Which film + dev for high contrast landscape?

[aki_dick]

Hello there!<p>I'm going to south east Turkey next month and I want

to shoot mainly in 35 mm B+W. Due to nocturnal curfew this will be

around noon in direct sunlight.<br>Furthermore I want to develop the

negs myself. I have no experience with that, but after going through

lots of threads here I think Rodinal is a good start, versatile and

fool-proof enough for me.<br>Of course I want to try out both film

and developing in advance.<p>So my question: which film is best to

use to handle very high contrast and ideally goes well with Rodinal?

<br>And how to develop the film (EI, dilution, time)?<br>Ultra fine

grain and speed are not that relevant to me, I'd rather prefer sharp

edges.<br>I know that TCN400 or XP2 are recommended for their low

contrast, but I would prefer real B+W (...except maybe when everbody

advises them).<p>Besides: I want to use a second body for some color

too. I thought I'd use either Reala or a 160 Portrait film. Any

better advice? <br>(I wonder if this gets close to an act of

sacrilege to mention color film in a B+W forum?)<p>I appreciate any

help. Thanks + Greetings.

[lex_jenkins]

First of all, the best way to increase contrast is either through the careful use of a filter on the lens during exposure, or during printing. Most conventional films are designed to produce moderate, normal contrast and require special processing efforts to increase contrast without losing shadow detail or risking blocked up highlights.

 

A red filter will produce the greatest contrast but this may be too severe when shooting at midday. I prefer an orange, deep yellow or green filter for increased contrast during midday sessions.

 

I'd suggest Tri-X or HP5+ in an ISO 400 film, which will keep shutter speeds reasonable if you decide to use a heavy filter for increased contrast and it becomes impractical to use a tripod. Other folks report good results with Delta 400 - I haven't tried it.

 

If you plan to use a tripod wherever possible I'd suggest Agfa APX-100, Delta 100, T-Max 100 (TMX), Plus-X or FP4+ (in no particular order of preference). Of these FP4+ would be a better choice for a beginner due to its generous exposure latitude and compatibility with many developers. TMX is the the pickiest of the three, with Plus-X not far behind. APX-100 and Delta 100 deliver fairly similar and comparable results, tho' Delta 100 seems to be contrastier which may be a disadvantage in midday sun. Of the latter two I prefer APX-100.

 

T-Max 400 (TMY) also produces excellent tonality in Rodinal but the grain is a bit gritty for my tastes, tho' others like it. TMY is one of my favorite films for push processing in Microphen, tho' that's an entirely different subject.

 

As for color film, sure, Superia Reala in 35mm (I prefer the medium format version of Reala, a slightly different emulsion that's unavailable in 35mm) or Fuji NPS for moderate contrast with good color saturation.

[peter_langfelder]

My favorite low-contrast film is Neopan 100 SS (NOT the new Acros). I develop in Xtol 1+1, though. The film has tons of shadow detail and a very long dynamic range. I have no idea how it would work with Rodinal, but you may want to give it a try.

[tim_hardin]

Tri-X and Diafine would travel well, and I have found that this combination does a wonderful job--in fact, I have found that it works best in very bright contrast situations.

 

Along with the good job this combination will perform, it will make development easy in that the temperature of the developer has wide latitude, and is not too dependent upon exact times for development.

 

However, it is a two stage process for developing. Three to five minutes in part A, then three to five minutes in part B. I have found that closer to three minutes works best for me.

 

Diafine is an old developer that seems to be making a come back, so give it a try, and good luck.

 

This is an example of a photo ahot in bright light, and developed in Diafine

 

Tim<div></div>

[conrad_hoffman]

The usual wisdom is to "pull" the film, using less than normal development and a bit more exposure. This will reduce the contrast to better match the subject. Remember that the times on the Rodinal bottle result in a rather high contrast negative to begin with, so check the massive development chart for what times people are really using. One caution- if you cut development too much, you may end up with blah, muddy, lifeless, prints. There's a limit to how far you can take it. Zone System users are constantly looking for film/developer combinations that work well for extreme contrast compression and it's said that older films were better for this, though I'm no expert on the topic. You don't say if you're going to do your own printing, but you should. You'll get better results with some good old fashioned dodging and burning, combined with a mild reduction in film development, than if you tried to severely compress the contrast so a "straight" print was possible. Even if you don't use the Zone System, a careful read of Adam's The Negative might be useful. Definitely run some tests before leaving!

 

 

[as usual, this information comes from some joker on the web and is worth every penny you paid for it- caveat emptor!]

[scott_eaton]

<i>which film is best to use to handle very high contrast and ideally goes well with Rodinal? </i><P>About 5 things in that sentence that scare me, the worst being choosing a developer before film.<P>Tri-X Pro pulled a stop to EI 150 or so should handle the contrast range, but I think you're approaching the problem bass ackwards.

[StuartMoxham]

I am just testing films at the moment to decide which ones to use for a holiday in Greace during harsh daylight. At the moment I like FP4+ in rodinal rated at EI 80 and 5 min rodinal 25:1 seems to work quite well Tmax EI 80 5 min rodinal was OK but I find it not so sharp. I got the ID 11 as recomended by many people here I have not started useing it yet. I may try it at the weekend I am still a rodinal fan at heart. Agfa APX100 is a great film but I find it more contrasty than FP4+.

[StuartMoxham]

One strange thing on the ilford fp4+ box says rodinal 25:1 100asa 6min

on ilford.com say rodinal 25:1 100 asa 9min agfa instructions say same 9 min I have FP4+ dated 2002 has somthing changed I don't know. I could be that because of the hot weather my dev time is much less or the box is correct and everywhere else is not any answeres anyone I arrived at the 5min by testing 9 min was too contrasty. I would recomend that you do some tests before adopting anyones times.

[fritz_ptasynski]

If you really want high contrast - like that obtained with lith film, try getting some Kodak Tech Pan and develop it in D-76...watch what happens!!!