experiences with arista 100, pyro hd, jobo 3010

[dede95064]

hello,

after searching and reading some older posts here and a couple of articles on pyro hd by sandy king, i am a little confused for the amount required for a jobo expert drum. for instance, in one article sandy recommends a minimum of 50ml per 4x5 sheet http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/PCat/PCat2/pcat2.html
and in another one he recommends 75ml per 4x5 sheet
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Pyrocat/pyrocat.html

i just bought a 3010 drum and the instructions state that a minimum of 210ml must be used. based on the above examples, this means the least amount of sheets i can process are 3-4 sheets. is that correct?

i just started lf photography and i am interested in giving arista 100 a try and eventually also using the new kodak tmax400 with this combination (jobo 3010 expert drum on a beseler motor base).

for those that have tried this combination (arista and/or the new kodak), what are your dev times and methods of developing (presoak/wash/etc)?

and as a last question, why would one prefer to use the 1:1:100 solution instead of a 2:2:100 solution if one can significantly reduce the development time?

thanks for any help!

[Bjorn Nilsson]

Given the price of pyrocat, 75ml instead of 50 doesn't really matter. The same goes for the 210ml minimum for the expert drums. I don't think that I ever had to wait to collect 3 sheets of film for the same run.
Anyhow, the 210ml minimum is to ensure that the drum works the way it's intended. If you only have one sheet to develop and you cannot wait, then I recon it's important enough to spend a few extra drops of developer.
There are many threads on both the Arista 100 and the new TMY film with Pyrocat HD. If you cannot find it here it's definitely on apug.org. (...as I personally haven't used these particular films.)
Last, if you are developing for normal silver printing or digital scanning, the 1:1:100 dilution is fine. The 2:2:100 is more energetic (The shorter dev time is a side effect of this.) and doesn't exhaust as quickly. Many alternative processes (Platinum etc.) demands a higher contrast which calls for the higher concentration. Also, while I started by pointing out the "cheapness" of Pyrocat, the bottles will last for the double amount of film if you go for 1:1:100.
As you are using a motor roller base, the few minutes saved with a higher concentration shouldn't matter. It's another story if you develop in trays or spin the drum by hand. (... which is why I really love my Jobo. :) )

//Björn

[Walter Foscari]

I use this combo all the time. Arista 100 (rated at 64) in pyrocat 1:1:100. 700ml of solution @20 degrees for 7:30 - 8:00 mins. This in a jobo 3010 rolled over a unicolor base which has been set to roll only one way. Make sure you're rolling on a level surface or the drum will go flying.
Tips: try to pour the solution while the drum is running (use a funnel with a bent spout) invert the drum to rotate in the opposite direction every couple of mins. This because, from my experience, foma films seem to be a bit prone to uneven development and these actions will prevent that. I also develop FP4+ this way and for that I have no need to invert rotation or pour the solution while the drum is rotating to get uniformly developed negs. Arista is a little more demanding in that way but I find that in the end the results are different but in no way inferior to FP4.

[dede95064]

thanks for the suggestions guys!

walter, what do you do for presoak and wash?

i did read up more on using the jobo tanks and jobo recommends at least 50ml for each sheet as well. i will experiment with using between 50ml-75ml.

the one thing i don't understand since i've never developed negatives is if there is some guide or book available that tells you what negatives are supposed to look like once developed? that is, how dark/light the negative should be? if you don't presoak or wash the film properly how does that affect the final negative compared to a properly washed negative, etc? since i've never done this before, i'm trying to control as many variables as possible and i will not know the culprit if i develop them wrong. the only way i guess is after many experimental attempts and a lot of wasted film. i guess that's how you learn then right? :o

[Walter Foscari]

thanks for the suggestions guys!

walter, what do you do for presoak and wash?



Presoak: 5min in 700 ml water.
Wash: in a gravity works tank for 5 mins after 3-4 1min water exchange in the tank itself.

The problem with not enough solution is that before your worry that there's not enough chemistry to handle the development you should be concerned that there's enough liquid in the tank to reach all surfaces of the film equally and provide a uniform development.

[Glenn Thoreson]

The negatives are something you need to learn to read. You should have full detail in the shadow (light) areas and the highlights (dark areas) should not be so dense as to be blocked up. You should be able to read a brightly lit printed page through the dark parts. That's not to say they shouldn't be dark, though. It's something you'll learn with practice. Have fun. :D