Rollei/Adox Ortho 25 in high diluted developers

[renes]

I am going to try Rollei and Adox Ortho 25 (roll 120 film) and develop them in Rodinal 1:100 and HC-110 (1:119 or 1:79). I could not find suggested developing times, no at http://www.mironchuk.com/hc-110.html and http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/ as well.

Hope someone used these combos and can share with determined dev. times.

[A49]

Hello renes,

if ADOX Ortho 25 is the same as the Ortho 25 sheet film you can order from Fotoimpex in Berlin then I have some experience with it. I developed the Ortho 25 sheet film in Rodinal (the old ORWO type "R09") diluted 1+150 at 17.5 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. The negative I got was a little too hard, therefore I had to print it with Y80 adjustment on the color head of my enlarger. I guess 1+150, 17.5 degrees and about 8 minutes would have been perfect or maybe I should have diluted the Rodinal 1+200.

I hope this helps. The Ortho 25 is an amazing film, very sharp and extreme fine grained, I think in this categories better than TMax 100, ACROS or Delta 100 or the other conventional low speed films. But I don´t know by now if the tonality is also that good. Maybe you test it and write about your impression.

Best regards,
Andreas

[A49]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I exposed the film not at 25 ASA but at about 12 ASA and the negative still seemed a little underexposed.

[renes]

Hello renes,

if ADOX Ortho 25 is the same as the Ortho 25 sheet film you can order from Fotoimpex in Berlin then I have some experience with it. I developed the Ortho 25 sheet film in Rodinal (the old ORWO type "R09") diluted 1+150 at 17.5 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes. The negative I got was a little too hard, therefore I had to print it with Y80 adjustment on the color head of my enlarger. I guess 1+150, 17.5 degrees and about 8 minutes would have been perfect or maybe I should have diluted the Rodinal 1+200.

I hope this helps. The Ortho 25 is an amazing film, very sharp and extreme fine grained, I think in this categories better than TMax 100, ACROS or Delta 100 or the other conventional low speed films. But I don´t know by now if the tonality is also that good. Maybe you test it and write about your impression.

Best regards,
Andreas


Thanks Andreas.
I just bought 10 rolls of Rollei Ortho 25, hope will have soon time to use it.
Why do you prefer 1:150 dilition to 1:100? And why 17,5 C?

I am going to develope it in 20C, what developing time would you suggest - using 1+100 dilution?

I want to expose it at 12ASA too. Do you shorten the dev. time accordingly? (about 10% of the time).

[A49]

Why do you prefer 1:150 dilition to 1:100? And why 17,5 C?

I am going to develope it in 20C, what developing time would you suggest - using 1+100 dilution?

I prefer 1:150 dilution, because when developing in the sheet film in the tray, I need longer times (at least 8 minutes) to develop the sheet homogenously. The reported optimum temperature for Rodinal is 16 C, which tried but I did not match. Therefore the 17.5 C. At 20 C I would start at about 7 minutes in 1:150 Rodinal and every 30 seconds intermitting (not steady) movement of the developing can. In 1:100 I would take even shorter times (maybe about 5 minutes) but I guess at 1:100 the process could not be controlled easily.

The real exposure index for ORTHO 25 in Rodinal 1+150 is about 6 to 12 ASA. I tried another shot at 6 ASA and developed 9 min in Rodinal 1+200 at 18 C. The resulting negative was just good (not to much) exposed and a little too soft. Printing at Magenta 150 delivered a nice image.

[renes]

16 C is quite low from 20C recommended by many charts.
Optimum 16C means it produces less grain?

I just bought Adulux APH 09 (new version 1:50)

[A49]

16 C is quite low from 20C recommended by many charts.
Optimum 16C means it produces less grain?

I just bought Adulux APH 09 (new version 1:50)

Yes it seems to be quite low... But you can find it already in old photographic encyclopedias from around 1920 if I remember that date correctly that it "works best at 16 C". What "best" does exactly mean is another question because the book does not say more. I would guess the grain or the sharpness or both is/are best if you develop at 16 C. And I would not think that the film speed is increased by cooling down Rodinal. ;) Unfortunately I have never had the time to test Rodinal at different temperatures with the same film. (That would be an interesting task.) If your Adulux APH 09 is based on the old Rodinal formula then cool down the water or the working solution in your fridge and give it a try at 16 C. I estimate at higher temperatures Rodinal works a little different but not very much worse than at 16 C. In my opinion the 20 C dogma from the charts is only a practical fix point and every single developer has an optimum temperature (which can differ from 20 C) for an aimed purpose .

I´m a little courious about the format and camera that you want shoot with your ADOX Ortho rolls? How large do you want to print your negatives?

[renes]

Thanks for all the info.
Indeed Adulux APH 09 is based on the old Rodinal formula.



I´m a little courious about the format and camera that you want shoot with your ADOX Ortho rolls? How large do you want to print your negatives?

Want to load it into my 6x9 roll back (56x82mm) and than fit it to my Voiglander Bergheil 6x9 (with set of 9 lenses from 65mm to 200mm - all not coated but with hoods :) ).

If I take great landcape I might want to have big 70x50cm :)

[A49]

Want to load it into my 6x9 roll back (56x82mm) and than fit it to my Voiglander Bergheil 6x9 (with set of 9 lenses from 65mm to 200mm - all not coated but with hoods ).

Thats a very nice camera. I also work with vintage cameras (Linhof from around the 1930s).


If I take great landcape I might want to have big 70x50cm.

If you look for technical perfection (it seems so because you choose the Ortho 25) then you face a not so easy challenge. I found that making pictures that are 5 times enlarged and still are technically perfect is already hard. But a good picture has not to be technically perfect and a technically perfect picture is not necessarily a good one.:) 70x50 cm is a 9 times linear magnification. From my experiences I can say the Ortho 25 is still very good in this range but already with a slight visible grain. I find it "perfect" only until 7 times magnification if developed in diluted Rodinal. On the other side you need very good lenses and the ground glass plane should very exact be on the place where your roll film in the roll back takes place when you take the picture. I speak having own dissappointment in mind, because my camera / roll back did not exactly enough match with the ground glass plane when I started. I hope you have some Dagor or Tessar (with starting aperture f/6.3) among your lenses, because these are very sharp uncoated lenses that can be sometimes even on par with modern lenses. The uncoated lenses have sometimes advantages over the coated ones, because the shadow parts of the picture will be a little brightened. Speaking of the shadows I just read in a book that Ortho films have the advantage that when the sky is blue, the shadows become brighter on the Ortho film than on a Pan film, because the Ortho is more blue sensitive.

So you have good conditions for taking your landscapes. Good luck and good light for that!

[renes]

Thanks Andreas! I hope my unoated lenses (3 Heliars, Tele-Dynar, Extra Rapid Aplanat, Petzval, Dagor, Meniscus) will work well with contrasty Ortho 25 film. I have 3 Rada backs and they seem to be fine - keep films flat and exactly on the gg plane.