In search of grain

[Gary Holliday]

I work in medium format and will only be printing to a maximum size of 11x11". I need some very grainy looking negs and intend using Rodinal, however whilst typing this it appears Fuji Neopan 1600 and TMAX 3200 is not available in 120 format aarrgggh

Plan B: Can Neopan 400 be pushed a few stops in Rodinal?

Will Lithing the results give sufficient grain? (I've yet to try the process)

[TheFlyingCamera]

Use Tri-X, push it to 800-1000, and try souping it in Dektol. It will develop FAST ( 3 mins +/- in Dektol 1:3 @ 75F), have golfball-like grain, and be very sharp.

[Stephen Frizza]

have u considered getting delta 3200 and developing some unexposed film in dektol with continuous agitation so u get a grain base you can sandwich with other film types to get the grain your after? p.s the Tri-X Dektol combo works wonders! grain stands out like dogs balls!

[dpurdy]

I just spent yesterday printing 120 delta 3200 shot at 1600 and processed in XTOL. I was hoping for not much grain but at 7x7" the grain is very evident. Actually looks pretty interesting though with nice tones. I would shoot delta 3200 and process it out in your Rodinal and it should give you plentiful grain.

[TheFlyingCamera]

If you're going to stick to Rodinal, run it 1:25 or maybe even try it 1:12.5, and run it hot.

[lee]

trix in dektol

lee\c

[DarkroomExperimente]

with Tri-X in Dektol....what's the contrast like?

sounds like fun

does the Ilford Multigrade Paper Developer have a similar effect on grain?

[lee]

trix in dektol 1:2 the contrast can be considerable. I never fooled with it too much I would imagine changing the dilution to something like 1:4 and some exposure compensation the contrast might be a little less.

lee\c

[TheFlyingCamera]

Anything in Dektol can be punchy, even at 1:3. I've never tried the Ilford paper developer - I don't know that MG would be as good for film as Dektol, which was originally developed to be a "universal" developer, much like Ansco 130.

[srs5694]

I have experience with two very grainy combinations in 35mm:

• Svema FN64 in XTOL. This seems counter-intuitive; Svema FN64 is an ISO 64 film, and XTOL is normally a fine-grained developer; however, the result was hideous -- huge grain and uneven development. I suspect this isn't what you're looking for, and Svema has been out of production for quite a while, so finding it (particularly in MF) could be tricky.
• Fuji Neopan 1600 in PC-Glycol 1+1+48 (with 15% sodium carbonate as the "B" solution) -- This produced very big and very crisp grain. This was a rather surprising result for me, since PC-Glycol doesn't normally exaggerate grain in this way. I personally didn't like the result, but it might work for some subjects, and it could be just what you want.

I realize you said that Neopan 1600 isn't available in MF, but it's conceivable that Fuji Neopan 400 would react similarly to PC-Glycol (I've never tried that combination). It might therefore be worth trying this combination. PC-Glycol is easy to make; you need phenidone, ascorbic acid, sodium carbonate, propylene glycol, and water.