Nee Recommendation for development of Bergger film

greenspun.com : LUSENET : B&W Photo - Film & Processing : One Thread

I recently took a photographic trip through the Midwest, shooting 4x5 Bergger film at ISO=100, expecting to develop it myself in PMK. I'm no longer in a position to do so, but when trying to find a commercial lab to do it in PMK I can only find one which will even try it, and they charge $5.50 a sheet, which would send me to the poor house. My regular lab will develop them quite reasonably in any major developer that I specify (D-76, TMax-RS, Rodinal, Ilfosol, XTOL, etc.) What would you recommend? My own immediate thought is Microdol-X 1+3, because this is a thick, coarse grained film to which I've already given a little extra exposure. Thanks

-- Wilhelm (bmitch@home.com), November 16, 2001

Answers

If you go to the Bergger web page at www.bergger.com, you will find their recommendations.

I have developed the Bergger film in PMK, Rodinal 1:50, and HC-110. My personal preference is the HC-110.

-- Jim Steele (jdsteele@hotmail.com), November 17, 2001.


Jim,

what time/ EI are you using for Bergger in HC110? My tests are all over the map on this film..

thanks

david

-- David Parmet (david@parmet.net), November 17, 2001.


I shot it at EI 100 and used the Bergger recommended times of 6 minutes at 68 degrees F from their web site even though they recommended an EI of 200. Negs are fine although I'm printing with a cold light head. It you are using a condenser head you might want to cut back on the development time a bit.

-- Jim Steele (jdsteele@hotmail.com), November 20, 2001.

There is an alternative. Have the lab develop in a conventional developer like HC110. I say conventional because pyro is not now though it used to be conventional. If at any later time you crave the dual nature of pyro, bleach the film in a sepia bleach and redevelop it in PMK. This process does not require a darkroom. In fact the film must be exposed to light between bleaching and redeveloping. The original silver image remains and the stain is added to it. The redeveloped image then prints differently on graded paper and VC paper. It is useful for making prints by alternative processes such as platinum that require high contrast negatives, yet can be used with VC papers to make beautiful prints.

-- Patrick A. Gainer (pgainer@rtol.net), December 04, 2001.

Moderation questions? read the FAQ