Ilfosol3

<p>Hi there,</p>

<p>I have started to shoot black and white film again after a break for almost 20 year. Thus, consider me a complete beginner.</p>

<p>I decided to limit myself to Ilford Pan F+ for tripod work and Ilford HP5+ for handheld to learn to appreciate the characteristics of those films before I move on.</p>

<p>The fact sheets from Ilford recommend Ilfotec DD-X (among others). I also fina a lot of praise on-line for the classic developers such as Rodinal, D-76 and ID-11 etc.</p>

<p>However, due to new regulations, my on-line store is reluctant to ship some of those across borders. Thus, they recommended me Ilfosol 3, which supposedly contain only harmless chemicals.</p>

<p>However, the on-line reviews seem mainly lukewarm or negative, mainly complaining about too high contrast.</p>

<p>For my purposes I consider the negative to be the analogue equivalent of a RAW file. Thus, I seek an optimum combination of sharpness, level of detail and dynamic range.</p>

<p>Does anyone on this forum have experience with Ilfosol 3?</p>

<p>Groet,</p>

<p>Jonas</p>

<p>Hi, tons of experince with both Ilfosol 3 and Ilfotec DD-X. For my purposes, they are virtually interchangable. I have never noticed any problems with excessive contrast using Ilfosol 3.</p>

<p>No personal experience. I used Ilfosol-S several years ago and found it to be a very good developer for slow speed films, ISO 125 and slower.</p>

<p>There may be other developers that would pass muster for shipping but it may not be worth the aggravation to debate it with bureaucrats who are just doing a dreary job.</p>

<p>Regarding contrast, that's controlled through development. If it seems too high, just cut back on the developing time until you get the results you want. If the time seems uncomfortably short at the usual 20c temperature, lowering the temperature slightly can help give us a little more leeway for pour times to minimize the risk of uneven development.</p>

<p>At the risk of sounding curmudgeonly, it's seldom a good idea to rely solely or primarily on web forum chatter for getting started with new products, or new-to-you products and the basic techniques. That includes this forum and my own suggestions.</p>

<p>It's usually best to refer to the manufacturer's own instructions for specific products, and to standard texts for good darkroom practices. Once you know the basics you have a good starting point to vary from the basics to suit your preferences, or to try techniques suggested by folks on discussion forums.</p>

<p>I loved Ilfosol S, but had problems when I tried Ilfosol 3 that may have been due to the shorter times with Ilfosol 3 (not contrast ones, btw). I switched to DD-X and haven't had those problems. I'm surprised that they'd ship the Ilfosol 3 and not DD-X? Both are liquids, if that's their issue. <br>

And I agree with Lex about adjusting contrast with technique in development and about trying it yourself before judging. </p>

<p>I see Ilford's recommended time for Pan F+ in Ilfosol 3 is quite short, 4 min 30 sec. That's uncomfortably short for rollfilm tank and reel development. Even at the 1+14 dilution the time for Pan F+ is quite short. So is FP4+ at the 1+9 solution.</p>

<p>To cope with such a short time I'd try the open tank in the dark trick.</p>

<ol>

<li>Prefill the tank with the developer solution. Leave the lid off.</li>

<li>Load the film in the dark as usual.</li>

<li>Still in the dark, carefully place the reel in the prefilled tank.</li>

<li>Put the lid on the tank, agitate normally and turn on the lights.</li>

<li>Process as usual for the rest.</li>

</ol>

<p>If the Pan F+ negatives still seem too contrasty (and Pan F+ can be a fussy film), try minimizing the pour time by turning off the lights to dump the exhausted developer quickly, rather than the slow pouring from some metal tank/lids.</p>

<p>An alternative might be to use an even more dilute solution, but this would require some testing on unimportant film. Also, a solution of Ilfosol 3 more dilute than 1+14 would probably require a larger overall volume of solution, as much as a full two-reel tankful for only a single roll, to minimize the risk of prematurely exhausted developer.</p>

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Thanks for good comments and advice!</p>

<p>Groet,</p>

<p>Jonas</p>