Horrible result with Rodinal

[keithwms]

Todd, good to see you here. With all due respect all the rodinalites here, pray tell why are you using Rodinal for your workflow rather than, say, a staining developer?

[brucemuir]

Todd, yea you can relax a bit on temperature after development but not too much.
Consistency is the key to this stuff so you can get repeatable results.

Once you get more familiar with a certain emulsion you will be shifting things like iso and development times to suit the light so a good database is a great idea.

[Todd Adamson]

pray tell why are you using Rodinal for your workflow rather than, say, a staining developer?

I don't even know what a "staining" developer is. I did a little research when I started playing around with development, and I decided to try out Rodinal for a few reasons: It's cheap. It's easy...nothing to mix. No powder. It's reputed to be not very sensitive to temperature considerations. And perhaps most importantly, the stuff can apparently sit on the shelf forever. Since my film explorations will be somewhat unpredictable, I didn't want to buy a bunch of some chemical that would go bad on my shelf if I took a break from shooting film for a couple of months. Additionally, I was interested in the compensating effect, and the fact that I could do stand development for long times with dilute solutions. Most days, I'd rather pour in developer and walk away for two hours than have to stand and babysit a tank for even 10 minutes.

I really want to try some other chemistry, but I truly love the results I have been getting with Rodinal, and not having time to get up and running with something else, I've been content to stick with it. For now.

[eclarke]

Here's the $64,000 question though, which nobody seems to be asking - when you look at the negatives themselves, do you see anything abnormal in them, or are you relying on the scanner to tell you what's normal and abnormal? I'm not saying you shouldn't apply greater rigor to your fixing regime (and start by replacing your fixer more often - chemicals are cheap by comparison to the images captured on the film, which may be irreplaceable), but have you looked into what could be going wrong with your scanner? Any deeper discussion of scanning issues is better handled over at Hybridphoto.com, the APUG sister site. There are some really skilled folks on that site who could provide you with immediate diagnosis if there is any scanner issue.

Yep, I think it's a d******l/ scanner thing..

[keithwms]

I really want to try some other chemistry, but I truly love the results I have been getting with Rodinal, and not having time to get up and running with something else, I've been content to stick with it. For now.

Glad you like the results you're getting, that's the main thing.

But... whenever you have time or courage: staining or "pyro" developers have many advantages, particularly if you are scanning. Let me suggest wd2d+ in particular. Buy the liquid stuff, it comes in two bottles. You mix that with water and voila. Keep forever. Excellent results.

[Todd Adamson]

Glad you like the results you're getting, that's the main thing.

But... whenever you have time or courage: staining or "pyro" developers have many advantages, particularly if you are scanning. Let me suggest wd2d+ in particular. Buy the liquid stuff, it comes in two bottles. You mix that with water and voila. Keep forever. Excellent results.

Thanks, I shall look into that. Shelf life and ease of mixing are the two biggest factors, so that sounds like something I should try. Too bad I just placed an order with Freestyle last week, or I'd order it now.

[TheFlyingCamera]

If you're talking about staining developers, I'll put in a plug for Pyrocat HD - it's also a two part liquid. Bostick & Sullivan ships part A dehydrated, but you just add warm water to reconstitute it and you're in business. It too lasts a very long time in stock form - I've had a bottle of stock that's lasted a year. Diluted and combined to working strength, you're on the clock to the tune of an hour or so before it starts to oxidize, but that's true with most of the staining developers. They're great for contrast control, as the stain serves as a contrast mask and helps keep highlights under control.

[brucemuir]

Im still using a PMK liquid kit from 2004-5

Some say Pyro produces too much grain for 135 but I haven't really seen it.

[TheFlyingCamera]

Pyro gives the APPEARANCE of grain when looking at the negative. The stain masks the grain when printing.

[2F/2F]

Can't you see the obvious? The sitter is most clearly giving you the evil eye! Your film was cursed! Cursed, I say!