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jianglinxi
2-Jul-2014, 14:52
Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 large format camera. I'm using Ilford Delta 100 film. Kodak D-76 is my current developer for 35mm and 120mm films. I did try to use for 4x5 film developing, but the negative film is a little bit softer than my friend who use HC-110 to develop. I'm not sure which developer can provide sharp and nice results to Delta 100 film. Please give me some advises. Thank you!

ic-racer
2-Jul-2014, 15:36
Check that the ground glass is properly positioned, tripod is sturdy, you have appropriate focus and aperture selection, etc.

Light Guru
2-Jul-2014, 15:55
Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 large format camera. I'm using Ilford Delta 100 film. Kodak D-76 is my current developer for 35mm and 120mm films. I did try to use for 4x5 film developing, but the negative film is a little bit softer than my friend who use HC-110 to develop. I'm not sure which developer can provide sharp and nice results to Delta 100 film. Please give me some advises. Thank you!

People use D76 for 4x5 film all the time. You should eliminate all other things that could cause the image to be soft first.

Light Guru
2-Jul-2014, 15:57
Check that the ground glass is properly positioned, tripod is sturdy, you have appropriate focus and aperture selection, etc.

You may also want to check the distance on the film holders also. I once had a graphmatic holder that had a distance different then my 2 sheet film holders thus causing all the images I took using the graphmatic to be slightly soft.

Robert Crigan
2-Jul-2014, 23:36
If your negatives are too soft just increase the development time. HC110 will always produce negatives with a punchier look than negs from D76. D76 has a longer toe giving lower shadow contrast. HC110 will give higher edge acutance, enhanced sharpness at boundaries between light and dark. It's best to stick with one developer till you're happy with the results before experimenting with other developers. Note well my first sentence.

Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 large format camera. I'm using Ilford Delta 100 film. Kodak D-76 is my current developer for 35mm and 120mm films. I did try to use for 4x5 film developing, but the negative film is a little bit softer than my friend who use HC-110 to develop. I'm not sure which developer can provide sharp and nice results to Delta 100 film. Please give me some advises. Thank you!

JMB
3-Jul-2014, 02:50
Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 large format camera. I'm using Ilford Delta 100 film. Kodak D-76 is my current developer for 35mm and 120mm films. I did try to use for 4x5 film developing, but the negative film is a little bit softer than my friend who use HC-110 to develop. I'm not sure which developer can provide sharp and nice results to Delta 100 film. Please give me some advises. Thank you!

I shot one of my most interesting negatives (in terms of acutance, sharpness, and tonal subtlety) on Delta 100 (8x10) with a 19" Apo Ronar lens, and developed it in ABC Pyro.

Brian C. Miller
3-Jul-2014, 07:37
Hi, Linxi!

When you use the term "soft" it can mean that the image is not sharp, like blurry, or it can mean that the negative does not have enough density.

If you have a negative that is soft like blurry, then you may have a problem with your camera. You need to find out where your camera actually focuses its image. This is a problem that I had with my camera. Put a ruler on a slant, and photograph the midpoint with the lens wide open, like f/5.6. If the negative does not show that the midpoint is in focus, then the ground glass needs to be adjusted.

If you have a negative that is soft like there is not enough image, meaning density, then you need to give the negative more time in the developer. The developer does not affect whether the image is in focus, it just develops the film.

StoneNYC
15-Jul-2014, 23:05
Heck I use Rodinal with my Delta100 and don't have any sharpness issues. If you're having issues it must be in the taking..

Fredrick
22-Jul-2014, 08:25
Heck I use Rodinal with my Delta100 and don't have any sharpness issues. If you're having issues it must be in the taking..
Rodinal is a high-accutance developer, therefore it will make images appear sharp.

Back to topic: I've been using Ilford Delta 8x10/4x5 and I've used Ilfotec HC for over a year now, it's a good combo.

mihag
22-Jul-2014, 08:51
Hi,

I'm new to 4x5 large format camera. I'm using Ilford Delta 100 film. Kodak D-76 is my current developer for 35mm and 120mm films. I did try to use for 4x5 film developing, but the negative film is a little bit softer than my friend who use HC-110 to develop. I'm not sure which developer can provide sharp and nice results to Delta 100 film. Please give me some advises. Thank you!

Ilfotec HC which is similar to Kodak's HC-110 is recommended by Ilford for max sharpness. It's also my developer of choice.

Lenny Eiger
22-Jul-2014, 12:42
My best suggestion would be Xtol, or Pyro. They are both excellent, and in my experience superior to the other choices being presented. When you move up to 4x5 you get the opportunity to develop specifically for every image. You can add as much contrast as you like.

Lenny

IanG
23-Jul-2014, 08:34
Rodinal is a high-accutance developer, therefore it will make images appear sharp.

Back to topic: I've been using Ilford Delta 8x10/4x5 and I've used Ilfotec HC for over a year now, it's a good combo.

Rodinal isn't a high acutance developer, it gives remarkably similar results to Xtol with T-grain films, I used both for many years with APX100, Tmax1100 &400 and later Delta100. Yes Rodinal and Xtol both give better sharpness than d76 which gives a small lift in terms of resolution/definition through slightly improved acutance.

