Prescysol and Pyrocat-HD, actually the same -- any conclusions?

[Lotus M50]

There would be several options for modifying Prescysol to give finer grain. In the case of a pyrocatechin + phenidone staining developer, just reducing the ratio of phenidone to pyrocatechin in the formula would give more stain, and thus more grain masking, but probably less EFS. So, if anyone has compared Prescysol to Prescysol-EF with the same film and type of agiation, was there more stain with -EF?

Thing is, there is usually something of a trade-off between grain and acutance, so another question, assuming anyone had made the above comparison, was there a difference in apparent sharpness?

These are the relevant questions and I wonder if anyone who has used both Prescysol and Prescysol-EF could share their experience in this area? They are not addressed in any Prescysol product information which seem to suggest that the only difference is finer grain with Prescysol-EF (if so, is there any reason at all to use the original Prescysol or are there, in fact other differences?)

I am hoping that Peter Hogan, a member of the forum and the developer of Prescysol and Prescysol-EF, will eventually contribute to this discussion and clarify some of these issues for users and help give us greater understanding and comfort in selecting his products.

[Dave Miller]

As I understand it Prescysol-EF is designed to achieve the best performance from 35mm negatives, whilst Prescysol is designed for medium format and larger. As far as I can tell they achieve that aim very well indeed.

[Lotus M50]

As I understand it Prescysol-EF is designed to achieve the best performance from 35mm negatives, whilst Prescysol is designed for medium format and larger. As far as I can tell they achieve that aim very well indeed.

So what would happen if you used Prescysol-EF for medium format? How would original Prescysol be better? I can see that the claim of finer grain would be advantageous for 35mm. However, it would clearly also be advantageous for medium format. That is, unless you have to give something up that you rather have for MF to get the finer grain. What would you be giving up from original Prescysol by using Prescysol-EF to get the finer grain?

[lee]

Lotus,

love the avatar I will be voting for the Kinkster myownself. WRT to prescysol and Prescysol-EF I cant say what the difference is. Don Miller thinks regular Prescysol uses Sodium Carbonate for part B and EF probably uses pot carbonate. I dont think it makes a dimes worth of difference what format you use with either formula. I suspect it it hype. Can't prove it but that is what I suspect.

lee\c

[Will S]

I use prescysol-ef on 120. It produces negatives which I can print from, so I'm guessing it works.:-) (There is more visible stain than prescysol too it seems to me btw)


Best,

Will

[Tom Hoskinson]

I use prescysol-ef on 120. It produces negatives which I can print from, so I'm guessing it works.:-) (There is more visible stain than prescysol too it seems to me btw)


Best,

Will

The amount of stain is difficult to evaluate without a densitometer. However, if there is more stain it can cause an apparent grain reduction effect. As Sandy King said: more stain, and thus more grain masking.

Will, have you seen any differences in image acutance, prescysol versus prescysol -ef?

[Will S]

Will, have you seen any differences in image acutance, prescysol versus prescysol -ef?

I couldn't really say. They look sharp to me. Sharper? I'm not sure, and I don't have the equipment to tell beyond what I can see under the enlarger.

Sorry,

Will

[sanking]

Lotus,

love the avatar I will be voting for the Kinkster myownself. WRT to prescysol and Prescysol-EF I cant say what the difference is. Don Miller thinks regular Prescysol uses Sodium Carbonate for part B and EF probably uses pot carbonate. I dont think it makes a dimes worth of difference what format you use with either formula. I suspect it it hype. Can't prove it but that is what I suspect.

lee\c

Lee,

So are you throwing your vote away because the othe candidates are not acceptable, or does Kinky really have a chance to win?

I have seen Kinky on several talk shows, and gotta say, if I lived in Texas I would vote for him.

Sandy

[lee]

Sandy,

I wish Kinky was somewhat more left leaning. He is really a Libertarian, I believe. However, as you say, maybe I am throwing away my vote (none of the regular 2 party candidates make me salivate) but maybe he does have a chance. It could certainly send a message if he commanded a decent showing. This is after all the prototypical Red State.

lee\c

[Dave Miller]

Is Kinky another staining developer?