Processing Quickload Neopan Acros 100

[Lisa_5060]

I am interested in what others have been using to develop Quickload Neopan Acros 100. Any recommendations and development times would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Gem Singer]

Hi Lisa,

According to Fuji, Neopan Acros 100 can be developed in just about any film developer. I tried it in my standard Ilford DD-X developer (at various dilutions) and found it to be very responsive. Paterson asked Geofrey Crawley to formulate an ascorbic acid developer specifically for fabricated grained films, such as Acros. It is called FX-50. It is available from B&H. It is a relatively expensive film developer and has a short shelf life. However, I found it to be an outstanding developer to use with Acros 100.

As for development times, recommendations from others are meaningless. Begin with the manufacturer's recommended development time and dilution. Then, adjust for your own personal technique. That holds true for any combination of film and developer you choose to use.

[Ted Harris]

Hi Lisa, I have been using Rodinal dilluted 1:50 for over a year

[Paul Butzi]

I did a comparison of TMX and Acros some time back, and ended up choosing to stick with TMX, not because of some inherent film property but because of price.

The comparison can be can be read at http://www.butzi.net/articles/tmxacros.htm (http://www.butzi.net/articles/tmxacros.htm)

In that article, there are development times for both 100 Tmax and Acros, done in a Jobo cpp-2 and a Jobo 3010 Expert Drum, using Tmax RS 1+9 at 75f/24c.



<table border="2" bordercolor="#FFFFFF" bordercolorlight="#FFFFFF" bordercolordark="#FFFFFF" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">100 Tmax</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">Fuji
Acros</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n-2</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">5:15</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">3:15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n-1</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">6:15</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">3:45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">7:30</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">4:25</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n+1</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">9:30</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">5:15</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n+2</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">12:00</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">6:45</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n+3</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">21:00</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">9:30</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" align="center">n+4</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">&nbsp;</td>
<td align="center" width="30%">16:00</td>
</tr>
</table>

[Dave Moeller]

I'm with Ted on this one...Rodinal 1:50 and Acros 100 is a great combination in 4x5. I rate the film at 50 ASA, and develop for 11 minutes at 68F. Wonderful tonality, amazing sharpness...just great negatives.

[Michael E. Gordon]

Rolly Pryo, Jobo 3010, 8 min. at 70f.

[Lisa_5060]

Thanks all--I had already read the excellent Butzi article. I am most interested in what everyone thinks the relative merits and disadvantages are of the various developers as used with the quickload neopan acros 100 film. For example, why did choose the developer you're now using? Thanks.

[Paul Butzi]

I used Tmax-RS 1+9 because that's what I'd been using for years.

Long ago, I had done a comparison of Tmax-RS and XTOL, and after switching to XTOL, I decided that the advantages were minimal and in a fit of pique, I purged my darkroom of everything that had to be mixed from powder and switched back to TMax-RS.

More recently, I started digital printing. I've discovered that I like the results of scanning negs developed in XTOL better than Tmax-RS, and I've switched back to XTOL.

But I don't have times for Acros in XTOL, sorry.

[d burdeny]

Paul,

What times are you using with your Jobo-Tmax -XTOL combo?

[Rob Gertler]

Lisa-
You have picked an excellent film. Not only does Acros have incredibly small grain, it also has great accutance (noticable better that T-max), and, comes in 120 and large format sizes, both as sheets and as quickloads. Even better, Fuji seems to be more likely to continue making their films for a longer time than Kodak. I have tested Acros 100 in several developers including D-76, DD-X, FX-1, rodinal and Hc-1. Of these, FX-1 is clearly the best regarding grain and sharpness of the final print. FX-1 comes as a kit from Photographer's Formulary, and can also be easily mixed from scratch, making it the cheapest developer out there. It is also very easy to use with the Z0ne System (N, N+1, etc). If you become more interested in using FX-1, let me know and I'll send you the development times for 120 and 4x5 sizes. Lots of luck.