Originally Posted by
paulbarden
I gave up on Rodinal and its variants three years ago, in favor of the Pyro developers: Pyrocat HD and PMK. Both are superior for rendering super sharp negatives, and for preserving highlight detail separation (something Rodinal doesn't do). You can use Pyrocat HD as a semi-stand developer as well, if you're looking for the compensation effect. I've grown to dislike Rodinal immensely because it is brutal in how it handles highlight separation, and often sends high values soaring to near-unprintable densities. Pyro developers harden the emulsion as it develops, which has the effect of preventing sharp edges from "bleeding" (silver migration due to high sulfite concentrations), giving a sharp negative with excellent edge effects. Also, because a significant portion of the image density is from pyro stain, it masks the grain, most evident in the higher values. Rodinal, on the other hand, achieves its sharpness and strong edge effects by rendering sharp grain which is coarse and very obvious in the print.
Pyrocat HD is superior in every way, and lasts for years as a concentrate, costing something like twenty cents per roll to develop film.
I realize that none of this is going to change the mind of anyone who loves Rodinal, but I can't help but wonder how many would be astonished to discover how much better their results can be using one of the Pyro developers, and ditch the Rodinal.
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