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Dark Negative - 120 Format Agfa APX100 in Rodinal 1+50 - Normal?


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Just processed a roll of 120 format APX100 in Rodinal 1+50 for

13 minutes at 68F. Agitated for the first 30 seconds. Then, 2-3

agitattions every 30 seconds. 30 secs. stop and 5 minutes fix.

 

The negative appears dark and thicker than usual. The portraits on

the negative appears contrasty. In the drying process, the strip

curled.

 

The scenes on the roll are landscape and environmental portrait in a

sunny morning (8-10am)in May.

 

I ever processed APX100 and found the negative is pretty thin. But

his one is thicker. Did I agitate too much? 3 agitations instead

of 2?

 

What do I have to pay attention when printing? Thanks.

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A single anomaly rarely indicates a problem with materials. It's more likely that there was some variation in exposure, developer dilution, development time and/or temperature, and agitation.

 

If there was a combination of as little as two deviations from your standard practice - such as more exposure than usual combined with longer development or development at a higher temperature - you'd see a difference in your negatives.

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The black on the edges does not sound right.. But first off..

<P>

I suspect, among other things, that you agitated too much. With 30 sec. agitation of Rodinal its sufficient to invert the tank once. If you want to invert twice (for about 5 seconds) then I'd cut back on the development time to 11 minutes. With Rodinal I like it very slightly more dilute (1+60 or even 1+75 depending upon film) and 2x inversion (some films 3x) every 60 seconds.

<P>

While developing can account for a bit.. its probably not your inversion or dilution of Rodinal but perhaps the more significant issue was the lighting that morning. How did you meter the light? On a Sunny day in May @ 10 AM here, for instance, the light can be quite harsh with the sun already quite high in sky. If you used a reflective meter did you measure from a gray card? Compensate for high and low?

<P>

"<cite>the strip curled.</cite>"? Does not sound too extraordinary.. or was it perhaps stored in a hot car and what you have is not high contrast but loads of base fog? Have you done a proof sheet of the negatives?

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Darkness along the edges of the negs suggests fogging due to light getting in. Was the roll tightly wound after exposure? The curling of the film during drying is nothing unusual. The difference in your agitation regime would not account for any great difference in overall density. A scan of the negs would be useful to aid diagnosis.
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How did you measure your Rodinal? If not in a syringe, it's tough to get within

a couple mils of what you want, even with a small graduated cylinder. How

you read the placement of the meniscus is going to make a big difference.

 

If you did use a syringe, then I would guess agitation. Agree with the above,

three inversions every thirty seconds is nearly constant agitation!

 

Sorry I am not familiar with your film in this developer, I do not know what

ballpark EI/time/temp/dilution/agitation is.

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Agitation would not explain the difference -- the effect would be more subtle. Developing time would affect contrast but not average density, which you say is high ("thick"). Developer concentration could be but you would have to err as crazy, by a factor of two or so.

 

That leaves exposure as the most likely explanation. Heat fogging would give lower contrast IMO but could not be discarded.

 

Emulsion covers the whole film, therefore edge fogging means light input where you did not wanted it, most likely from a roll that caught the sun (120 is not very good in screening light).

 

Silly question but it is not APX400 instead of 100, right? (it has happened to me...)

 

How did the edge numbers and legends come out? Are spaces between frames 100 % clear?

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Agfa developing times are wildly overstated. I recommend Rodinal 1:100 for 10 minutes printed at grade 2.5. If you are unhappy with this density try a 25% increase or decrease. If you exposing and developing correctly your print should be where you want it to be at a normal grade between 2-3.
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