Trials with pushing to 3200

[lordvader]

Hey all.
I posted this on another local forum, but though I might give you guys a yell too 🙂

On Friday I was at an xmas party, and given there was going to be a band and some performances, I took my camera along. Given the low light, the plan was to expose everything at 3200, so I ended up shooting a roll of HP5 and TriX.

The HP5 was developed in Microphen for 25 minutes (there have been a few rolls through that batch, so was at the +70% point). I agitate for the first 30s, then for 10 seconds every minute for the first 10 minutes, then 10 seconds every 5 minutes thereafter.

The TriX was developed in D76 for 14 minutes (this was at the +30% point), and was agitated for 30s, then 10 seconds every minute until done.

The HP5 came out great ! The TriX not so good. These were under the same lighting conditions, so the only difference was the development process.

Here are some samples (first was HP5, second the TriX) (the differences between the HP5 and tri-x are consistent across all shots):

 

[sparrow6224]

I think the difference is the Microphen. It's made for pushing. D-76 is a much less active formula.

 

[xwhatsit]

I think the difference is the Microphen. It's made for pushing. D-76 is a much less active formula.

Not to that degree. I use both Microphen and D-76 (usually ID-11, but I have four big bags of D-76 about to go off so I'm working through that instead).

I don't know that Microphen is more active. In fact sometimes the development times are longer. However Microphen is great for pushing because it's a (strongly?) compensating developer. If you try and keep the agitation down to the minimum, then it will give the shadows more of a kick without blowing out the highlights.

D-76 can push to 3200 quite well, but I find it seems to give me less shadow detail. I'm not a very scientific darkroom worker though! And all of my cameras are pretty old with less than accurate shutters, and most of the time when I'm pushing Tri-X or another film to 1600 or 3200 I'm guessing exposure entirely, too. f1.8 at 30, 60 or 125, depending on my best guess!

It may be the time you've used. I found re-use (which I use with Microphen always) to be a little more finicky with D-76/ID-11. Microphen (perhaps because it's compensating) seems to be a more forgiving developer. For the record, I soup my E.I. 3200 Tri-X in D-76 1:1 (one-shot) for 16 minutes. When I have exposed correctly, that gives me very good negatives.

EDIT: And I see your agitation -- for best results with the D76 1:1, when pushing any film, I try to cut down on the agitation, in some (perhaps misguided) belief that this will help any compensation that the mildly diluted D-76 is able to provide. I normally four inversions (a bit less than 10 seconds) every 2 minutes or sometimes every 3. I'm yet to see bromide drag on any roll of film I've ever developed, so maybe I'm just cocky.

 

[tj01]

My opinions here are just based on my trial/experimentations, nothing scientific. I use only Tri-X and D76 exclusively.
D76 is not suitable for Tri-X when pushing to 3200. I've much success pushing to 1600, but 3200, very difficult. If you are up to try next time, I suggest 18-20 mins, 14 mins is insufficient. Minimal agitation, perhaps a little swirl every minute.
The grains will be pronounced, but acceptable , especially compared to those Delta 3200 i see here.

 

[lordvader]

Thanks for all the pointers guys !
For the record, I was using stock D76 (as I'm reusing it).

I really like Microphen, but wanted to give D76 a go, as it seems to have more "capacity" than microphen, and is a tad cheaper (16 rolls in d76 vs. 10 rolls through microphen).

A while earlier I tried tri-x @ 1600 in microphen, and LOVED the results, but I will try those D76 suggestions, as it does seem a very versatile developer 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Re-using stock D76 results in a steady loss of true ISO speed because of bromide build-up. Fully 'seasoned', replenished D76 gives a speed loss of about 2/3 stop to 1 stop. And true speed in fresh Microphen is typically 2/3 stop higher than in fresh D76, so that's 2/3 stop less push (overdevelopment) than you need with D76.

In other words, HP5 in fresh Microphen = c. ISO 650, so 1-stop = EI 1300, 2-stop = EI 2600, so 3200 is 2-1/3 stop push, instead of 3-stop push in D76.

Cheers,

R.