B&W Developing Agfa Rodinal versus Tetenal Emofin

I'm just starting with my own labortory. From literature I read a lot

positive about developing films with Tetenal Emofin, which is a bit

time consuming with the two step process.

In the MF guide AGFA Rodinal has a good reputation. The films mostly

used by me are AGFA APX 25, 100 and Fortepan 100, 200. Up to now I

have some experiences with Emofin.

Who can tell me something about the pros and cons: Rodinal <-> Emofin?

Over the last 30 years, I have used many B&W developers, but not Emofin. Rodinal is one of my all time favorites for it's ease of use, one time use, and consistent results if your preferred recipe is followed. My all time favorites are Agfa Rodinal, Ilford ID-11 or Kodak D-76, Kodak HC110. I occasionally use others for T-Max and Tri-X pushing etc, and I'm sure there are many combinations that are preferred by others. My favorites are "easy to use" and "consistent".

Hi Manfred, I have had EXCELLENT success with Rodinal and a variety of films including TMAX, also my regular developer which is HC110. Good Luck!

Manfred, XTOL is the current state of the art solvent developer from Kodak using ascorbic acid vs hydroquinone. XTOL is the safest developing agent for humans and environment. It has a 1/3 - 1/2 stop speed increase with reduced grain vs D-76 developed films. XTOL is a solvent developer until deluted 1:2 or 1:3. XTOL 1:3 offers a speed increase and unusually high sharpness for a solvent developer, however Rodinal and HC-110 are sharper. XTOL 1:3 compensates similar to Rodinal 1:50. XTOL is a one shot developer. Works great with small format to reduce grain. Emofin is not available in my area so I can't compare. I use Rodinal in medium format when I want more accutance and Xtol when I want a solvant developer. Xtol 1:3 is highly recommended for T-Max films. Xtol keeps well, mixes at room temperatures and can be replenished if you run a lab.

I am a long-time user of Rodinal. I know no other developer so robust and reliable. I use it with T-Max 100 rated at 50 ASA, diluted 1+49, 20 C, 7 1/2 minutes. It delivers remarkably fine grain. It can also be used at higher dilutions to give a more pronounced compensating effect. It also gives unparalleled sharpness.

For decades I have been a fan of Emofin. I have never understood why it wasn't more popular. Maybe it's the powder necessary for the mix, maybe the two baths. Anyway, Emofin delivers extremely fine grain and enhanced speed, about 1.5 stops. It also gives many films a very pleasing gradation which is especially suitable for portraits. The shadows are well differentiated and there is a wide range of middle tones. You just need to be careful with the highlights. A standard is to use Emofin with HP5 or TXPan and expose them at 800 or 1600 ASA. 1000ASA is a good compromise. Emofin also works well with the slower Ilford films, PanF, and FP4. By the way, Emofin works best if you don't use a stop bath but fix right after the 2nd developer. It's a little exhausting on the fixative but best for the film.

Like the last message, I can't understand why Emofin isn't more popular outside the eastern bloc.

 

Looking back at all my negs last night, I realised that most of my best pics were on TMAX 100 developed in Emofin. Used Emofin for years with Tri-X (and still do) - gives very smooth grain, lovely tonalities, excellent sharpness for the speed and 800 ASA. In theory, Emofin shouldn't be as successful with thin emulsioned films like TMAX and Delta 100, because the emulsion can't hold so much chemical. But in my experience, the results belie the theory. With TMAX especially, the (35mm) negs have been biting sharp, the grain tiny, and the tonal scale all I wanted. The only word of caution is that highlights may block up because the developer exhausts there - this is the intention of a 2-bath developer, after all. My solution to this is through use of a yellow filter to exaggerate separation before pressing the button.

 

Never used Rodinal, so can't compare, but for me, ID-11 and TMAX developer don't even come close to Emofin for those 100 ISO films - negs seem fuzzy and lacking in bite.