Is the main reason to use Pyrocat the staining properties? Sharpness?
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Is the main reason to use Pyrocat the staining properties? Sharpness?
The main reason I now use Pyrocat-HD developer is that I can give enough exposure to my B&W film maintain details in the shadow areas without loosing
details in the highlight areas.
When using a standard B&W developer, I was blowing out the highlights and experiencing difficulty printing the resulting high contrast negatives.
Also, Pyrocat-HD developer, and a semi-stand development technique, resulted in increased acutance (sharpness).
Not sharper but more dynamic range
I sometimes find that Pyrocat does its job too well. Many of the subjects I shoot only have a 4 stop brightness range and Pyrocat can sometimes diminish the "brightness" at the high end of the range obliging me to print on around grade 31/2 as standard. I can get round this by increasing the solution strength when the need arises.