Tri-X and Neopan pushed to 1600 - what developer?

[EthanFrank]

I have a backlog of rolls pushed to 1600 that I've been nervous to develop - both the end of my Arista Premium 400 (Tri-X) stash, and the beginning of my Neopan stash. I've some D-76 and some HC-110 at home - will those produce good results? I'm more inclined to use the HC-110 in the future, if possible - I much prefer working with the syrup to the powder.

Is there anything I should keep in mind when processing film pushed to 1600?

Thanks.

 

[Mackinaw]

I recommend a different developer, something like Xtol or Ilford DD-X which are both full-speed developers. Accufine is also an excellent choice.

No matter what developer you use, you can expect little detail in the shadows with either film. Mid-tones and highlights should be OK though.

Jim B..

 

[Calzone]

I haven't pushed Tri-X to 1600 nor have I used D76 or HC110 to do the pushing, but I would recommend to be as gentile with aggitation as possible and the least amount is best to preserve highlights and moderate contrast.

Using Diafine to push Tri-X to 650 I found two gentile inversions in 5 seconds every minute to be the sweet spot. You'll have to experiment to find out what works for you.

Cal

 

[ChrisP]

I use d-76 because, well thats all I can get ahold of here that isn't ridiculously priced. These were tri-x at 3200 or somewhere around there. I don't mind the combination but you can probably do better with something like DD-X

I have a backlog of rolls pushed to 1600 that I've been nervous to develop - both the end of my Arista Premium 400 (Tri-X) stash, and the beginning of my Neopan stash. I've some D-76 and some HC-110 at home - will those produce good results? I'm more inclined to use the HC-110 in the future, if possible - I much prefer working with the syrup to the powder.

Is there anything I should keep in mind when processing film pushed to 1600?

Thanks.

 

[Calzone]

I recommend a different developer, something like Xtol or Ilford DD-X which are both full-speed developers. Accufine is also an excellent choice.

No matter what developer you use, you can expect little detail in the shadows with either film. Mid-tones and highlights should be OK though.

Jim B..

I use to use Microphen to push HP5 and Tri-X to 800, but I recently bought some Acufine to compare. From what I gleen Acufine and Microphen are pretty similar.

BTW I also want to push to 1600 ISO.

Cal

 

[RanceEric]

(at least for Tri-X) I strongly recommend microphen.. I shoot Tri-x at 3200 and devo in microphen for 25 minutes, 2 agitations every minute. Very nice tones, beautiful contrast, minimal grain, and not much, if any need to edit, if exposed properly..

Examples:

The Boy and the Cat on Flickr

Morgan Loves Wine on Flickr

Good Pizza on Flickr

 

[Turtle]

Microphen, DDX, Xtol 1+1 are all great choices and will yield more speed than HC110

 

[rmeskill]

I've gotten plenty of nice shots with great tonality with semi- and full-stand Rodinal, 1:100 and Tri-X at 1600

Granted they've all been medium-format, but that's not to say it wouldn't work with 35mm...

 

[Calzone]

(at least for Tri-X) I strongly recommend microphen.. I shoot Tri-x at 3200 and devo in microphen for 25 minutes, 2 agitations every minute. Very nice tones, beautiful contrast, minimal grain, and not much, if any need to edit, if exposed properly..

Examples:

The Boy and the Cat on Flickr

Morgan Loves Wine on Flickr

Good Pizza on Flickr

Thanks for the post. Really great examples. How is the density if I'm going to wet print?

Cal

 

[semilog]

TMAX, XTOL at full strength, or DD-X.

 

[RanceEric]

Thanks for the post. Really great examples. How is the density if I'm going to wet print?

Cal

I haven't printed with these negatives, since I no longer have a darkroom to use (depressing) so I can't say for sure, but the negatives look perfect for printing, compared to Tri-X shot at 400, that I have printed with. Very nice contrast, thick.

 

[rokkor]

Tri-X in HC-110 at 1600 iso is the combination Anton Corbijn used in most of his early
photo's. Don't know know about his later work.

http://www.corbijn.co.uk/

 

[Calzone]

I haven't printed with these negatives, since I no longer have a darkroom to use (depressing) so I can't say for sure, but the negatives look perfect for printing, compared to Tri-X shot at 400, that I have printed with. Very nice contrast, thick.

Thanks for your response. Very helpful.

I went to Diafine to save money on developer costs since I shoot such a large volume of film because the two part developer gets reused and there is no replenishment except for spillage and the initial amount that gets consumed by wetting the film, but I found the recomended film speeds to be too aggressive and thin negatives were the result untill I settled for 800 ISO for HP5 and 650 ISO for Tri-X.

Microphen and HP5 was an old favorite, but I never went byond 800 ISO. Now I plan on comparing Microphen and Acufine at a least 1600. 3200 would be great since I live in NYC, own a Noct-Nikkor, and want to do some serious night shooting.

Thanks again. Big help.

Cal

 

[RanceEric]

Thanks for your response. Very helpful.

I went to Diafine to save money on developer costs since I shoot such a large volume of film because the two part developer gets reused and there is no replenishment except for spillage and the initial amount that gets consumed by wetting the film, but I found the recomended film speeds to be too aggressive and thin negatives were the result untill I settled for 800 ISO for HP5 and 650 ISO for Tri-X.

Microphen and HP5 was an old favorite, but I never went byond 800 ISO. Now I plan on comparing Microphen and Acufine at a least 1600. 3200 would be great since I live in NYC, own a Noct-Nikkor, and want to do some serious night shooting.

Thanks again. Big help.

Cal

You're welcome. Glad I could help! NYC is a great place to try it out.. I walk around Phila. all the time shooting @3200 (a few more examples on the street: one, two, three)

 

[Snowbuzz]

I've been using Spur HRX 3 developer for Tri-X rated up to 6400. It's a very good fine grained developer but I've been less than pleased with its propensity to die very fast once opened. They say that the new A and B solutions allow it to last longer on the shelf, but they said that about version 3 too. I used HC-110 before this, semi-stand with great results. The only example I have to upload right now is of Tri-X at 6400, Spur HRX.

 

[RanceEric]

(...) for Tri-X rated up to 6400.

I would love to try that.. What is the developing time at 6400? How many agitations how often? That's a great photograph. The tones and contrast are beautiful.

 

[EthanFrank]

Thanks, guys. I'll pick up some Microphen in the AM.

 

[StillKicking]

I use Rodinal (Blazinal) 1:100 for 1 hour stand development with 1 minute agitation at the start. Temperature.. well that does not seem to be too important. Anywhere between 18 - 22 degrees C seems to work fine.

 

[Calzone]

You're welcome. Glad I could help! NYC is a great place to try it out.. I walk around Phila. all the time shooting @3200 (a few more examples on the street: one, two, three)

More great examples. I really like the tonality. BTW I own a 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM. What a great lens for B&W.

Thanks again.

Cal

 

[RanceEric]

More great examples. I really like the tonality. BTW I own a 35/1.8 Nikkor in LTM. What a great lens for B&W.

Thanks again.

Cal

Oh wow.. Very nice.. definitely one of my favorite lenses