Topic: Kentmere 400 at 1600

[Urban Hafner]

Hello there,

In preparation for a project I'm looking for a 135 BW film stock that can be exposed at ISO 1600. As I'm planning to shoot a lot I'm now looking at Kentmere 400 because it's so cheap and also quite lovely at box speed.

I've seen examples of it being pushed two stops and I'd love to see everyone's results and how you developed them. Especially if you use Rodinal in a 1:100 dilution or Caffenol-C-L as these are the two developers I feel comfortable with.

[hookstrapped]

I don't have experience with Kentmere but I shoot a lot of Tri-X and found the best developer to push it is Xtol.  Xtol is cheap powder you mix up and then use 1:1 with water (though it only keeps for 2 months). Compared to Rodinal, much smaller more pleasant grain and much better shadow detail and tonality.

[Indofunk]

I'll second Tri-X at 1600. I use Rodinal, but I prefer hookstrapped's Xtol-developed shots.

[Urban Hafner]

Thanks guys. Two months shelf life is a bit too short for me. I prefer the unlimited shelf life of Rodinal.

 How do you develop in Rodinal Satish. Stand dev at 1:100 or shorter at a higher concentration?

[hookstrapped]

One thing to keep in mind about Xtol is that it's cheap ($10) so dumping bad unused is a waste but not really a waste of money.

[Indofunk]

Thanks guys. Two months shelf life is a bit too short for me. I prefer the unlimited shelf life of Rodinal.

 How do you develop in Rodinal Satish. Stand dev at 1:100 or shorter at a higher concentration?

Yup, 1:100 1hr. But Rodinal being Rodinal and Tri-X being magic, you can even fall asleep for 6 hours and you'll be fine

[Indofunk]

(that series was more like 3200 ... I've never had much luck above 1600)

[02Pilot]

I've done both HP5+ and Tri-X @1600 in Caffenol C-L with good results. If I had to choose, I'd probably opt for the HP5+ based strictly on the fact that I can get 100ft of it for about half what Tri-X costs, but in appearance they're really close. No experience with Kentmere 400 at all, but I shot a bunch of the 100 and I liked it.

[Hungry Mike]

Two months shelf life

I've gotten about 6 to 8 months with Xtol in well sealed bottles.

[hookstrapped]

Two months shelf life

I've gotten about 6 to 8 months with Xtol in well sealed bottles.

I'm going by what the label says and the fact that I used a four month old batch (kept in a bottle with a lot of air) that developed my film as well as lukewarm water and spit.

[hookstrapped]

I guess a fundamental question here is whether you like the increased grain and contrast pushing with most developers will give you, and along with that contrast reduced shadow detail.  If so, then a standard developer should be fine. If not, then you should probably consider developers that are known for good push results.

[Indofunk]

reduced shadow detail. 

Yeah, this is the only thing I don't like about developing in Rodinal. Maybe I'll buy a 21mm lens and develop with Xtol

lukewarm water and spit.

Totally trying that next time

[Urban Hafner]

I've developed Fomapan 100 at 400 with good results in Caffenol-C-L. It's just that I have a 500ml bottle of Rodinal that I'd like to use, too. Oh well, I think I'll just need to try it myself.

[Indofunk]

If that doesn't work, there's always lukewarm water and spit.

[Francois]

I know Fomapan can easily be pushed to 1600 in HC-110... it also gives pretty good results too.
But you have to consider as always when pushing that you are only exposing the shadow areas on the film's curve. You do get reduced tonal range and increased grain.

[Urban Hafner]

I know François. I'm just trying to see if it would be feasible to just shoot Kentmere 400 next year. And indoors at f/2.8 (yet another constraint) ISO 1600 is just necessary. Maybe using Tri-X or T-Max 400 would be a better idea.

[gsgary]

I would go with HP5 I will show you some when I get home from work, what about Orwo N74 you should be able to get 100 feet cheap ive got un54 and its great

[gsgary]

HP5 at iso3200

[gsgary]

That didn't work

[gsgary]

Iso 3200 https://flic.kr/p/dTHvpo

[Urban Hafner]

Thanks Gary, so you shoot HP5 from 400 to 3200 and just develop for 1 hour? Maybe I should give that a try some time.

As far as rolling my own, I'm not sure at what point this is going to save costs as I'd have to buy a bulk loader and cassettes first. I'll have to calculate how many rolls I'd have to shoot first. But maybe it does make sense. Especially for HP5+ the difference is quite big. 100ft cost 64€ and one roll of 135/36 is already 4.95€.

[ManuelL]

I am shooting Tmax400 at 1600 sometimes. Developed in XTol I quite like it.
But Tmax is quite expensive when you want to use a lot - and quite different from a traditional grain film.

[gsgary]

Thanks Gary, so you shoot HP5 from 400 to 3200 and just develop for 1 hour? Maybe I should give that a try some time.

As far as rolling my own, I'm not sure at what point this is going to save costs as I'd have to buy a bulk loader and cassettes first. I'll have to calculate how many rolls I'd have to shoot first. But maybe it does make sense. Especially for HP5+ the difference is quite big. 100ft cost 64€ and one roll of 135/36 is already 4.95€.

