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Different ways of processing Kodak Tech Pan


willscarlett

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I got a few rolls of Tech Pan from a teacher of mine and while I haven't shot any yet, I was looking up the

best way to develop it - he said the developer Technidol is specifically for Tech Pan, but some other

developers also yield good results. I was wondering if anyone has examples of images they've shot on

Tech Pan and developed in various soups, such as Technidol, Rodinal, D-76, Dektol, C-41?

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It depends on what you want to do with it. For normal picture use, you want the Technidol. I've tried a roll or two in D76, and it gives very high contrast- may look neat for certain images, but not for a normal picture (the "brick man" shot in my portfolio is a combination of 2 images, and the face was Tech Pan in D76).
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I've used many different developers for TP, including: Technidol, TD-3, 510-Pyro, and various one-off developers. For me, 510-Pyro is the easiest to use, and produces the best results most consistently. TP is a very thin emulsion film, and does not respond well to high sulfite developers like D-76, or even Xtol, sacrificing sharpness and getting too mushy for my taste. 510-Pyro is sulfite-free, and the tanning action enhances sharpness and definition, without sacrificing gradation. High contrast is very easy to acheive with TP and just about any developer, it's low contrast that is the challenge. I use 510-Pyro 1:500/20min/70F/semi-stand. Good luck.

 

Jay<div>00ITAk-33018184.jpg.802f36aed88837a8fcf3fae232bef26b.jpg</div>

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Thin, fine grained emulsions won't do well with a solvent developer unless highly diluted. The Rodinal proponents have it right, although you'll find that a higher dilution and less agitaiton will do a better job at controlling the inherently high contrast of Tech Pan and similar films. The massive developement chart has dilutions as high as 1:300 listed, some with a bit of sodium sulfite added which will improve apparent film speed, but I think that 1:200 without additives and with good agitation every 3-4 minutes will work a bit better. Rodinal doesn't suffer from bromide drag, and with no sulfite to dissolve the silver grains, replating also isn't an issue.
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Does the same info stand true for other thin emulsion films, such as the Rollei Pan 25? I've

only shot two rolls - and mind you, zero rolls of Tech Pan - but to me, the Rollei 25 emulsion

looks very thin. Would that film also be better developed in a highly diluted developer? So far

I've been doing it in straight D-76. What about the Efke 25?

 

Other inputs on Tech Pan are still welcome.

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Hello John-Paul, et al

 

My best results for Tech Pan have always been with(and I still have a few rolls in the freezer) Rodinal 1:100, 6.5 min,68F, 6 min 70F, 5.5 min 72F, 5min 75F, all at ASA/ISO 50 under normal lighting conditions.

 

Under all conditions at 68F try these: SHADOWLESS lighting, ASA 125, 12 min. FLAT lighting, ASA 100, 8.5min. NORMAL lighting, ASA 50, 6.5min. CONTRASTY lighting, ASA 32, 5.5 min. VERY CONTRASTY dlighting, ASA 24, 4.5 min.

 

If I'm not mistaken, this film was created as Kodak Shell Burst Pan for the government and researchers. They set up a low contrast developer and sold it to photographers as Tech Pan in order to create enough production to warrant making it.

 

Best regards,

 

Lynn

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