My initial trial worked great
1:15 developer A 6min 30sec at 71 degrees F
1:15 developer B 6min 30sec at 71 degrees F
Then typical stop, fix, hypoclear, rinse 10 min
Would a variation of concentrations help with the highlight development?
Since it is the amount of developer A absorbed into the film prior to solution B, would different strengths for A and B work? Say 1:100 for A, develop for say standard time for this dilution, then go to B at say 1:15 or 1:20 and develop for 6-10 minutes to further bring out shadow detail? From what I understand, the development in B for highlights is almost instantaneous whereas the shadows continue to develop, so If can better work on retaining the highlight detail while bringing out shadows that would be a plus.
The second method I am going to try shortly is to bleach the film prior to putting into the pyrocat. I will start with 1:15 or 1:20 for the A and B of pyrocat at 6-7 minutes each at 70-75 degrees as a base point, and then alter from there if need be. I will also compare the development of the film after bleaching using Tmax developer to start. After that I will try a different developer.
But for now, my main interest is optimizing the 2-bath Pyrocat for my style of shooting.
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