arne_strasser Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I hope this isn't some repost. I did my first quart of PMK yesterday and I'm sort of happy with the results, but: - From all I read I thought PMK would be close to the rated speed of the films used (FP4, Delta 100, 11 min), but I was about two stops below that. - I mixed everything according to the recipe in destilled water, but solution B won't dissolve... suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john lehman, college alask Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 Solution B is difficult to dissolve completely - you may need to heat the water, and you will need to agitate alot to get it all dissolved. I know Hutchings recommends 11 minutes for the delta films (or at least he did in the 1st edition), but I find 13 minutes works better - with that I get full speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_goldfarb Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 How are you determining film speed? If you are using a densitometer, you need to read on the blue channel with a color densitometer. If you are doing it visually, be sure to base your results on prints rather than negatives at first, since pyro negs look a bit different from regular negs. I rate Tri-X 400 at 250 in PMK, and Tri-X 320 at 200, so I wouldn't expect to get full speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_curry Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I have yet to see a pyro developer reach a film manufacturer's rated speed. With Efke 25 I'm at asa 12, FP4+ at asa 64, J&C 200 at 100. I don't know of anyone who is regularly getting more with Pyrogallic acid based developers, be it PMK, ABC or another formula. Anyone else running at the film's rated speed, and if so, which formula are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clayh Posted October 13, 2003 Share Posted October 13, 2003 I get close to full film speed with pyrocat HD. Check out Sandy's new article at www.unblinkingeye.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim obrien Posted October 14, 2003 Share Posted October 14, 2003 I get close to rated speed with W2D2+. I suspect it's the added conventional developer. I rate PanF @50, APX100 @ 80 to 100, Classic 200 @160 to 200, Tri-x @320 to 400, all with good shadow detail. Remember though, all equipment is different and my metering techniques may differ from yours. I usually use incident (LunaPro) and check my highs and lows for any extrodinary spans. tim in san jose Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arne_strasser Posted October 17, 2003 Author Share Posted October 17, 2003 It seems Pyrocat really has advantages in terms of film-speed - the chemicals are cheaper, too. Just too bad I still have Pyro for another 80 rolls of 120 film... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_shanesy Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 I get full rated speed of 50 with Pan F+ in PMK. This is, however, the only film with which I get it no matter which pyrogallol-based developer I use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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