Perceptol and FP4+

[stefano_4565]

I'm Italian, I don't speak english. What time I must use for developer FP4 N-1 and N+1 with perceptol? Thank you

[Ralph Barker]

Although best determined by testing, if you have established a time for "N", a variation of 10-15% will get you close to one stop of difference (10-15% less time for N-1, 10-15% more for N+1).

If you haven't established your personalized "N" time, suggested time in The Massive Developer chart is a good place to start. (15 min, 1:1 dilution)

[Gem Singer]

Hi Stefano,

You need to test to find your own N-1 and N+1 developing times with any developer that you use. Start with your normal developing time, then add, or subtract 15-20% of that time for N+ or N-.

Why Perceptol for large format negatives? It is a fine grained developer with a similar formulation to Kodak Microdol. It is a speed decreasing developer. There is no need to use such a fine grained developer with large format negatives, unless you plan on making huge enlargements. If that is the case, there are better combinations of film and developers to choose for that purpose.

[John C Murphy]

Eugene, There actually is a reason to use Microdol or Perceptol (stock/undiluted) with large format: the look they produce in portraits. It is slightly softer than that of D-76 stock, but not as smooth as Rodinal or pyro. The most noticable thing is the bright skin tones that can be achieved by overdevelopment, without a bothersome increase in grain. However, I don't think that this would be useful for landscapes, since it's impossible to control the highlights.

[Gem Singer]

Thanks John,

Since I haven't done any serious B&W large format portraiture in many years, I'm glad to know that piece of information. However, if I would choose to go back to doing B&W LF portraiture again, I probably would use HP-5+ film and develope it in Ilford DD-X (or PMK, if I could no longer get DD-X). Stefano didn't stipulate what type of subject matter he was photographing.

[stefano_4565]

Thanks Eugene and John My photo subject are landscapes. Is racommend the perceptol for developer Fuji Neopan Acros 100 in (N-1 / N / N+1) mode? I don't find fuji developer in Italy.

[Gem Singer]

Hello again Stefano,

Certainly Perceptol developer will work O.K. with the Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film. When I tried the Fuji Neopan Acros100 Quickload film, I developed it in Ilford DD-X at the 1+4 dilution and was not pleased with the results. I then tried Paterson's new FX-50 developer with the Acros Quickload film.The results were very nice, but I decided that I liked Ilford HP-5+ film, developed in Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+7 dilution) even better. Try developing your FP-4+ film in DD-X at the 1+7 dilution. Start with 12-13 min. at 20C for N, then test from there for N+ and N-. Good luck.