Development Times

[Bryan_TNT]

I am new to developing film, I've already developed a few rolls of Fuji 400 film. My question is there a difference between development times between, different iso? I had developed two films at the same time a Kodak 100 and a Fuji 400. The Fuji Developed correctly while the Kodak was way overdeveloped, as it was hard to see and dark. There's also a age difference, the Kodak Images where taken 24 years and the Fuji was just taken. I don't know if changes things.

[AJG]

Fresh vs. outdated would definitely be an issue with developing time and the outdated film could possibly be fogged from age or poor storage.  That said, different B&W films do tend to require different developing times and in some cases, different developers, to achieve optimal results.  There is a Massive Development Chart on line which gives developing times/chemistry for lots of films. I wouldn't claim that this is always correct but it will give you a general idea of what you should be doing with different films. Outdated films can be cheap but are often a gamble.

An historical note:  b&w reflects its 19th century heritage of a variety of processes and a done-by- hand ethos.  Color processing reflects its mid 20th century origin as a standardized machine made process.  There have been several variations over the years but virtually any color negative film from the last 40 years will go through a standard C-41 process with few variations in chemistry or temperature if you want conventional results.  Current slide films go through E-6, again with standard chemistry, times and temperature. If you want reasonably accurate color and density you need to follow these steps precisely. 

[randy_boren1]

Is this color film or black and white?  Please be specific as the the type of films they are.

[rodeo_joe1]

1 hour ago, randy_boren1 said:

Is this color film or black and white?

Colour films all have the same developing time, since both the C-41 and E6 colour processes are rigidly standardised.

OTOH, B&W film developing times can easily vary by 50% or more between different types in the same developer. 

Film exposed 24 years ago and stored without refrigeration? You're actually lucky to get a usable image at all. There's a thing called 'latent-image regression' where the undeveloped image fades over time. The least-exposed areas (shadows) disappear first, effectively resulting in under-exposure. That's in addition to the aforementioned age and/or storage-related fog. 

That's the reason for the advice on the box that says 'Develop promptly'. 

[glen_h]

It seems that Ilford PanF+ has very short latent image retention.

 

All the Kodak films I know last a long time.

Personally, I had VP from 8th grade that I developed 40 years later.

I have also developed VP over 50 years later.  A roll with the Mackinac

bridge under construction, so I can be pretty sure about the age.

 

I believe VP was designed for people who might take a year or two,

to finish a roll. 

 

As for the original question, it is even worse.  Kodak will change the

formulation, and development time, but barely change the name.

There is Kodak Professional T-Max, and Kodak T-Max Professional,

with different development times.  The more recent versions are:

 

https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/sites/default/files/files/products/f4016_tmax_100.pdf

 

https://imaging.kodakalaris.com/sites/default/files/files/resources/f4043_TMax_400.pdf

 

Often the higher ISO needs longer development, but there are a few exceptions.

[glen_h]

 

Taken when I was in 8th grade, on VP126, and developed 40 years later in Diafine.

[Bryan_TNT]

Thank you for all the comments, I was trying to make sure I didn't mess up. It is color film cs41, it was probably stored in the worst conditions, thrown in a box and sat in a basement for most of that time. The scanner won't scan the film, unless I manually select the images and change the settings so I can actually see the images. I have more film that is possibly older so I was worried it was how I was developing it. Hence the reason I'm asking on here. 

[glen_h]

The rule I learned when I was young, and still mostly believe, is that a color film has the

keeping characteristics of a black and white film of about four times the ISO rating.

 

OK, so I assume you used the right times for C-41 developer, 3:15 at 100F.

 

I usually recommend not using overly old color film.

(A few years, and stored cool, should be fine.  And slower films better than faster.)

 

But especially if you are paying for the processing, you don't save much.

Black and white films do, mostly, last a long time.

[SCL]

A little post processing can bring some life back into many shots which lack contrast or focus. This was a 2 minute attempt on Glen_h's 40 yr old photo above.

[Tony Parsons]

When you say you processed two films at the same time, was this on two separate reels in a Paterson-type universal tank ? I ask because I used to load two Tri-X films back to back (I.e. emulsion side out) and load both into one spiral, giving an extra 15% more dev time with D76 1:1. Seemed to work OK then.