Acros & Xtol?

[Leonard Metcalf]

Hi all,

Have been experimenting with Acros and Xtol for a week now, getting some pretty strange results. Would love to know if anyone else is using this combintation, times, dilutions, EI, etc. (difusion enlarger)... Thanks Len

[Tom Westbrook]

I've used Xtol with the roll film version of Acros with great results just using the times at digitaltruth.com. I think I useed an EI of 64, if memory serves. I'm waiting for some 4x5 to arrive for testing myself.

What "strange results" are you getting? Using what methods? I'd be interested to hear.

[Leonard Metcalf]

Inconsistent, mainly... some are very lifeless... have tried extending the development for low contrast situations, and reducing for high contrast shots... yet on printing are muddy... or seem to only have a limited range of tones... I am currently rating the film at EI 50... tray developing in straight xtol... about 6.5 min at 20 degrees C, continous agitation. Have droped the time down to 5 min and extended to 8... have also tried 64/80 & 100 EI... yet to get a shot that I am happy with tonnaly... am trying all sorts of situations to get to know the film... I tried the digital truth @ EI 100 & 8 min (neat).. can't say I liked those ones either...

Perhaps a better question might be "How do you methodically test a film without wasting so many sheets?"

[Tom Westbrook]

I always use it a one-shot diluted developer rather than stock. 1:1 is the usual, but if you take care to have enough stock (at least 250ml stock per 4 sheets of 4x5 of film) in the mixture for the film quantity, 1:2 or even 1:3 is possible. See digitaltruth.com for times. I like result from the dilutions muh better than the undiluted stock. Some people have had problems with dilutions higher than 1:1, so be careful and test first. I never had that problem with even 1:3. Also, digitaltruth's times fro Acros are for roll film with intermittent agitation, so you might want to back off those times a bit (like 20%) for tray development.

As for film testing, it's probably best to start off using the rated speed of 100 and the recommended times (less some for tray development if needed) unless you have a good reason to rate it lower (i.e. methodical testing). If you're a Zone System person, see Ansel Adams The Negative (in the back) for a fairly simple testing procedure. Also, don't look at testing as a waste of film--it'll save you in the long run.