Adox 100 - Rodinal - Jobo Rotary Processor??

[Matthew Rolfe]

I'm currently using Adox 100 developed in Rodinal and plan to run a full development test using a Jobo rotary processor. Has anyone used this combination in a rotary processor before? Is it a big no no? Or is it just frowned upon? I understand that tray development is considered the best method of film processing (sheet film), by a lot of photographers, not all. But is the difference between using a rotary processor - in this day and age, with modern emulsions etc - really that vast??

Interested in peoples opinions, I like the rotary processor as it keeps the processing simple, reliable and on the whole much easier than tray development. Maybe I am lazy? ;)

[vinny]

There's nothing wrong with lazy as long as you admit it once in a while. I started using rotary development earlier this year and it's been great with pmk and rodinal, two developers I've been told not to use. I'm using them both with efke 25, fp4, classic pan, tmy, hsi, efke ir, and konica 750. I've added edta to the pmk on recommendation that it'll keep it from getting exhausted.

[Ari]

I hand roll 12 sheets a day in a Jobo drum and received perfect results thus far. I started just recently, but I've processed TMax 400, Ilford 100 Delta and Shanghai 100 in either D-76 or HC-110; no problems.
Test and adjust development before developing important film and you should be fine.
I hope that helps.

[vinny]

I should add that I'm using as much chemicals as the drum allows in order to fight chemical exhaustion. Rodinal is cheap.

[venchka]

I use Xtol 1:3 in Jobo tanks on motor bases. I also use a liberal amount of developer as vinny states.

[Jim Cole]

I use a 3010 tank with Rodinal in combination with Acros, TMY-2 and now Arista Edu Ultra 100 with outstanding results. As does Vinny, I use way more that the minimum chemicals required by the drum. Rodinal 1:50 gets about 750 ml for 1-5 sheets of film and I use about 800 ml of fixer solution. I had issues with uneven development and fixing until I started using more solution.

[Glenn Thoreson]

I use Rodinal 1:50 in my Unicolor setup. I don't usually have many sheets to do at once but 400ml of working solution will do four 4X5
sheets of APX 100 with no problems.
I haven't yet found any of my film stock that comes out other than great with this setup. I use Rodinal or D-76, depending on my frame of mind at the moment.

[ic-racer]

This is how I do it:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=23322&highlight=rodinal

[seabird]

I understand that tray development is considered the best method of film processing (sheet film), by a lot of photographers, not all.

Hmm, not so sure about that. For those processing B&W I would have thought the balance of opinion might have swung towards rotary processing (Jobo/BTZS etc) on account of nice even development, reduced chance of scratches, daylight processing etc. John Sexton has certainly been a (paid) advocate for rotary processing and if its good enough for him...

But then perhaps its just that those using tray development don't feel the need to advertise the fact.


Interested in peoples opinions, I like the rotary processor as it keeps the processing simple, reliable and on the whole much easier than tray development.

Agreed. For what its worth, I use a Jobo 2551 with 2 x 2509N reels that I rotate manually on a homemade "skateboard" that sits in a water bath. Max of 8 sheets of 4x5 per tank (ie 4 per reel). Jobo state a minimum of 560ml solution for this combination. I use Rodinal 1+50 (ie 600ml water + 12ml dev = 612ml total solution). I can increase/reduce contrast by increasing/reducing development times, but I dont have the equipment to accurately measure the change in contrast achieved. Nevertheless, it seems to work OK for me.

Cheers

[Matthew Rolfe]

Thanks for the replies. The only thing that concerns me about the rotary processing is the exhaustion due to consatnt agitation, as many of you have brought up. The Jobo base I have has a limit to the amount of chemistry, so that the motor does not become overloaded, 200/250 is about the maximum. I did put in more (around the 500 mark) but hasd to use the faster speed just to get the drum turning - Not a good idea, it didn't exactly sound healthy. I think I will move to hand rotation instead, or find a rotary base with a much stronger motor, capable of handling large amounts of developer.

thanks

[ic-racer]

Thanks for the replies. The only thing that concerns me about the rotary processing is the exhaustion due to consatnt agitation

The rate of exhaustion is not going to be significantly different from tray to drum to tank. I can't speak for all developers, but if there were to be increased replenishment requirements for rotary processing, the developer manufacturer would indicate this. If you are doing one-shot processing, you should not have to be concerned with exhaustion as long as you use the recommended minimum stock solution volumes (ie 10ml Rodinal per 8x10).

[venchka]

Expanding on that:

I stick to Kodak's 100ml per 8x10 for Xtol and round up to a convenient number for mixing. For example, Jobo says 640ml in my 2553 tank. I round up to 800ml for Xtol 1:3. It's easier to measure. I have also used 700ml for 1 roll of 35mm 36 exp. It was fine.

In my Expert 3010 I use 400ml minimum and go up from there.