Sorry, I forgot to say the timer is the Gralab 300. Thanks, Raven.
Sorry, I forgot to say the timer is the Gralab 300. Thanks, Raven.
I4ve gone the same way as Dick and is now using HC110-D and FP4, developing in trays. I still feel there could be a little more compensating effect and have to say, Pats response was impressive. What is the difference between PMK and pyro-stain? Is pyro generally commercial available?
Go ahead and use T-max sheets if you want. It is a good film just be sure you give it plenty of exposure. I use the 400 and it is a good film. But if you are going to process T-max I would stay away from the T-max developers and go with HC110 or Ilford or Agfa or something benign. If you haven't calibrated you personal film speed or normal processing times with T-max materials then go with the easy forgiving materials. You can't go wrong. T-max sheets have a tendency to become contrasty with too much agitation. You can blow out the highlights really fast if you're not careful. If you have hangers which is the way I go then make sure when you agitate that you don't try to kill it. Just do it gently. 1 min. presoak with lots of agitation which is where you get rid of any air bells. Start developing 15 secs initial agitation followed by pulling it out slowly one time tipping one way then another once every 60 secs. If I remember right it is 5 mins 30 secs HC110 dil B in a large tank. The 5 secs every 30 secs is for roll film. Use a very dilute stop bath for 30 secs to keep pinholes from developing in the emulsion as you are only changing the pH of the developer on the surface of the film . The developer in the emulsion will become exhausted and the acid fixer will complete the task anyway. Then 3 mins in any kind of fix. The longer you leave it in the fix the longer it takes to wash the fixer out. Remember that the emulsion isn't very thick and and in fact acts just like RC paper only quicker. The emulsion is washed free of fix rather quickly. Rinse quickly to remove excess fix then right into hypo clearing solution for 2 mins and final rinse for 5 mins with just a dash of photoflow. I've used an even breifer regimen than this and my negs are still clear and fresh after 5 years with no fogging or aging. As far as pyro, I would hold off on using it until you go up to the high desert and get some instruction from the pros. It's nasty stuff and expensive to boot. Nice stuff when you know how to use it. James
Oh yeah. As for getting your timer to glow in the dark brighter and longer, just stick it under an incandescent light for 5 mins. The closer the better. I put mine about 10" away and it stays lit for hours. James
I love tmax-rs with older films like tri-x and plus-x, I can't stand t-max rs with tmax films though. You are correct about tmax being a liquid dev. and it's true they are much easier to mix. Raven if you have a green led digital alarm clock you can use it as a timer also, you have to start developing and fixing on the changing of the minute and count seconds for times under a minute which is a hassle but it works, or you can get a indiglo wristwatch with a sweep second hand (my favorite). You may want to try tray developement too. It's very easy! go to barnes and noble and get a copy of Using the View Camera by Steve Simmons, it is the easiest dry to dry book for large format beginnners.
This is basically the same answer I gave to the same problem on MF digest. I followed the plan from "Beyond The Zone System" for doing film/developer sensitometric graphs. Using regular TMax dev, TMax 100, roll, shows a short toe, an almost straight line to density 2+. The gradient varied with dilution, Temp and time in a very predictable way as would be expected. I don't understand how other developers could alter this films characteristics for the better. I got a CI (Contrast Index) of between .4 and .8. which is great for +/- N changes. There is a difference between sheet film and roll emulsions which surprised me so I have to run more tests using TMax RS. I used to have a problem with the backing color but as per Kodak inst I switched to Rapid fix 4 min. for a clear film. "any fixer" doesn't cut it.
Now tell me George. What is the difference between Kodak Fix and Ilford. And rapid fix is no different. Look up the formulation. The ugly purple stain is gone after 3 mins fix and all the washing. I process too much of it to be told different. But have at it. Use whatever works for you. James
If you are the type of person who strives for predictable results then developing 4x5 film by hand using TMax RS is NOT for you. In fact, I can be a catastrophic mix. I have had times when I made a Zone III exposure placement and ended up with a Zone V density value resulting in a negative that is thick as a brick. Other times I have done a Zone III exposure placement and ended up with a Zone I density value losing all detail in the shadows. If you expose your film to even gray card light and develop it by hand using TMax RS then you can end with a negative that will vary in density values from one end to the other by as much a 1.5 stops when it should be pretty much even across the entire negative.
The reasons for these unpredictable variations is because TMax developer is very temperature sensitive, and EXTREMELY agitative sensitive. Temperature should not very by more than 1/2 degree C. I know of no professional B&W lab that uses TMax developer because there is no commercial equipment that can produce repeatable agitation from batch to batch. I ended up buying a JOBO CPP-2 Drum processor and using the 3010 drum to get the repeatable agitation and temperature control I needed. Even then I had to spend a great deal of time experimenting with adjusting the agitation before I could get predictable results. Once I got there it is marvelous stuff. It tends to elevate the deeper shadows buy a third of a stop and produces extremely sharp fine grain negatives.
My recommendation to you is don`t use TMax RS or be prepared to buy some expensive equipment. Of course, if you like unpredicatable results than you are doing the right thing. As far a times for hand developing I have no idea. It has been four years since I developed buy hand.
that's funny...I never had any probs with tmax rs and tri-x..or plus-x, of course I temper my trays and my agit methods are pat. I have had loads of trouble with tmax films in tmax rs but I don't shoot that t-crap film anymore. Delta once in a while but never t-crap. + or - 1/2 a degree? there aren't any color processes that tight.... are you sure you didn't have some fogging?
In spite of the elapsed time, I'd like to offer a response. I looked into this because I love TMax 100 developed with the regular TMax developer, and because Kodak's sensitometric curves show that TMax regular developer is the superior developer for this film.
TMax 100 sheet film is the same emulsion and mylar thickness as TMax roll film. (The anti-reflective backing may differ a little.) The source of the problem is that TMax regular developer produces a by-product that can cause the dichroic fogging. Given sheet films' larger size, the fogging is more likely to occur with that film and much less likely to occur with roll film.
To solve the problem, Kodak designed a replenishable "RS" developer for sheet film that reduces formation of the by-product. As an alternative, Kodak also said that one can "finger-squeegee" the film after washing, before it has a chance to dry. Given how much I like the regular developer, I'm going to opt for the alternative.
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