kentmere 100/400 in xtol? were do I start

[Jerevan]

I have been doing Kentmere 400 at 12,30 minutes in Xtol 1+1. I don't have the notes with me now, but I think I used similar times (12 minutes) with Kentmere 100 in Xtol 1+1. 400 was a bit flat while the 100 had better contrast, doing contact sheets with my standard setup at grade 2,5. Neither of them are unprintable by any means, we are talking nuances here.

[dfortier]

I've been using Kentmere 400 and Xtol for a while now. I get great results with Xtol stock at 69 degrees for 8 minutes. Good density in the negatives and great contrast. Easy printing.

[5stringdeath]

Sprint does have times published for the Kentmere films time chart, and the time for the 400 is longer vs. that of HP-5 so going in that direction as TimeShare says makes sense for a starting point. I'm surprised that Ilford hasn't put up a time for xtol as yet. I'm also surprised they make it so hard to get from the Ilford site to the Kentmere site, well, not so hard but not so clear either.
Why do students always hate on the stuff the school provides? Hmm. Just a rhetorical question.

Am I just blind, or did Sprint remove Kentmere films from this chart? I just stared at it for like 10 mins .....

[5stringdeath]

God never mind ... its on the URL page, but they apparently did not update the PDF version :-)

[erikg]

Thanks for that 5string, I will pass that along to them, The pdf should be kept current.

[5stringdeath]

I've found some anecdotal times for Rodinal and Kentmere 400, but how come nobody publishes/uses this combo?

[haziz]

I don't know how much help it is, but I ordered a bulk of Kentmere 400, and in this crappy Sprint Developer we use at school, it seemed to develop a little dense with published times for HP5+. I'm getting some Ilfosol 3 to try it...

Actually, there were published times on the box of film, but I threw it away. The Massive DEvelopment Chart has times listed (though no for xtol).

Sprint developer is far from "crappy". I actually find it superb. It is my favourite developer for Ilford FP4+, prefering it over Xtol, Ilford Ilfotec DDX and Rodinal. It also at least using my metering and technique gives me box speed or a bit above (with FP4+ but not with Acros or HP5+). It appears to be a Phenidone/Hydroquinone developer designed to be somewhat similar to D76 1:1. Just because it is popular in schools and colleges and communal darkrooms does not prevent it from being a superb developer. Actually all the Sprint chemicals including their stop, rapid fix and print developer are excellent.

BTW Sprint has already published dev times for the Kentmere films:

http://www.sprintsystems.com/film_chart.php

[5stringdeath]

Now that I've been through a bunch of rolls of Kentmere 400 35mm I'm really liking it. Might be the film I settle in on .. just wish it came in 120 too so I could settle in on a film for both.

Anyhooo, I haven't souped any in Rodinal yet. Been doing Sprint 1+9 because that's what we have around the school and I haven't found any solid 1:50 rodinal times yet, and haven't had times to do my own testing. However, I like what I'm getting with the Sprint, so I may not test for awhile .. if it ain't broke, etc.

I too used to look down on Sprint chemistry for no good reason ... until I started using it a lot and did research on its history. Now I have great faith in all of it. I especially like the fixer. The print developer I waffle on depending on what paper I'm using, but for film its great. I just have a personal hard time letting go of Rodinal as its been with me for years, *sniff*

[erikg]

Save the Rodinal for the Kentmere 100, that film builds contrast fast so some dilute Rodinal and careful agitation should make that stuff look great.

[Romary]

I have been doing Kentmere 400 at 12,30 minutes in Xtol 1+1. I don't have the notes with me now, but I think I used similar times (12 minutes) with Kentmere 100 in Xtol 1+1. 400 was a bit flat while the 100 had better contrast, doing contact sheets with my standard setup at grade 2,5. Neither of them are unprintable by any means, we are talking nuances here.

Hello,

Since Jerevan posted that, does anybody tried Kentmere 100 and 400 in Xtol? What time and dilution did you used?