sharon_hanson Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Help please! I am trying to develop 120 roll film Pan F Plus 50 per the instructions of Ilford charts. Last night I did one roll at 4-1/2 minutes at 68 degrees as instructed. I used the Ilfosal S developer 1+9, stopped 30 secs, then fixed for 5. My film held a faint suggestion of the subject with a faint lavender tint. My teacher said it looked like it wasn't developed long enough. Now I've checked on several Ilford chart and there seems to be a discrepancy with the times, etc. Does anyone have a clue here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob_sunley Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Check the ph of your water, if it's acidic it will mess up your development times. Ilford publish the proper ph ranges for working solutions on their web site. Any cross contamination from chemicals not properly rinsed away from previous equipment useage will cause all sorts of problems. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul swenson Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 In instances like this I look at the film leader. If its black, you have underexposure issues. If it's faint, as with the rest of the film it's development. With any developer and film combination with your given set up there is going to be some trial and error nailing the development time. If you are certain that you had your temperature and mixture correct, shoot a test roll and do another developing run. Increase the development time by 50% and reevaluate. I wouldn't worry too much about what Ilford's table says. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machts gut Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hello Sharon, Paul has given useful hints although I always found the Ilford tables quite accurate. I would like to add two points. First, Ilfosol S is a developer who can suffer from "sudden death". That means, if it is older than Ilford suggest after opening the bottle, it can lead to a drastic loss in power. Check how old your developer is. Second, Pan F is known to be a diva! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Double and triple check your procedures. Even experienced photographers make mistakes in the darkroom. It's not unusual to mix batches incorrectly, use the wrong dilution, set and read the timer incorrectly, even use fixer before developer. In most cases such problems are due to photographer error, either when exposing the film or working in the darkroom. (Me too.) So always check your procedures before assuming the film, chemistry, etc., failed. The reports of Ilfosol-S death are greatly exaggerated. (Apologies to Mark Twain.) In my experience it's no more prone to failure than Xtol or even D76. Once opened the concentrate should be used within a couple of months, but mine has stayed good for up to six months without any special precautions. Once diluted the developer should be used immediately but that's true of any diluted developer. It won't go bad in a couple of hours but will after a couple of days. If I'm recalling correctly Ilford says that an unopened bottle of Ilfosol-S concentrate should be good for around two years. Once opened the concentrate should be protected from air. Some folks will squeeze the bottle to displace air, but this only works a couple of times. Better practice is to decant the concentrate to several smaller, clearly labeled containers. As Stefan observed, Pan F+ is a bit quirky. It's true exposure index in most developers is closer to 25. However, even if underexposed a full stop you should see definite images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_allan Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Hi Sharon, With the 120 film you won't have any exposed leader to check, but how do the frame markings look. If they are black, it would suggest that the development is fine, and the images are underexposed; if they too are faint, then it would be underdevelopment. The faint lavender tint sounds like there is still a little of the anti-halation dye in the emulsion. It should not be any problem, though rewashing your negs may remove it. Cheers Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_dorcich1 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 Panf+ never really looses its tint, you can exposed the negs to sun light and it will fad a bit, but it won't affect enlargement so i don't bother. 4.5 min is a bit on the short side, which ilford warns against. i normally use the 1+14 dilution for 5.5-6 minutes, depending on the subject shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ned1 Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 Agitation affects development. How often and how long did you agitate it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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