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SAShruby
7-May-2009, 14:56
Folks,

I just won a 100 Sheets 4x5 Super-XX. Yes...Yes...Yessssssss...
But, now I'm wondering what developer would be the best to use. I can go with Pyrocad-HD from staining developers.

I think Michael and Paula use it and print on Lodima's[Azo] right? What else you guys would use?
Feedback much appreciated.

Cheers.

Bruce Watson
7-May-2009, 15:06
Super-XX is, IIRC, a super grainy film. Really really grainy. A 2x enlargement shows grain in the print level of grainy. So... I'd suggest a solvent developer instead of an acutance developer. I'm just sayin'.

Drew Wiley
7-May-2009, 15:11
I did fine with pyrogallol (PMK). Grain not obnoxious except maybe open skies or skintones, and very good acutance. Never tried it with pyrocatechol however.

Gene McCluney
7-May-2009, 15:11
Super XX is a beautiful film. You can develop it with about anything. I use HC-110b, but Michael and Paula use a Pyro-based developer.

Deane Johnson
7-May-2009, 16:02
Not in response to your question, but I think I remember Ansel writing that it was a thick emulsion film and very useful for water bath development. So that I don't mislead anybody into trying water as a developer, it was a process for drawing out the shadow detail in a highly contrasty scene.:)

Turner Reich
7-May-2009, 16:17
D76 1:1

Pete Roody
7-May-2009, 18:38
The last emulsion date for Super XX sheet film was around 1994. The film will probably have high FB + fog. Sandy King recommended ABC Pyro over Pyrocat for old Super XX on the Azo forum:

ABC 1:1:1:7 would definitely be my Pyro developer of choice for AZO
#2 and old Super-XX film. I would also recommend adding a small amount of
Benzotriazole to the developer. Experiment with a 1% Benzotriazole stock (1 gram of
Benzotriazole to 100ml of water), and test your film by adding between 1-10ml per
liter of this stock solution directly to your working developer. I am fairly certain that
you will find a point where the addition of Benzotrizole cuts B+f significantly without
reducing emulsion speed...just to clarify that the amount of Benzotriazole I recommended adding is calculated on the basis of one liter of working solution of the developer. In other words, test by adding between 1-10ml of a 1% Benzotriazole solution per liter of developer. I developed a couple of boxes of 12X20 Super-XX film a couple of years ago and the first sheets were developed in Pyrocat-HD 2:2:100. This gave me very high B+f...Sandy King

SAShruby
8-May-2009, 08:13
Thanks, this one was made in 1992.

RPNugent
8-May-2009, 11:32
Just wondering, aren't most of the developer suggestions for Super-XX based on plans to contact print? Not sure if that is your intent with 4x5 sheets and wonder how that affects the recommendations.

Michael Kadillak
9-May-2009, 08:00
I would not worry about fog. I recently saw some Super XX negs that Michael Smith developed in ABC that were so dense at the edges from fog that my first impression when looking at them over a light table was that they were unprintable. Boy was I ever wrong. The exposures were in the several minutes range over a 300 watt bulb on Azo grade 3 but they printed as marvelously as anything I had ever seen. This tells me that when you have a film curve that goes to the moon on a perfectly straight line like a rocket ship there are always a reason to be optimistic with this film.

SAShruby
11-May-2009, 14:57
I bought film to get experience with thick emulsion films. My goals is to spend 5 sheets and plot the BTZS curve and see what I can do with it. I also intend to test how much I can enlarge it. Sometimes having grain is good (for estetic reasons).

If I can go up to 8x10 and control grain, that's perfect. OTOH, I don't mind to do 4x5 contacts anyway.

I just gotta have the experience. That's it.

Lynn Jones
13-May-2009, 12:44
Peter,

I'm old enought to have used it for many years. If people think it is too grainy, they are using the wrong developers and exposures, especially in 4x5. Grain doesn't show up for 4 to 6 diameters of enlargement, not a problem for large format. We used in primarily in DK50, D76 (full strength), UFG, D23, and D25. Obviously, we also shot 35mm and 120 in SXX so we lived with fine grain developers and there were dozens of them. In 35mm and a good fine grain soup, there would be a hint of grain in 8x10, a little bit in 11x14, and obvious grain in 14x17 or 16x20, however, realize that this was our best film in those years.

SXX was the last film that had a straight line sensitometric curve and was so perfect in color sensitivity that it was the film of choice for color separations for 30 or more years. If you want to destroy it use Rodinal or some other high resolution developer.

In 35 or MF, I started in about 1954 or 55 to use Adox KB 14/17 and R 14/17 with Neodyn red or blue, these names were later changed to Neofin red or blue. In the late 50's I had access to a couple of other European films that were quite good such as Agfa ISS. In 1954 Tri X became available which was actually sharper and less grainy than SXX had certain qualities that did not make it disappear for decades.

Lynn

sanking
13-May-2009, 14:47
I used Super-XX a lot also back in the 1980s, primarily for making color separations. It was a wonderful film in terms of its long straight line curve and potential for N expansion and contraction.

However, both Tmax-100 are at least as good in terms of the long straight line and potential for N expansion and contraction, and also have finer grain and higher resolution.

Sandy King





Peter,

I'm old enought to have used it for many years. If people think it is too grainy, they are using the wrong developers and exposures, especially in 4x5. Grain doesn't show up for 4 to 6 diameters of enlargement, not a problem for large format. We used in primarily in DK50, D76 (full strength), UFG, D23, and D25. Obviously, we also shot 35mm and 120 in SXX so we lived with fine grain developers and there were dozens of them. In 35mm and a good fine grain soup, there would be a hint of grain in 8x10, a little bit in 11x14, and obvious grain in 14x17 or 16x20, however, realize that this was our best film in those years.

SXX was the last film that had a straight line sensitometric curve and was so perfect in color sensitivity that it was the film of choice for color separations for 30 or more years. If you want to destroy it use Rodinal or some other high resolution developer.

In 35 or MF, I started in about 1954 or 55 to use Adox KB 14/17 and R 14/17 with Neodyn red or blue, these names were later changed to Neofin red or blue. In the late 50's I had access to a couple of other European films that were quite good such as Agfa ISS. In 1954 Tri X became available which was actually sharper and less grainy than SXX had certain qualities that did not make it disappear for decades.

Lynn

SAShruby
13-May-2009, 15:32
Thanks for the input Lynn. I'll check Darkroom cookbook for those developers. I think D-76 is easily obtainable in a store near by me.

Would anyone have BTZS curves for this film? It would spare me from killing 5 sheets.