Pan F Plus exposed at EI 25 by error !!! what developer/time to apply ?

[eric_escolano]

Oh no ! I've just become aware that the whole roll (35 mm) I've shot today has been overexposed !

It is Ilford Pan F Plus (iso 50) that has been shot as if it was iso 25.

I normally use Tetenal Ultrafin Plus or Tetenal Negafin, but I just can't find an adequate time for such exposition with this film and developers (I may also have acces to Rodinal at my photo club).

I've read that some of you intentionnaly exopose this film at this rating (25 iso), but I just can't get to understand why ? What do the results look like in comparison with the same film shot at 50 iso ?

What is the point in using it at 25 iso ?

I would like to have feedback from such users, so as to be able to process my film correctly. Any advice is welcome !

Many many thanks for helping me saving my beloved pictures !

Eric, 21-year-old french amateur photograph.

[philip_glass]

Eric, do not be concerned. Pan F can be exposed at a number of

speeds and the best results will not necessarily be at EI50. I

suggest you check the giant development chart at

www.digitaltruth.com. It lists a number of developers that have been

tested with PanF at EI 25. Ultimately you should experiment to find

your own best exposure/time variant.

[john lehman, college alask]

Exposed at EI 25 the shadow detail will be better and the grain a

little larger (not a big deal with PanF). Develop it normally,

unless the stuff you shot was high contrast in which case cut

development time by 10-20%

[eric_escolano]

Thank you guys for contributing your answers !

 

<p>

 

Anyway, iso 25 is "only" 1 stop more than iso 50, so it doesn't

result in such a huge overexposure... I agree with John, and I guess

that processing it the way I use to will give me a quite printable

result, and anyway, I prefer to adjust my printing conditions rather

than my film developing ones... perhaps I'll get a more contrasty

negative but why use variable contrast paper if you don't use its

variable contast properties ?

 

<p>

 

I remember having shot the 3 first frames of a roll of HP5 at iso 25

(the remaining frames at iso 400) : I processed the stuff as usual,

and I still managed to acceptably print these 3 very overexposed (4

stops) and contrasty frames...

 

<p>

 

What I'm interested in is to understand why some of you will shoot

Pan F Plus at iso 25 rather than at iso 50 ? I just can't get to

understand why ! (whereas I understand the interest and disadventages

of pushing a film).

 

<p>

 

What about Tetenal products in the USA ? You don't seem to have an

easy acces to them, whereas they are very common here in Europe... I

couldn't find a lot of tetenal-related discussions on this forum... I

am very pleasd with them : I use "Negafin" and "Ultrafin Plus" as

film developers, and "Work" variable contrast RC paper (the cheapest

I could find).

 

<p>

 

Once again thank you for answering me... see you !

Eric.

[steve_bell4]

On a similar theme, would exposing Pan F+ at 25 ASA and then

underdeveloping give me a lower contrast negative better suited

for scanning, or should I go for 50 ASA and the recommended

developing? I was intending to use ID11 as I do with Iford Delta

films.

 

Steve Bell

[klaus.sailer]

I used to do EXP25/DEV- (and EXP100/DEV+ too) on Ilford PanF and FP4 some years ago, since then i am no longer doing B/W because of my digital equipment and time restrictions.

 

As far as i remember, you should get harder results from overexposing and underdeveloping because some of the softness on your negatives (lower contrast on hard lights) comes from the unequal use of developer during the film development. (This actually depends on your rotation intervals too, because the developer gets somewhere else on the film when you rotate). If the developer stays longer there, the lights won't get that much more developing as the shadows.

 

Or am i wrong here? I didn't do that for a long time.

 

On the intentional shifting of film exposure:

If you want to get the most out of your negatives, or if you want to optimize your process to have best density values for enlarging and getting good prints, you should calibrate the exposure and your materials. Depending on your preferences you may end up with other exposure settings than those given on the film box.

 

I remember that i needed a month or so, measuring negative density (shadow/midtones/lights) and fiddling with the developing times on the film to get my settings right.

[klaus.sailer]

After digging out my books about the zone system i realise i was wrong. Longer development generally gives harder contrast, shorter development gives lower contrast... provided you correct for the medium grey with adversely correcting the exposure.

For further reading i'd recommend Fischer-Piel

"Das Zonensystem in der Schwarzweiss- und Farbfotografie"

(i don't know the english title)

[andy_ly1]

I just want to add my findings for Pan F. I've done an EI test with this film and use it extensively. The EI I've come up with is ISO 20 developed in D-76 1:2 for 8.5 minutes. I've checked and double checked this with a densitometer. Hope this helps.

[m0002a]

Most TTL meters and automatic exposure cameras do not expose B&W film correctly anyway, so one stop more exposure may not be a problem (unless the camera is already overexposing by several stops�but it is usually the opposite problem). Unless you understand the fundamentals of manual film exposure, this may be difficult to understand, but there are many good books on this the zone system and the fundamentals of exposure in your library or bookstore.

 

OTOH, if you do understand how to manually meter and expose film correctly, then (as already said by others above) then an EI of 25 may work out just fine.