FP4 plus in HC-110

[lsaavedra]

probably this question is been answered before but I couldn't find

the proper answer in the archives. I use exclusively Ilfod film

(PanF, FP4 and HP5) I've been using D-76 1:1 for some time now with

excellent results but life time for this developer is too short for

my habits. I decided to try with HC-110 dilution B at the recommended

time. This chemical is much easier to mix and the lifetime is higher.

The negative looks too much contrasty to me compared to D-76. My

question is, Does anyone of you had the same experience? What about

reducing the developing time about 15 or 20%? or less agitation? (I

give 4 inmersion at the begining and 2 inmersion every minute for the

rest of the time). Maybe this combo is not a great deal, what is your

experience wiht it? have you tried higher dilutions than Dil B?

Thank you all in advance

[lex_jenkins]

Try exposing the FP4+ at EI 64-80 and decreasing development time up to 25% less than the listed data recommends.

 

This is what I did (using ID-11, tho') to finally tame the excessive contrast problem I'd sometimes experienced with FP4+.

 

I can't see any reason why this should work as well with HC-110 if you prefer a developer that keeps longer in storage.

[doug_bennett]

I shoot FP-4 at EI 64, the develop in HC-110 dilution H, which is twice as dilute as Dil. B. I use a time of 10 minutes (that is twice the dil. B time), then back off 20% to 8 minutes to account for pulling the film. My results have been very nice. For more info, see <a href="http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/index.html">http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/index.html</a>.

[scott_eaton]

Great combination.

 

I agree you'll need to either dilute HC-110 or back off process times/exposure.

[rob_gruber]

This isn't really the question but you might try FP4+ in Rodinal. It's easy to mix,

keeps a long time and produces really nice negatives with FP4. I played with FP4 in

HC-110 but found it too contrasty and now I use Rodinal and save the HC-110 for

Tri-X where it really looks great. The enhanced sharpness is nice and grain isn't a

problem.

 

Not sure how it works with your other film choices but if you're just looking for a

liquid with a long life, you might want to take a look at Rodinal. It's somewhat easier

to mix than HC-110 because it's more liquidy and less syrupy.

[jordan_w.]

Luis,

 

I use FP4 and HP5 a lot and also found that the recommended times for HC-110 Dil B are a tad long. Maybe try FP4 in HC-110 1+63 for about 7-8 min at 24C. This dilution works well for me for HP5 (10 min at 24C). Rodinal is also great with FP4 Plus, as Rob mentions. With Rodinal, I like the 1:75 dilution for about 17 min at 20C. It gives nice, grainy but sharp prints. For a variety of reasons, I prefer the FP4-HC110 combo for scanning.