Best film for Pyro developing?

[dsphotog]

I'm interested to hear opinions....
What is your favorite combination- film, flavor of pyro developer & processing method?
David Silva
Modesto,Ca

[John Bowen]

Tmax 400, Pyrocat HD, tray shuffle method.

Not that I have done extensive investigations, but when I find something that works, I stick with it.

[Bill_1856]

That's an interesting (and perhaps unique) concept -- picking a film to match your developer, not the usual vice versa.

[Payral]

TXP with ABC Pyro for platinum contact printing. Nothing else…

[mikebarger]

I've been using Tri-X 120 and HP5 4x5 in 510 Pyro with success.

Mike

[Gem Singer]

According to Gordon Hutchings, Bergger BPF 200 film and his PMK developer is a "marriage made in heaven".

From what i can conclude, Pyro developers work best with slower conventional-grained films.

I have found that Pyrocat HC and Ilford FP-4+ is also a great combination.

[Ken Lee]

1) Find some books and articles which discuss the underlying chemistry and sensitometry. We could call that "theoretical" evidence. You don't have to become a chemist, but just become familiar with the basic vocabulary.

2) Find some photos you admire, made with Pyro developer, and find out the film/developer combinations which were used. We could call that "emprical" evidence. If there is some photographer from past or present, whose work you really admire, then emulate that, more or less.

3) Try for yourself. See how things work for you. Compare the same image made with a variety of film/developers, with your equipment and methodology.

Keep in mind that film/developer combinations don't exist in a vacuum. The final image is influenced by many other factors.

[Drew Wiley]

The only sheet film I've ever used that DOESN'T work well with Pyro is Tech Pan.
And I've tried a lot of them. But my favorites in 8X10 are HP5-plus (wonderful edge
effect) and Bergger 200 (although now that it's discontinued, I'm experimenting with Arista 200). If neither of these were available, I'd probably use 400 TMax. In 4x5, where I like a little finer grain and can tolerate a bit slower speed, I highly recommend FP4-plus and Neopan Acros (I rate both of these at ASA 50 for PMK).
So much for landscape films. For portraiture, however, I might choose something
entirely different, with less hard acutance, like 100 TMax, rated at full speed to keep
it from going too high on the shoulder of the film curve. I use several pyro tweaks,
but tend to standardize on PMK; it's remarkably versatile stuff, and even with films
that don't stain heavily, there's enough of a stain to make a real difference.

[Scott Davis]

Pyrocat HD is a great developer for FP4+ and Arista.EDU Ultra (Fomapan) 200. I use them both for platinum/palladium printing.

[Andrew O'Neill]

HP5+, FP4, Efke 25, all in Pyrocat-HD. I've done a little TMY 400 in Pyrocat, and it looks great, probably even nicer than I've seen with my three main films.