Craig, what was the agitation you used? What were you rating the HP5+ at?
I was shooting at 200 on the recent test that I mentioned. I agitate for 1 minute with gentle inversions and then 2 gentle inversions/minute after. As I write this, I can't recall the exact time I used but the highlights and mid-tones were at nice density levels but the shadows were rather empty again.
We developed it for 15 minutes, agitate first 45 seconds, then two turns at 5 minutes and two turns at 10 minutes.
Temp was 80 degrees, best we could get out of the tap tonight.
Negatives came out nice, but she will have to work some on her close focus skills. This was my first shot at semi stand.
Tones and grain looked good.
I hadn't seen to much semi stand info for 510 pyro, so I'd thought I'd post the details.
Mike
510 is a terrific developer for semi-stand work. Jay used to say that you should dilute it 1:500, but I've gotten great results at 1:200. If I use any greater dilution I don't seem to get good shadow detail.
With regard to film speed with this developer, some report that film speed is a bit slow. Jay always said it was full speed. I wonder if he actually tested the speed, or if he just took photos. His photography was almost completely dedicated to family portraits, which makes he think he would have been most concerned with the high and midtone values, rather than the low values.
I've recently tried 510-Pyro and compared it to some film developed in XTOL. I took some pictures of the same subject (some Canadian Tire money and a Kodak grey scale separation guide). I shot APX 100 at various EI to get a good cross section of shots. I wanted the comparison to give me clarity as to the qualities of each developer.
I developed the APX 100 for 9 minutes in 510-Pyro and 9.75 minutes in XTOL. I found the results interesting. Upon inspection, the XTOL film seemed to exhibit finer grain but when printed, my friends were split as to which was less grainy, the XTOL prints or the 510-Pyro. I definitely preferred the blacks of the 510 formula and gradation was better. As for sharpness, the 510-Pyro was noticeably sharper.
All in all, I was very happy with the 510-Pyro and will use it as a film developer. Oh, it can develop paper too.
__________________
"The secret to life is to keep your mind full and your bowels empty. Unfortunately, the converse is true for most people."
I don't think you'll give up Ansco 130 but I got some pleasing warm tones with the 510-Pyro as a paper developer. The blacks are nice and prints come out a rich dark brown tone. Try a 1:25 dilution and a 1.5 minute development time for RC paper. I don't know what it's keeping properties would be, however, and can imagine it wouldn't be particularly long.
__________________
"The secret to life is to keep your mind full and your bowels empty. Unfortunately, the converse is true for most people."
Last edited by Snapshot; 09-14-2007 at 07:38 PM.
Reason: To correct suggested dilution level
Mike,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with 510 Pyro. I too use 510 Pyro along with P-TEA when speed isn't as much of a consideration. Your development times as stated look about right. I work with both MF roll film and LF sheet film. Printing on fiber VC with an Omega D2V condenser head and the Radeka Contrast Masking system. I find this developer extremely pleasing because it displays the unique aesthetic qualities of traditional pyro formulations, with film speed and general fog (similar) to Pyrocat HD - M or P variants. The developer truly last for years if not decades while in stock solution, resist streaking, and can be used with semi-stand or even stand processes if desired. I would never argue that Pyrocat HD and its excellent line of variants are either inferior or superior to the 510 Pyro formulation, but certainly in the same league of excellence in general with each other, each being unique in character. From my perspective its more about my aesthetic response to the developer and final print, than quantitative analysis, since my interest is more empirical in nature than some may gravitate toward. Having stated this position, I have used either 510 Pyro or P-TEA several hundred times since their inception and feel very comfortable with their use. If I really need a speed increasing formula then I migrate toward GSD-10 formulation. Each of these formulations and blog comments pertaining to them, can be found on Jay DeFehr's website: http://pyrostains.blogspot.com/ Please keep in mind, that Jay as of recent, isn't able to respond to comments for personal reasons until further notice--respect his privacy please. So you'll want to keep this in mind if you intend to post a question on his blog. He has however, provided a very informative site, with plenty of information on all of his developers and technical use. Jay is a great guy! Of course, those of us actively using organic solvent developers have much appreciation to give to Patrick Gainer and his monumental research on this matter, and kindness to share with us "backyard mechanics" in classic photography.
Cheers,
Mark Booth
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