Fp4+ in ilfosol

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Hi, i see that this formun is a very complete one and very prfecional too. so maybe my Q's my be a little bit amateurish 1. I'm trying diferent films since I recently moved up to MF, and till now i decided T-Max isnt for me, Apx 100 is a little bit too contrasty so I now going to try FP4+ and i have Ilfosol - S in the lab, and wanted to expose it to 50 Iso is the time in the ilfosol booklent is a good one ? what dilution to use? i want fine grain so i guess that the longer dev time, am I correct? 2. regading Ilford Multigrade filters, since in my new MF enlarger doesnt have any filter place, i cant use my old MG filters, does anyone knows of the Equivalent of those filters on a color head (m,y) setting for eche contrast level?

thanks for your time. Diego.

-- Diego K. (Heuristica@mailcity.com), May 04, 1999

Answers

Diego, no question is too amateurish!, well except is Nikon or Canon better!

Firstly, you can get the colour head settings for filter grade from the Ilford web site or from the info sheet that came with the filters. You may not still have this so go and have a look at the site, you can get all the info in PDF format.

I have only used FP4 and Ilfosol in 35mm format but have found for my camera/developing technique/enlarger I need more time than the quoted figures to get negs that consistantly print at grade 3 on MG. I use the filters as I find it easier to drop the next one in rather than setting new values on the colour head. For the record, I rate FP4 at 80asa, develop it in Ilfosol at 1:9, temp of 20C, for 6mins.

-- Nigel Smith (nlandgl@eisa.net.au), May 04, 1999.


An answer to part of your question. 120 format FP4+ requires longer development time than 35 mm. I expose at 80-100 ASA and develop for 8 1/2 minutes in 1:14 Ilfosol. This is close to what Ilford recomends in their website (www.ilford.com). I recall that Ilford does not recomend development times less than (I think) 6 minutes due to uniformity problems. I didn't see any but went to the 1:14 anyway and I get the negatives that I want.

Cheers,

-- Duane Kucheran (dkucheran@creo.com), May 06, 1999.


I get the best results from FP-4+ in PMK (Pryo-Metol-Kodalk) but this may be a little too advanced if you are just starting out. The next best developer I've used (and my standard for 'pushing') is XTOL. The 'sol' in Ilfosol indicates that it is a SOLVENT developer. This means that some of the silver is 'desolved' and redistributed randomly in the emulsion. While this gives the appearance of 'fine' grain, it drastically reduces sharpness by eliminating the 'edge effect' in the emulsion. A sharp negative will always make a superior print (unless you are intentionally going for the fuzzy look.) Undiluted XTOL is slightly solvent, but diluted 1:2 or greater, the solvent action is virtually eliminated. Also, it's very safe, chemically, and easy to mix. The price is very low and you can get it anywhere.

-- Michael D Fraser (mdfraser@earthlink.net), May 07, 1999.

You might like to read a book by Barry Thornton called Elements. While not a typical instruction type book it is an easy read with a lot of information on making fine monochrome prints. He gives a lot of advice on which dev works best with different situations.

I rate Ilford Perceptol very much, a slight loss in film speed is a small price to pay, Agfa Rodinol is not so fine grain but very sharp and keeps for ever and being a liquid is convenient and cheap as dilutions are 1:25 or 1:50

Good luck

-- David Bailey (drdog@psilink.co.uk), June 20, 1999.


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