A couple of weeks ago I developed two sheets of 4x5 Tmax100 in 1+25 Rodinal.
I used 5x7 trays with 400ml of solution and developed each sheet individually.
The first sheet looked fine, with a small area of yellow, indicating that I should agitate more.
The second sheet was faint yellow all over, suggesting that the developer was exhausted.
I had made up the developer first, so it was sitting in a mixing jug while I made up the fixer, stop, hypo-clearing agent and photo-flo. Then after the first sheet was processed, the developer was exposed to the atmosphere for over half-an-hour while I was washing the first sheet.
My local store's expert told me that Rodinal was known for it's rapid oxidation in tray development (it's great for APX 135 and 120 in tanks, but not sheet film) and that I should try HC110.
So, three questions:
- does Rodinal oxodize too quickly when dilute (1+25) and therefore shouldn't be used in tray development ?
- how much developer should I be using per sheet of 4x5 film in a 5x7 tray ? Should I have replaced the developer for the second sheet ? Or should I be using 8x10 trays with lots more developer.
- Should I forget about Rodinal and go straight to HC110 ?
Thanks in advance, Ron
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