Kodak HIE infrared film, How to reduce contrast?

[brian hanson]

Does anyone know how to reduce contrast in this film. I have been

giving it 6 minutes in Tmax developer and it is very contrasty even

when the photo is taken in low contrast light. Has anyone ever

diluted Tmax developer? If so, how much and how much should I

extend the time. Reducing grain would be nice sometimes but what I

want is more latitude and less contrast.

Also, this last batch that I developed has some light spots on

the negatives. They are not blisters, or at least they are not open

if they are because the spots are not black on the print, just a bit

darker. What caused this? I used fresh stop bath and fixer. The

developer was mixed about a month ago but has been kept in a bottle

with no air in it and has only developed about four rolls of film.

The negatives otherwise are fine and well developed. Thanks for any

help offered.<div></div>

[User_502260]

Your ability to reduce grain with HIE will be limited. If you use a developer with too much grain reduction you will affect sharpness. A for the dark spots, they look to me like air bubbles. If the tank is not agitated sufficiently when the developer is poured in, air bubbles may stick to parts of the film. These parts will not get developed but they will be fixed later. The fixer would make these undeveloped spots clear on the negative and they would print up as dark spots.

 

If I read the postings correctly, Konica has discontinued its infrared black & white film. If you can still find some in 120 size then you will get better grain for a given print size than 35mm IR film. You may be able to get one of the MACO IR films in 120 size. Try Freestyle [www.freestylephoto.biz] or jandc.

[lex_jenkins]

I haven't shot any infrared film since I was in school but if I were going to now and wanted reduced contrast I'd use a developer that provides moderate contrast with other films I typically use. That would be Diafine and Microphen. Both are also speed enhancing developers, tho' the amount of speed enhancement from Diafine varies from film to film and can be unpredictable with certain films.

 

Neither developer is a low grain developer, tho'. With most of the films I use Diafine increases grain. With some films Microphen increases grain slightly but it's usually acceptable and often unnoticeable in print.

 

Opinions vary about how to use developers to minimize contrast. In my experience less agitation with longer intervals between agitations helps reduce contrast.

[zachariah_edwardson]

I think that Konica still making IR film, just that currently they are on the low spot, as they make only one run a year, and it runs really low till they make a new batch.

 

 

Then agian, I might be totally wrong...

[lowell_huff1]

Tmax Developer is a high contrast developer. Use a low contrast developer like Clayton Extend plus Developer.

[rustys pics]

A couple of years ago I ran some Kodak HIE through Kodak Microdol-X developer.

I did not dilute the developer, and used a time of 17 minutes at 68 Degrees F.

I got some of the best negs I have ever seen with HIE. Low contrast, full tones, and decent

grain size.

Check this site:

http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~rrosener/Main.html

 

TMAX developer would be my last choice for this film, as it is way too "hot".

[tom_musselman]

Different developers give different contrast. However XTOL gives you some control based on development time. This isn't true of the other developers I have tried, where longer times just increase grain without increasing contrast. And XTOL has a pretty low minimum contrast. I suggest you run some test rolls through it.

 

You can see a chart of Contrast Index versus development times on the Kodak technical sheet for HIE:

 

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f13/f13.pdf

[chris_waller]

The spots are due to air bubbles on the surface of the film in the early stages of development. I recommend a pre-soak to ensure the film is thoroughly wetted before you pour in the developer.

 

To control contrast I suggest you try Rodinal at 1:50, 20 C, 11 minutes. Four inversions of the tank in the first 30 seconds, one inversion at the end of the first minute then one inversion every minute after that.

 

HIE is naturally contrasty and since it is generally shot in bright sunlight the probelm is exaggerated, but the above will at least limit the contrast.

[ivan_dzo]

the spots are probably air bubbles, but there are a lot of them all at even sizes. Don't forget that if your camera pressure palte has dimples in it, these will show up on the film, because of the lack of antihalation backing. these normally look in a more regular pattern however, so bubbles it is. Try the pre-soak.

[andrew_oneill]

The dark spots could be due to either bubbles on the film as previously mentioned, or pin holes in the emulsion due to acid stop bath. Try a mild stop bath. I found that if I used expired film, pin holes would form in the emulsion. Make sure you have fairly fresh film on hand.

 

To reduce contrast expose film at EI 50 and develop in dilute developer such as xtol 1+3. You'll have to test to find the correct time. This EI is with a wratten #25 filter, and reduced agitation. 5 seconds/2 minutes. I always got nice negatives with this procedure.

[bobmichaels]

I find that HC110 Dil B for 6 mins gives me ideal negs. Also got great results from D76. Maybe you just have a developer that won't work well with HIE.

 

I find HIE prone to air bubbles so just really bang the tank hard to dislodge them. Also give a couple of really vigorous agitations at the beginning.

 

The solution to the grain problem is shoot it in 120 instead of 35mm. That obviously is not the solution for anyone who only shoots 35mm. But 120 HIE is wonderful. Available from www.davidromano.com but not from Kodak. Go there and read why.