Which Rodinol dilution

[cmonkey]

I just purchased a bunch of Rodinol from Freestyle. Now what?:)

 

There is very little data given with the developer. What will be the

practical difference between the 1:25 and 1:50 dilutions using 120 and

4x5 Acros, FP5, FP4, and Delta 400? Is one more grainy than the other?

Does one produce more contrast (1:25 I presume)? Does one print easier

and produce better tonality?

 

I'm a little rusty in the darkroom but have had good luck with Ilford

DD-X. I just thought I would expand my horizons with Rodinol.

 

Also, how accurate is the MDC in your experience? Just a starting

point? Thank you!

 

Cheryl

[larry h-l]

Cheryl,

 

If you do a search for Rodinal, you should see several users times and temps.

 

I have a data sheet from Photographers' Formulary that lists starting points for their

Paraminophenol (Rodinal type) developer. It lists 1:100 for 12 mins @ 68 regardless of film

type as the starting point.

 

Hope this helps.

[paulh]

Hi

 

WhatI do is use the MDC as a starting point, and cross reference that to some other web sources. So far, that has worked for me.

 

The higher the dilutions, the less the grain. I have standardised on 1+100 dilution, as the times and temperatures are less critical, and the results nice and sharp with little grain. The tonality seems better at the higher dilutions, and it helps with contrasty film & subjects.

 

I have used this dilution with Efke 25 / 100, Acros, FP4, Foma, Agfa 100 / 400 and one or two others in 120, 9x12 and 4x5. If I can't find info for a particular film at 1+100, 18-20 minutes is a good starting point.

 

Paul

[kaiyen]

Cheryl,

 

Let me see if I can get all the stuff in my head lined up...

 

Rodinal is a non-solvent developer. That means that higher dilutions will give you better film speed while giving better contrast control (though you may have to use decreased agitation to do that). You also get better edge sharpness via edge effects. You can get actual halos if you use really, really low agitation.

 

The prints will have much sharper grain - the entire negative is a lot sharper, which does make it look more grainy. But I personally think that sharp grain is a lot different than lots of big, blobby grain.

 

allan

[chris_waller]

I use Rodinal at 1:50 to give me longer dev times and thus finer control over development. Having said that I generally downrate film. I rate Acros at 50 ASA and dev in Rodinal 1:50, 20 C, 8 minutes. HP5 at 160 ASA, Rodinal 1:50, 20 C, 9 minutes. Delta 400 at 160 ASA, Rodinal 1:50,20 C, 6 minutes. All times are for a diffuser head enlarger.

[lukaszenko]

After many experiment with Rodinal (made by FOMA) FOMADON, I develop B&W films as follow:

 

Fomadon R 09 (Rodinal) 1:100 Temp 20 deg C.

 

Agfa APX 100 (120 film) 30 min.

8ml Rodinal + 800ml water solution for 2 rolls of 120 film

 

Fuji Acros (120 film) 35 min.

8ml Rodinal + 800ml water, solution for 2 rolls of 120 film

 

Kodak T-Max 100 (35mm) 30min

Kodak T-Max 400 (35mm) 33min

 

Delution of 1:100 create very soft, with very good details and low grain negatives.

I allow a minimum of 4ml rodinal for one roll of film develop in the same time.

[cmonkey]

Thank you all! I just ran my first batch of Acros 100, 120 in Rodinol at 1:100 for 18 minutes. The negatives look beautiful! I can't wait to print them tonight. Thanks for all your help. The 1:100 dilution, while time consuming, is certainly economical!

 

Cheryl