I shoot 2 1/4 B&W almost exclusively for outdoor natural light landscapes. I initially began with Tmax 100 but was not entirely satisfied with what I perceived as a subtle lack of sharpness or edge clarity in the finished print. (No, this is not a case of camera shake or enlarger misalignment or negative popping). The film just seemed to lack accutance, although the shadow detail and tonality is superior to any film I have ever used. It also resists blocking in the highlights very well. Grain is superb. However, that being said I was still not happy with the sharpness, and so tried Ilford Pan F Plus. I find this film excellent in regards to it's sharpness. I have to expose at an E.I. 25 to get adequate shadow detail however. Besides the 2 stop difference between it and Tmax 100, Pan F Plus is somewhat more contrasty. I develop in ID-11 1+1 for 8 1/2 minutes at 68 degrees. Recently I read of someone getting superb results with Pan F Plus and Rodinal 1+50. There is no tech data from Ilford at this dilution and an E.I. 25. Does anyone have any experience with this combination? My experience with Rodinal is somewhat limited, I recall it giving a "thinner" negative than what I am used to printing with my cold light enlarger and the grain appeared somewhat more distinct. Is this the general impression others have found?

-- Mark J. Schaefer M.D. (mjmjschaef@aol.com), January 06, 1999

Answers

Hi. I also haven't tried this combination, but have got very good results processing Pan-F+ in ILFOSOL-S rated at 50 ASA according to Ilford recomendations. Sharpness and grain are both exelent with the contrast slightly higher, but still good shadow detail.

-- Evgeni Poptoshev (evgeni.poptoshev@surfchem.kth.se), January 08, 1999.

I've been using Rodinal with Ilford films for a while now with great results. I found that 1+50 works better than 1+25 in almost all situations where normal development is required. I've had smooth tones and great detail even in the shadows. Pan F Plus has been one of my favorite films. One of the tricks I have found is it requires more adgitation than recommended (10s every 30s as opposed to 10s every 60s) in a small tank.

If you like Tmax 100, try Ilford Delta Pro 100. I've just started using it with great results. I develop it in Kodak Tmax developer. The grain looks even finer than the Pan F Plus.

-- Christopher H. Esser (esserc@stricom.army.mil), January 08, 1999.

I've not used the 1:25 dilution -- I have used PanF with Rodinal (actually a homebrew that is the same thing fo all intents and purposes). My EI in this soup is porbably something like 25 with 10 minutes.

People either love or hate Rodinal. If you are used to ID-11, you'll find the Rodinal negs crisper, grainer, and sharper.

If sharpness is your primary concern, may I suggest Agfa APX 25? Try this in Rodinal diluted 1:100 for 14 minutes at EI 25. APX 25 is remarkably sharp -- it is also rather unforgiving.

For unreal sharpness, of course, you can go all the way to TechPan with various developers (since we are talking about Rodinal -- dilute 1:300 -- yes, 300 -- for 12 minutes with EI of 32

-- Paul Friedman (pfriedman@worldnet.att.net), January 09, 1999.

I have gotten great results with pan-f(E.I.25) using rodinal 1:100 for 20min.I agitate for the first full min. and then every 3min. It gives excellent sharpness, shadow detail and the highlights will not block up.I have used higher dilutions on other films and the negatives ended very soft,yet fully developed;but 1:100 is my favorite

-- Khristian DeMelo (krockilla1@aol.com), January 20, 1999.

I use 1:60 Rodinal Special to develop slitted Ilford Pan F+ in Minox daylight development tank. 20 degree C, 16 minutes. EI 50, grain slightly coarser than Agfapan APX 25.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), February 04, 1999.

Try Pan-F+ in PMK; the results are spectacular! Expose at EI:32. Develop in PMK (pyro-metol-Kodalk) for 9 minutes @ 68 F.

-- Michael D Fraser (mdfraser@earthlink.net), February 04, 1999.