Hello Peter,
Yep, that's what I'm thinking too. I also have used Pyrocat-HD for many years with all formats from 35mm through 8x10 developing regular film in both my Jobo CPP2 and hand tanks. I've noticed as I've zeroed in on a standard developing time that shadow detail varies quite a bit; that is, longer development reveals more shadow detail while shorter development reveals less. And, I'm not talking wild fluctuations in development times--say, 7.5 vs 8.5 mins! This all leads me to believe that the Ektascan film loses film speed--at least in this developer--VERY quickly. I feel fairly confident in what I'm observing in this regard because two sheets were exposed one after the other under identical daylight conditions (cloudless skies, too.) Longer development to increase speed to reveal better shadow definition is good, but it leads to pretty contrasty negs which could be difficult to print with typical VC papers, even with very low grade filters. Therefore, based on my best derived development regimen it appears that the only option I have is to lower my EI; not something I really would want to do given shooting 8x10 in typical outdoor conditions. Wind is not our friend!
I've read on these boards of a couple photographers shooting EFKE 25. In the past, I had a photographer friend who always shot Tech Pan. Personally, I can't even begin to imagine shooting the kinds of scenes I do with an EI25 speed film. Heck, I'd probably find that slow speed problematic with 4x5! But, we're all different and YMMV...
Guess I'll have to give all this some more thought. Maybe try lowering my EI to 40/50 or keep the longer development time and print on a long-scale paper such as Lodima. I'll have to get in the darkroom and see what these various negs give me on different papers. Oh, and I did try Rodinal at 1:200 but got bullet-proof negs. If anyone is developing this film with Rodinal in a Jobo I'd love to get your dilution/time/temp.
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