15 min with agitation for the first 30sec and then one inversion every 5 minutes (three agitation cycles total). Here is an example (Xenon 50mm ):

 

[Trius]

zgeeRF: I too worship at the Church of Rodinal. I'm mostly a 1:100 man, but minimal agitation is the holy grail of this soup, as you have discovered.

Not being one to stand still, though, I am now adding some pagan elements, i.e. XTol with Rodinal, and my next medium speed foray will be with T-Max 100 in the Rod-Xtol blend.

 

[zgeeRF]

Trius: the low agitation is indeed an essential factor and brings the best rodinal results. I also use 1:100 with APX100. I have never tried the Xtol addition, what does it offer?

 

[Trius]

the Xtol seems to smooth things out at 1:50 or lower dilutions. So far I have only done one roll of APX, and that roll was mostly way overexposed due to a dying battery; the other rolls have been T-Max 400 (TMY-2), Tri-X at 250, and Tri-X pushed to 1600. I only have one roll of APX left, but I'll use the combination on it.

Tri-X, 250, Rodinal/Xtol

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2137/2247173797_6f3e6251da.jpg

Edit: Just found more APX in my film fridge. 😀 😀 😀 😀

 

[Rhoyle]

The old stand-by for me has always been Plus-X in D-76. If I want something really special, I dilute it 1:1. Great stuff!