Setting up a darkroom in a tropical climate

[robert_grasing]

Dan,

 

6 minutes at 80F in straight Microdol-X seems too long for me. I would have guessed 3.5 to 4 minutes. But if the negatives look and print well for you, that must be the right time.

 

I develop my HP5+ in Perceptol 1+3 (nearly the same as Microdol-X 1+3) for just 7 minutes at 27C (slightly higher than 80F). One reason for using Microdol-X or Perceptol at 1+3 at high temperatures is that the developing times are reasonable: not too short, not too long.

 

The differences between straight Microdol-X and 1+3?

 

Straight:

 

--one stop loss of film speed compared to a standard developer, eg D76

 

--extremely fine grain

 

1+3:

 

--normal film speed, or slightly less

 

--grain not as fine as straight Microdol-X, but still very fine

 

--adjacency effects: the fine details look sharper

 

 

 

Microdol-X/Perceptol at 80F, compared to 68F:

 

--slight increase in film speed, about 1/3 stop

 

--slightly more noticeable grain

 

 

 

 

Anyway, whatever you use, it'll take some fine tuning. But it is possible to get excellent negatives at 80F without using special developers or developing techniques.

[dan_mccormack2]

Heh, actually, I guess I'm not yet a good judge of film density. It turns out this roll is quite a bit thinner than the first one; so much so that I had trouble determining where each frame ends when cutting the negatives. The scan turns out very dark and needs extensive levels adjustment to be visible. The way I understand it, that means it was <em>under</em>developed, right?<br /><br />

 

Or underexposed, I guess. I <em>am</em> shooting these with a Holga, so there's no way to be sure they were exposed correctly in the first place. But the conditions were similar to the previous days, so I don't think that was the problem.<br /><br />

 

The end of Ansel Adam's book <i>The Negative</i> describes how to perform film speed and development time tests, but they all seem to revolve around using a densitometer to judge film density, and I don't have access to one. Is there a method available to those of us without thousands of dollars of darkroom equipment?

[dan_mccormack2]

BTW, the second roll is <a href="http://binrock.net/photos/?rid=655">here</a>.

[robert_grasing]

Dan, I don't know anything about Holgas. Is it a box camera? One shutter speed, one aperture?

 

If your negatives are very thin yet have, more or less, most of the details from highlight to shadow, then I'd say the negative is underdeveloped.

 

If the shadows are mostly clear film base (ie, there's nothing there), then the film was underexposed.

 

If the shadows are clear, and the highlights pale gray, then it's likely both underexposed and underdeveloped.

 

 

You developed the HP5 in straight Microdol-X, that is, undiluted, for 6 minutes at 80F. According to Ilford's HP5 information, that should be about right, or close, anyway.

 

I think you might have to first use a camera with standard shutter speeds and aperture stops to calibrate your film development, then go back to the Holga.

[dan_mccormack2]

<i>"Dan, I don't know anything about Holgas. Is it a box camera? One shutter speed, one aperture?"</i><br /><br />

 

Basically. It's a plastic toy camera, 120 format. Two apertures (f/8-ish and f/11-ish) and two shutter speeds (1/100-ish or bulb). No metering. Definitely not the ideal camera for performing exposure and development tests :)<br /><br />

 

<i>"If your negatives are very thin yet have, more or less, most of the details from highlight to shadow, then I'd say the negative is underdeveloped."</i><br /><br />

 

Yeah, that's what it looks like. The data is very compressed towards the left on the histogram, but once I set my highlight and shadow points in Levels, a reasonably normal image results.<br /><br />

 

<i>"I think you might have to first use a camera with standard shutter speeds and aperture stops to calibrate your film development, then go back to the Holga."</i><br /><br />

 

Yeah, I guess I'll have to order some 35mm HP5+ from B&H. It's frustrating that the only decent photo lab I've found here in Puerto Rico only carries Kodak products.<br /><br />

 

Based on your descriptions above, Microdol-X 1+3 sounds like the combination I want to use, so I'll work on finding a good development time for that. The dev chart at digitaltruth.net says 25 minutes for HP5+ in Microdol-X 1+3 at 68F, so I'll adjust for 80F and use that as a starting point. I guess I could try filling a roll with the same image over and over again, and cut up the roll in the dark and develop just one part of it at a time, to keep from wasting a whole roll on each trial.<br /><br />

 

I really appreciate your continued help. I can imagine my constant questions are becoming tiring :) I'm trying to figure things out for myself as much as possible rather than come here and ask every little question I have. Thanks.

[robert_grasing]

Dan, Ilford's own tech sheet for HP5+ in Perceptol 1+3 says 25 minutes at 68F, and Microdol-X has got to be close. For my kind of negative, that would be far too long, yet it's better to start with the manufacturer's own recommendations. So at 80F, it would be about 13 minutes or so. I also agree: doing a clip test is the quickest, most efficient way to find the right developing time.

 

I am a big fan of HP5+, to a great extent because it looks sharper than Tri-X Pan or Neopan 400, and is especially sharp in Microdol-X 1+3. However, you need a good lens to realize that extra sharpness. Since the Holga has a simple, plastic lens, I think almost any B&W 400 speed film would do, excepting 400TMY TMax. If Tri-X Pan (not the professional 320 Tri-X for 120) is available where you are, I'd go with that. It actually has somewhat greater exposure lattitude than HP5, and that would be valuable with a Holga.

 

Years ago, during the hot summers in Tokyo, I used to struggle developing film, trying to keep the temperature below 75F or so when the ambient temperature was in the 90s, and tap water in the 80s. Then a photographer told me there was no problem developing modern films at high temperatures, that they could handle it, I didn't a special developer. Also suggested using Microdol-X or Perceptol 1+3. He was right. I'm happy to pass that on.