Thoughts on lighter area on negative

[Steven Ruttenberg]

Catlab80 8x10. Developed in Pyrocat 1:1:50, Stearman 8x10 tray. 5 minute pre soak at temperature, 1st minute continuous agitation, then 10 second agitation every 59 seconds.

It is not a light leak, the second 8x10 directly after this one same film holder and developed in HC119 at 1:31 does not have this issue.

My thoughts are the film floated above the developer for a bit. I was not using the hold down tabs per Stearman. I may try those again, but so far only this 8x10 was an issue.

I may make a tube and develop that way since I only develop one sheet of 8x10 at a time anyways.

This is just a shot with my iPhone of neg on light table. And processed with LR for ios. So don't overthink the nasty processing. LOL.

[sjbadham]

What I see are brighter areas on both the left and right sides of the inverted negative, which indicate areas of higher density. So, this is an overexposure or overdevelopment problem, not the other way around.

My guess would be that it's due to higher developer turbulence at the left and right ends of the SP-810 (i.e., turbulence that continues for several seconds after an agitation cycle is completed), which effectively results in additional agitation and overdevelopment. My experience with the Stearman Press tanks, which I think are great overall, is that they're a little tricky to use specifically with Pyrocat-HD (I'm assuming you're using the HD version). A ratio of 1:1:50 is also a pretty high concentration for Pyrocat-HD, which might make anomalies like this more likely to occur.

As to why you don't see this in the subsequent negative developed in HC-110, my only comment is that, for whatever reason, staining developers, while fantastic, are more sensitive to variations in dilution, agitation, and tank type.

[paulbarden]

I agree - this looks like the result of uneven turbulence in the tank, causing more development in some areas. This is why I always develop sheet film in flat trays.

[jim_jm]

I've been using the SP 8x10 tray to develop various film types in Pyrocat, but haven't had any issues with uneven development. I do use the 8x10 sheet hold-down tabs but only pre-soak the film for about 1 min.
I try to vary the agitation as much as possible, lifting from different corners and sides and sort of gently rocking the tray a few times each minute.
Your example does look like overdevelopment in the light areas on the left and right, which could happen from extra developer turbulence as the fluid rebounds off the sides of the tray, if you're only agitating from side-to side.

[Dugan]

I get excellent results with my Stearman 810... I use the hold-downs, and have never seen that type of issue.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I tend to agree. I was watching the developer the other day as I was developing some film and noticed how it continues like a little wave back and forth. I wander though would this cause such a sharp line as what I have circled in the image?

I will experiment with a tube and see if I get the same issue. I might try tray processing old school just cause. I like the stearman for sure even for 4x5. I will try some more sheets tonight.

[Eric Woodbury]

Over-agitation.

I have done a lot of this. I love to over-agitate, but then I get similar results to what you have here. It doesn't take much movement to agitate a neg. Use an oversized tray. Just lift one side a little and then the bottom a little and wait. Best to have a tray that doesn't support oscillations. I like a dimple bottom tray. You can test this in the light. Good luck.