Author Topic: All (?) my problems solved.  (Read 1706 times)

Indofunk

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All (?) my problems solved.
« on: March 19, 2014, 02:04:38 PM »
After figuring out that my "water mark" problem was actually Newton's rings, my scans all look great. And I finally found the "right" Tri-X developer for me. I present to you HC-110 dilution H (1+63). According to this site, the published time for the "new formula" Tri-X in dilution B is incorrect, and should be closer to 6 minutes. Dilution H being 1/2 of dilution B, I souped it for 12 minutes, and I love the results, especially the skies. This is of course only the first roll I've developed in it, but so far I'm loving it.


Chain link by Indofunk Satish, on Flickr

Thank you for your time :)


(edited to correct the ratio of dilution H ;) )
« Last Edit: March 19, 2014, 06:48:24 PM by Indofunk »

jharr

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2014, 03:14:48 PM »
That's beauty! Congrats on finding 'the balance'. I generally stick to Rodinal and Caffenol, but you might just inspire me to run out and get some HC-110. Thanks for sharing!
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Hungry Mike

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2014, 03:41:53 PM »
That looks like a nice combo. McD has been offering some HC110 maybe I should give that a try.

Ezzie

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2014, 03:51:06 PM »
Very nice. I use HC-110 exclusively as dilution H. But I thought that it was 1+63 Dilution B being 1+31
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mcduff

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2014, 05:20:06 PM »
Ya my understanding of dilution B is 1:31, but there are different versions for North America and Europe with different concentrations, for some reason. I believe Indofunk is living in NY so I am assuming he is using the more concentrated us version which has Dil B and Dil H as 1:31 and 1:63 respectively. (The ratios for the Euro version are 1:9 and 1:19 respectively.) Satish, are you using the European version of the concentrate?  Indofunk already mentioned a good link for info on HC-110: http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/ I generally use Dil B unless the time is less that 5 minutes, then I do as he said and use dillution H (but at 1:63 as I use the concentrated yankee syrup). Remember that even if it is diluted you still need to make sure you are using enough HC-110 concentrate in the soup (which is the case for all developers). The Covington page says that you should use at least 6ml of the US concentrate and 19.2ml of the Euro stuff per roll of 135/120 film.

I do like that hc-110 is dead simple and stores well in concentrate form and from what I understand it is relatively benign Eco-wise (tho caffenol is likely the winner in this category). It creates pretty sharp negs but it is probably not the best for when you need a low contrast devel (hence me borrowing some rodinal from mike for tech pan tests). I have also not liked the look for some films, such as fuji neopan. I dont know why but it seems to come out pretty grainy. My main film is FP4+ and I like the look with this film.


« Last Edit: March 19, 2014, 05:54:31 PM by mcduff »
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Indofunk

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2014, 06:46:05 PM »
Sorry, sorry, yes, I'm using the American syrup and used 1+63, sorry, I didn't proofread my own post  :-[
« Last Edit: March 19, 2014, 06:48:14 PM by Indofunk »

mcduff

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2014, 07:10:40 PM »
I thought you were being all worldly and sophisticated and using the fancy European stuff ;-)


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Francois

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2014, 08:22:17 PM »
I know I've been using HC-110 almost exclusively ever since I got my lab back in shape. I just love the short dev times and the grain it gives. For that 1960's look, it can't be beat!

I also used some PQ Universal for that ultra grainy overcooked grain look. BTW, it says on the bottle not to use PQ on 35mm negs 8)
Francois

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Indofunk

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2014, 08:23:40 PM »
BTW, it says on the bottle not to use PQ on 35mm negs 8)

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Francois

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Re: All (?) my problems solved.
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2014, 09:10:44 PM »
PQ was the stuff used by the photographers of the punk movement in the 70's and 80's. They used to combine it with HP5+ that was pushed in order to get the gritty images we know.

It's also pretty darn fast. From memory, you double the development time used for FB paper.
Francois

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