Which films benefit from Rodinal?

[J J Kapsberger]

Which films do you feel require development in Rodinal to look their best, all other things--agitation, temperature, etc.--being equal? I know it's entirely a subjective call, but I'm curious to hear your views.

 

[Chuck Albertson]

I don't know that they're *required* to be developed in Rodinal, but I like what the stuff does with Delta 100 and Agfa's APX 100 (if you can still find it--I still have a stash of it in 120).

 

[mr_phillip]

I agree on APX100 (it just shimmers in Rodinal!), and I also like APX400 rated at 200asa in it too.

 

[pesphoto]

I love good old TriX in Rodinal.

 

[nikon_sam]

The reason I bought some Rodinal was to develope some Scala that I have...
I too would like to know which other films will benefit...push/pull...special effects and things like that...I do want to use it for more than the Scala...

 

[clarence]

For really sharp results, I use slow speed T-grain films like Delta and TMax.

Clarence

 

[BSchall]

I've developed Delta 100, TMax 100, Acros, Plus-X, FOMA 100 all with Rodinal. No faults with any of them. Basically, any slow film works well.

 

[drewbarb]

Developer/film combinations should be chosen more for the specific effects you are after, rather than a blind mating of one film with one dev. There are so many combinations out there, and the can do such different things- it can be fun to experiment and try out a few things. I keep notes for probably hundreds of combinations of film, E.I. and developers. Rodinal is a great developer for maximizing tonal range, especially with slower films. It yields excellent sharpness- and thus naturally shows slightly more pronounced grain than many other developers.It can also show really stellar edge effects. I use Rodinal much of the time with any film shot at or below it's ISO when I want the longest tonal range possible and the maximum sharpness I can get. Some folks like it for pushing and stand or semi-stand development. I have seen spectacular results with Tri-X pushed 3 to 5 stops (and more!) processed in Rodinal with stand development; but I generally choose something like Microphen for serious push-processing, and keep Rodinal for situations where I can lose some film speed. It's great for things like APX 100, Plus-X or FP4 shot between 50 to 100 E.I.; or Tri-X, HP5, or Neopan shot between 200 to 400 E.I.

 

[rich815]

None that require it per se but ones I like very much in Rodinal are Fuji Acros 100, Agfa APX100, Ilford PanF-50 and FP-4, Kodak Plus-X and at times Tri-X. Some say the latter is a classic combination and while I have gotten good results with it, for scanning my negs I find Tri-X in D-76 1-1 gives me better results. In general I do not usually use Rodinal with the faster films too much (over 200) except when shooting medium format negs.

For a link to about 70+ images I shot using Rodinal with various films go here:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=38698047@N00&q=Rodinal&m=tags

 

[BudGreen]

I've been happy with Tri-X in Rodinal. I use it almost exclusively, at least in 35mm. I particularly like the gradation in the highlights.

In medium format I've had good luck using it with Pan-F+ at higher dilutions (1:100) to help tame the contrast.

Most of the images in my gallery are Tri-X/Rodinal.

 

[Sisyphus]

All films benefit from rodinal, it just depends on how you want your final images to look.

 

[mike goldberg]

Thanks so much for the info here. Rodinal has characteristically been a mystery for me. I've had a look at some of lovely images in flickr.

 

[anglophone1]

Gosh, it's such a handy one shot developer, I just use it for all my remaining BW film work [mostly MF shot on Holgas or Fuji 6x9]
Have used it with Tri X, , Tmax 400, FP4 and also HIE and SFX.
Hard to find though..............................I get it from www.silverprint.co.uk in London.
Clive

 

[FPjohn]

"All film benefits from Rodinol" and have for over a hundred years.

I find HP5+ in Rodinol 1/50 to be very even tempered. A favourite. However expectations for scans or prints above 6x9 inches are not high. Most rffers would likely give it a pass.

Conventional wisdom for Rodinol is use with medium/low speed films.

 

[FPjohn]

Hello:

had'nt seen "roll the rock" comment prior to my post.

Those are fine images rich.

yours
Frank

 

[rich815]

Hello:

had'nt seen "roll the rock" comment prior to my post.

Those are fine images rich.

yours
Frank

Thanks John. I showed a load of images because this kind of thing is so subjective. For example, I have not been able to get what I like out of HP5+ and Rodinal. And although Tri-X in Rodinal can indeed look very nice for my purposes and for what I like it gives me more problems scanning than I get from Tri-X in D-76, as mentioned. But then again is that not the great thing about B&W films? 😀

 

[J J Kapsberger]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Gorgeous shots, Rich. The first time I noticed the term Rodinal was when looking at Bud Green's Flickr oeuvre. A fabulous look he’s achieved. I placed an order for Rodinal at Henry’s.com. It’ll come to me but with an extra charge put on. I don’t know exactly what the extra charge is in aid of. I guess by shelling out extra cash somehow I prevent a jetliner from being blown up by film developer known to contain hazardous ingredients.

 

[le vrai rdu]

trix in rodinal 1+25 7 minutes 20 second of agitation per minutes
exemple

 

[nikon_sam]

+ or -

+ or -

😀

Is that AGFA Scala, the b/w slide film? To the best of my knowledge that is a no-can-do. Isn't Scala supposed to be developed in the special Scala process only?

It will come out as a negative NOT a positive...😀