Fixer to use with Rodianl for pan f

I am currently shooting a lot of Ilford Pan f. I have jsut recently

been given some darkroom equiptment and want to start developing my

film at home. I plan on using Rodinal for the film developer but

after reading a lot of posts regarding fixer am unsure about which

one to use. Any suggestions? Stop bath, any suggestions.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks,

Gary

You can use any stop bath (including vinegar) and fixer. However, I highly recommend an all-alkaline process. This means a water rinse instead of stop and an alkaline fixer such as TF-4 from Photographers Formulary. When using an all-alkiline process you can skip the hypo clear as well. Alkaline washes out of film and paper better and faster than acids do and is less stressful on the film and paper.

I can't see any reason to complicate things -- therefor use about 5 rinses of water instead of stop then any rapid fixer for <I>twice the period of time it takes for a snipped piece of film leader to clear</I>.<P>I've done many hundreds of rolls of film this way and it works for me.<P>And which rapid fix do I use? <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=253199&is=REG"><b>This</b></a> has a very long shelf life when mixed 1+4.<P>I have a friend who uses some mixed well over a year ago. She does the snipped leader test and the fix clears the film in about 45 seconds.

Any fixer will do. Instead of stop bath, I use two water rinses, then fix in Ilford Rapid Fix (1:4 dilution).

Gary, everyone has his special secret magic formula for every phase of black and white photography. It will make your head spin. So I will resist the urge to talk about mine.

 

Your best bet is to go to the film manufacturer for proper advice. Ilford's website is just loaded with helpful technical pdf product information files: http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html

 

Do what they tell you and you won't have a problem. Although Rodinal is a nifty developer and an excellent choice for your film, especially in small formats. Experiment with weaker dilutions and reduced agitation for a superb tight salt and pepper grain pattern.

 

Ilfords stop bath is cheap and (unlike Kodak's) has very little objectionable odor. Their rapid fixer is an easy to mix liquid, very fast acting, can be used for both film and prints. What is not to like?

<i><blockquote> h Rodinal is a nifty developer and an excellent choice for your film,

especially in small formats. </blockquote> </i><p>

 

I love it in medium format (esp. w/ Agfapan) but find it too grainy for most uses in

35mm.

I second Jim Vanson: TF-4 fixer is the stuff to use.

Selecting a fixer is by far not as critical as selecting a developer. ANY fixer you find on your lab shop shelf will do the job. I would recommend rapid fixer (I use Tetenal Superfix) which will save some time. A standard fixer needs 7 to 10 minutes to fix a roll, while a rapid fixer needs 2 to 4 minutes only. I prefer liquid fixer to powders.

 

Also selecting a stop bath (if you want to use one) is not very critical. You can even buy it in the drugstore. Concentrated vinegar has approx. 25 p.c. acid (at least over here in Germany). Dilute it 1+9, and you have a stop bath with approx. 2.5 p.c. acid. The stuff in the lab shop is not much different except for the price.

 

After watering I would strictly recommend a detergent bath. It helps drying the film much faster without any stripes or water stains. I use Agfa Agepon but again any other brand will do the job just as good. From previous experiences I think it's not a good idea to save a few cents per roll by using a dishwashing detergent as replacement.

Since Rodinal contains no carbonate an acid stop bath will be fine. As for fixer, avoid hardening fixers. Try Ilford Hypam/Rapid fixer.

Following Winfrieds suggestion: the vinegar comes in different flavors- so you could use different flavors for different films and later identify the film in the darkroom without a lightbox .-)