Favorite Rodinal dilution for fine grain...

[John Kasaian]

...do you have one?

[Leigh]

I've used 1:50 in most cases for fine-grain film. Good results for over 50 years.

- Leigh

[John Kasaian]

Thaanks!
I've used Rodinal exactly once, years ago on MF (Verichrome Pan & Agfa something or other) I recently found an unopened bottle while going through my chemicals and I thoguht I
I'd see how does with Fomapan.

[Barrie B.]

Thaanks!
I've used Rodinal exactly once, years ago on MF (Verichrome Pan & Agfa something or other) I recently found an unopened bottle while going through my chemicals and I thoguht I
I'd see how does with Fomapan.

- Q. ?
What size film are you using ? A very sharp developer , I never use it for 35mm , only for 120 and 4X5 sheet films, always diluted to 1+50 0r 1 + 100 . It is not really a ' fine grain' developer , more like a ' sharp ' developer, my negs always print well from Rodinal.
Suggest you do some reasearch / or testing first to fine-tune your methods to this developer.
..........Cheers Barrie B.. Rodinal user for over 50 years .

[venchka]

Like Barrie said, Rodinal isn't a fine grain develop as such. The grain becomes more pronounced with too much agitation. Slow down and agitate gently about every 3 minutes. 1:100 will extend the developing time to allow for the reduced agitation scheme. Or you could eliminate agitation almost entirely and let the film sit in Rodinal for an hour or more. Sounds crazy but it works. The Rangefinder Forum has a thread on Rodinal and 1:100 (or more dilute) and stand development. Experiment. Good luck.

Wayne

[SergeiR]

i did 1:100 with agitation for 18 minutes in jobo .. looks fairly decent. Presoaked for 5m. Still not sure i like it more than my traditional UFG.

[Kevin Crisp]

Some time ago, I was using Rodinal often and wanted an objective look at its supposed grain enhancing properties. I normally used it 1:50 with gentle agitation at 1M, in trays. Identically exposed Tri-x 4x5 negatives were developed in D76 1:1, HC110 "B" and Rodinal. I printed small areas of what would have been 20X24 prints, larger than I can make until I build my new sink. The differences upon very close examination were slight, the grain did look a bit "sharper" (but not by much) but overall the Rodinal print was not what most people would consider "granier." At any reasonable viewing distance you couldn't see the difference.

I know this goes contrary to Rodinal folklore, and it was not at all the result that I expected. I'm just saying if you like Rodinal for other reasons, you might take a little time to experiment with faster LF films.

[Michael Graves]

Some time ago, I was using Rodinal often and wanted an objective look at its supposed grain enhancing properties. I normally used it 1:50 with gentle agitation at 1M, in trays. Identically exposed Tri-x 4x5 negatives were developed in D76 1:1, HC110 "B" and Rodinal. I printed small areas of what would have been 20X24 prints, larger than I can make until I build my new sink. The differences upon very close examination were slight, the grain did look a bit "sharper" (but not by much) but overall the Rodinal print was not what most people would consider "granier." At any reasonable viewing distance you couldn't see the difference.

I know this goes contrary to Rodinal folklore, and it was not at all the result that I expected. I'm just saying if you like Rodinal for other reasons, you might take a little time to experiment with faster LF films.

This is pretty much in keeping with what I have found. I keep both Rodinal and HC-110 in stock. I dilute both of them out of the bottle 1:50. I have found that subjects with a lot of highlight detail in the upper zones are better suited with Rodinal and images with a lot of deep shadow detail work better with HC-110. Interestingly, I got the same film speed with both developers at that dilution, using .1 over base fog as a guide (which might not be accurate...but it's been working fairly well for me.) I don't find either developer to be "fine grain", but then neither are the solvent developers. Acutance is good with both. Neither exhibit that soft "mushy" characteristic I always abhorred from developers such as Microdol and D-76.

[Lynn Jones]

If you are not talking about thin emulsion-high resolution films, you can't get there from here, Rodinal is a course grain, sharp grain developer designed for the above films.
Lynn

[ROL]

+1 what Barrie said.

1+50 or 1+100, depending on film type. Rodinal is a fine acutance developer, not particularly fine grain – though IMO acutance often trumps grain aesthetically.