I only use rodinal on hp5 if I have no ddx

[SLVR]

Two months shelf life

I've gotten about 6 to 8 months with Xtol in well sealed bottles.

I'm going by what the label says and the fact that I used a four month old batch (kept in a bottle with a lot of air) that developed my film as well as lukewarm water and spit.

Straight from Kodak's PDF it says that shelf life mixed is 6 months. If kept in a full bottle or something you can limit the amount of air Xtol can last well beyond the 6 month date. Ive used Xtol in to the 8-9 month age and never had any issues.

It only says shelf life is 2 months if you keep it stored in a half filled bottle.

If you store it correctly Xtol can last a long time. I think the big issue with it is mixing and storing 5L at a time.

[Francois]

Just thinking... isn't Kentmere made by Ilford?

My guess is that it will be just as good as HP5 for pushing... and HP5 pushes just as good as Tri-X...

[hookstrapped]

Two months shelf life

I've gotten about 6 to 8 months with Xtol in well sealed bottles.

I'm going by what the label says and the fact that I used a four month old batch (kept in a bottle with a lot of air) that developed my film as well as lukewarm water and spit.

Straight from Kodak's PDF it says that shelf life mixed is 6 months. If kept in a full bottle or something you can limit the amount of air Xtol can last well beyond the 6 month date. Ive used Xtol in to the 8-9 month age and never had any issues.

It only says shelf life is 2 months if you keep it stored in a half filled bottle.

If you store it correctly Xtol can last a long time. I think the big issue with it is mixing and storing 5L at a time.

How do you keep it in a filled bottle if you periodically use some of it?  As soon as I use some, the remaining is in a "half-filled" bottle -- maybe not half, but you get my point, in a bottle with air in it.

[Urban Hafner]

Yes, it's made by Ilford François. I think I'll just try it and see how it pans out.

[Indofunk]

How do you keep it in a filled bottle if you periodically use some of it?  As soon as I use some, the remaining is in a "half-filled" bottle -- maybe not half, but you get my point, in a bottle with air in it.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/5141-Arista-Air-Evac-Bottle-1-Liter

People have also suggested marbles to me. I have not tried either of those solutions.

[Hungry Mike]

How do you

Marbles or use a collapsible container, like the one Satish linked to or something like a collapsible wine or water bag (like you might use for camping).

[gsgary]

HP5 iso1600 developed in DDX
https://flic.kr/p/cVpuzY

[Indofunk]

HP5 iso1600 developed in DDX
https://flic.kr/p/cVpuzY

That's a great shot. Maybe I'll try pushing some HP5 in Rodinal.

[gsgary]

One more at 1600 ddx, I also shoot it at 800 in daylight you get some great contrast

https://flic.kr/p/cGmx8A

[gsgary]

HP5 iso1600 developed in DDX
https://flic.kr/p/cVpuzY

That's a great shot. Maybe I'll try pushing some HP5 in Rodinal.

Thank you

[Peter84]

Rodinal and pushing film just doesn't seem to work for me, way too grainy. Ilford films seems to suffer a bit more from this (in my experience) Xtol is my first choice of developer as well. €8-9 for a pack to make 5L, great stuff! If you've got time why not buy bulk and go for double-x, recently I loaded about 10 rolls from a 400ft roll, but I'm still playing with the Holga 120WPC so haven't had time for that, you know what would be nice.... Double-X in MF.... I would give a kidney for that 
I seem to be digressing a bit.... what were we talking about again 

[Urban Hafner]

Double-X is a film I've considered, but it's really hard to get here in Europe. And it's obviously much more expensive that Kentmere (49€ for 100ft).

[gsgary]

Double-X is a film I've considered, but it's really hard to get here in Europe. And it's obviously much more expensive that Kentmere (49€ for 100ft).

I picked up 300 feet for £69 a few months ago

[gsgary]

I fancy some Orwo N74 after shooting UN54

[Nigel]

Is new Orwo available in cassettes, or only bulk rolls?


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[gsgary]

Is new Orwo available in cassettes, or only bulk rolls?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Only bulk

[Hungry Mike]

I'd love to try the Orwo films but they are difficult to find over here in North America. Perhaps we can work out a swap?

[Urban Hafner]

Is new Orwo available in cassettes, or only bulk rolls?

You can buy it pre-rolled from here: http://ntphotoworks.com/shop/product/kodak-double-x-5222/

[Urban Hafner]

Whoops, that link was for Double-X. They do however also sell Orwo N74: http://ntphotoworks.com/shop/product/orwo-n74-approx-35mm-27-exp-legendary/

[Nigel]

Whoops, that link was for Double-X. They do however also sell Orwo N74: http://ntphotoworks.com/shop/product/orwo-n74-approx-35mm-27-exp-legendary/

Thanks Urban, I didn't even know that shop existed, it's only about 40 miles from me. I might have to make a trip there one day soon. 

[hookstrapped]

How do you keep it in a filled bottle if you periodically use some of it?  As soon as I use some, the remaining is in a "half-filled" bottle -- maybe not half, but you get my point, in a bottle with air in it.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/5141-Arista-Air-Evac-Bottle-1-Liter

People have also suggested marbles to me. I have not tried either of those solutions.

Need to get a couple of the 2-liters