Ian

Lenny Eiger
23-Jul-2014, 09:56
Rodinal isn't a high acutance developer, it gives remarkably similar results to Xtol with T-grain films, I used both for many years with APX100, Tmax1100 &400 and later Delta100. Yes Rodinal and Xtol both give better sharpness than d76 which gives a small lift in terms of resolution/definition through slightly improved acutance.

Ian

However, Rodinal will articulate the grains, and you will have a grainy print. If you like that, fine. Personally, its not for me. I'll stick with my Xtol and Pyro...

Lenny

IanG
23-Jul-2014, 10:18
However, Rodinal will articulate the grains, and you will have a grainy print. If you like that, fine. Personally, its not for me. I'll stick with my Xtol and Pyro...

Lenny


On the contrary Rodinal and T grain films gives exceptionally fine grain, better than D76 and on a par with Xtol. Some of the finest grained images I've seen made from 35mm were processed in Rodinal. Of course this is the LF website forum but I used Rodinal and the films I mentioned above in all formats 35mm, 120 & 5x4.

It's a misconception that Rodinal itself gives grainier negatives, however it does contain Hydroxiden which softens some emulsions more than others and poor temperature control can lead to surface effects on the supercoat of the emulsion which results in grainier enlargements (or scans).

Ian

StoneNYC
23-Jul-2014, 10:21
However, Rodinal will articulate the grains, and you will have a grainy print. If you like that, fine. Personally, its not for me. I'll stick with my Xtol and Pyro...

Lenny

What grain? How big is the print?

Now from my experience Delta100 is finer grained than Acros100, I only shoot Delta100 in 4x5 which wouldn't be a fair comparison, but this is a 120 shot on Acros100 in Rodinal...

118800

This is delta100 in Rodinal but it's a 4x5

118801
So is this... Which is about a 35mm crop of a 4x5
118802

IanG
23-Jul-2014, 10:27
It's worth mentioning that often the cause of graininess is sloppy craft (technique), give a group of photographers the same cameras lens, film and developing chemistry and some will produce excellent fine grained images others will have grainy images and the rest in between.

Tight control of exposure and development, and particularly temperature control at all stages of processing including washing can make a huge difference to negative and subsequent print (or scan) quality particularly with regard to fine grain and sharpness.

Ian

Fredrick
23-Jul-2014, 11:18
Rodinal isn't a high acutance developer, it gives remarkably similar results to Xtol with T-grain films, I used both for many years with APX100, Tmax1100 &400 and later Delta100. Yes Rodinal and Xtol both give better sharpness than d76 which gives a small lift in terms of resolution/definition through slightly improved acutance.

Ian
Then it seems wikipedia has misinformed me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodinal#Acutance. In that case, I retract my statement.

Lenny Eiger
23-Jul-2014, 11:40
It's worth mentioning that often the cause of graininess is sloppy craft (technique), give a group of photographers the same cameras lens, film and developing chemistry and some will produce excellent fine grained images others will have grainy images and the rest in between.

Tight control of exposure and development, and particularly temperature control at all stages of processing including washing can make a huge difference to negative and subsequent print (or scan) quality particularly with regard to fine grain and sharpness.

Ian

Well, I am an excellent technologist, have a great thermometer. However, I haven't seen anything in Rodinal I like. That isn't to say it doesn't exist. Every time I put a Rodinal developed piece of film on my drum scanner I see much more grain. The thing zooms into the grain clouds, and its possible that the grain clouds combined with the scan sampling pattern creates some sort of anti-aliased nonsense. I don't know. If you want to send me a good neg, by your standards, to play with, I'd be happy to take a look.

I have a bunch of old negs developed in Rodinal, med format from the '80's and they are horrible. Maybe it was a bad batch....

Lenny

IanG
23-Jul-2014, 12:48
Well, I am an excellent technologist, have a great thermometer. However, I haven't seen anything in Rodinal I like. That isn't to say it doesn't exist. Every time I put a Rodinal developed piece of film on my drum scanner I see much more grain. The thing zooms into the grain clouds, and its possible that the grain clouds combined with the scan sampling pattern creates some sort of anti-aliased nonsense. I don't know. If you want to send me a good neg, by your standards, to play with, I'd be happy to take a look.

I have a bunch of old negs developed in Rodinal, med format from the '80's and they are horrible. Maybe it was a bad batch....

Lenny

I have many hundreds of films 35mm & 120 processed in Rodinal from around 1987 onwards (when I started using Rodinal) and all exhibit excellent long tonal scales, very fine grain and excellent sharpness. The many hundreds of 5x4 negatives are just the same.

At the moment I'm getting sorted out after moving house (I'm not fully moved yet) but I guess I could find & send you a spare Rodinal negative from my M3 Leica. I suggest a 35mm negative because it'll show the issues we are talking about at lower enlargement or a scan.

A point I'd make is that back in the late 80's many thought that prints from 35mm T grain films processed in Rodinal were in fact from 120 films,

Ian