Acros quickloads: chemistry and Jobo drum newbie advice needed.

[Eric Biggerstaff]

I use this film in DDX and rate it at 200 ( based on my meter ) using a Jobo 3010 Expert tank.

The only way to dial in the correct speed for you is to do testing with your meter, developer and developing method. If you don't, then it is just a guess at best.

I think this is great film and you should be happy with it.

[Ed K.]

It's really important to consider the ultimate printing process one will use while you're deciding developers and times. For scanning, you don't need a lot of contrast, but for alt-process prints, you do. And certainly, the scene matters too. This is why you'll find no precise answers that will suite your needs, only some guidelines and comments from others concerning what they like.

What I mean about Acros building up density quickly is that it will give you jet-black areas in your negatives (read "blown highlights") as well as high contrast overall if you over develop it for your scene. I have found that to get good shadow detail on scenes that have a wide dynamic range (such as days with nice puffy clouds), I have to pull process it to have good mid tones and shadows. The times I have overdeveloped it, I had negatives that would only print right on grade 00 paper (Centennial POP) - of course that was a good discovery, because I like Centennial POP! It seems to get more density than most of the Kodak films with ease. Without pulling it a bit, I always had shots that lacked enough middle gray tones for the subjects I shoot.

But some folks LOVE a lot of contrast, and their shooting style takes good advantage of that.

I think that there are no 100% correct answers anyone can give you other than perhaps the data sheets posted at Fuji's site, and naturally, the experiments you do to find what is best for you. Acros makes it easy to get an image, as most B&W films do. Getting the image you like best could mean following directions, or, as in my case, it could mean deviating a bit from the norm to suit one's circumstances, which oddly enough, is the "normal" workflow and magic of B&W work.

Acros is a great film - go out and enjoy it!!

[sung]

It's really important to consider the ultimate printing process one will use while you're deciding developers and times.

What I mean about Acros building up density quickly is that it will give you jet-black areas in your negatives (read "blown highlights") as well as high contrast overall if you over develop it for your scene. I have found that to get good shadow detail on scenes that have a wide dynamic range (such as days with nice puffy clouds), I have to pull process it to have good mid tones and shadows. The times I have overdeveloped it, I had negatives that would only print right on grade 00 paper (Centennial POP) - of course that was a good discovery, because I like Centennial POP! It seems to get more density than most of the Kodak films with ease. Without pulling it a bit, I always had shots that lacked enough middle gray tones for the subjects I shoot.

But some folks LOVE a lot of contrast, and their shooting style takes good advantage of that.

My only concern with Acros is that all the images I have seen show a lot of high contrast, where highlights have no detail at all. As I am scanning the neg, I prefer to tweak Curves in Photoshop so if I could find the right developer and processing time which will create a 'flatter' negative with less contrast, this would suit my purposes.

Based on everyone's comments, it seems a lot of experimenting is needed to get me there. This may sway me to try my hand at processing slides instead, Provia 100, which scans well, and so I can use the Channel options in Photoshop to tweak the image to B&W and perhaps have more control.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I really appreciate it.

Sung

[dwhistance]

Based on my own, admittedly amateurish, attempts at E6 processing I'd stick to B&W if I were you! Try Acros with a "Pyro" type developer (Pyrocat HD, Prescysol, etc) using semi-stand development and you wont have any problems with contrast when scanning. I also find that Acros scans well when developed in Xtol.

David Whistance

[David Schaller]

David,
What about blown highlights with Acros? I've seen so many photos of this film with no detail at all in the highlights and this looks terrible with landscapes (which is soley what I am shooting).

Any way to control the blown highlights, in using either developer you mentioned?

Sorry, I've been busy the past few days. With D76 I dilute 1:3 and agitate only 5 inversions at the beginning, and then 3 inversions on the minute. With Pyrocat HD I agitate for the full first minute, then 3 inversions every 30 seconds. I've done big N-minuses in D76, but with Pyrocat HD I am not so careful, since I am usually aiming at PT/PD printing. But even so, only rarely have I had a negative with blown highlights. In fact I've had good luck enlarging from Pyrocat negatives.

Of course, for less contrast, I like HP5 too. Acros is just so damn convenient. You never have to worry about reciprocity corrections. And, as I said, I get the same speed (80) for both of the developers I use -- not the case with HP5 or FP4. With the latter films I have to decide how I'm going to develop and print before I take the shot, and I've screwed up a few times. I like the Quickloads, despite the expense, since I can always have film ready to go.

[David Schaller]

My only concern with Acros is that all the images I have seen show a lot of high contrast, where highlights have no detail at all. As I am scanning the neg, I prefer to tweak Curves in Photoshop so if I could find the right developer and processing time which will create a 'flatter' negative with less contrast, this would suit my purposes.

Based on everyone's comments, it seems a lot of experimenting is needed to get me there. This may sway me to try my hand at processing slides instead, Provia 100, which scans well, and so I can use the Channel options in Photoshop to tweak the image to B&W and perhaps have more control.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I really appreciate it.

Sung

I've gone to even lower D76 dilutions and even less agitation, with good results for high contrast scenes. For enlarging, I too like to start with a "flat" negative and build in the contrast by printing with higher filters on VC papers. I aim to have a good straight print with a #3 or 3.5 filter.