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Tips on using rodinal


Aryel

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2 hours ago, Ornello said:

Actually, Rodinal does not give high acutance, at least not higher than most developers. It is a non-solvent developer, but not all non-solvent developers are high acutance, though all high-acutance developers are low- or non-solvent..

For those who want what Rodinal is supposed to offer, I suggest FX-39 II, at 1+14 dilution, using the times for the 1 +9 dilution.

See:

https://www.catalinsamoila.com/perfect-developer/

From the Adox web site "Rodinal - ACUTANCE ENHANCING FILM DEVELOPER" and "FX-39 II - BALANCED GRAIN, SHARPNESS AND CONTRAST"  

From the Catalin Samoila site quoted, speaking of Rodinal, "Its most appreciated parameter is acutance, although much later I discovered that it is only apparent and is useful only for magnification on photographic paper." It sounds like she is confusing acutance, where in my experience Rodinal excels, with sharpness, where Rodinal is only average. 

Edited by Doug A
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7 hours ago, Aryel said:

I found one more reason for me to try Rodinal: I don’t really grasp the difference between acutance and sharpness. I am hoping to understand by seeing it on my photos. 

Think of acutance as an increase in edge contrast, making edges more defined, but not actually sharper.

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Use 1+50 for a more normal contrast. Use 1+25 if you want negatives that really pop.

Slight overexposure seems best. Also, VERY gentle agitation, as in, just gently turn the tank over once each minute. Otherwise, you’ll have a whole bushel of grain. I sometimes agitate once every two minutes this way. 

There are probably “better” developers, but nothing gives you the look of Rodinal. It’s unique. And often, for many, “better” just means “bland” or “boring”. 

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10 hours ago, oldwino said:

Use 1+50 for a more normal contrast. Use 1+25 if you want negatives that really pop.

Slight overexposure seems best. Also, VERY gentle agitation, as in, just gently turn the tank over once each minute. Otherwise, you’ll have a whole bushel of grain. I sometimes agitate once every two minutes this way. 

There are probably “better” developers, but nothing gives you the look of Rodinal. It’s unique. And often, for many, “better” just means “bland” or “boring”. 

Haven’t received the developer yet. I shot two rolls of trix400 exposed @200 and one roll of fp4+ exposed @100. 

Trying to find recommended starting point for the trix. Massive dev chart indicates 9 minutes (1:50) with 10 sec inversions every minute. Was thinking to do only one gentle inversion every minute. 

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On 10/17/2021 at 9:40 AM, chrism said:

Think of acutance as an increase in edge contrast, making edges more defined, but not actually sharper.

 

20 hours ago, Ornello said:

FX39 is far superior to Rodinal in every way.

Not quite sure how your reply pertains to understanding acutance, although I think we all understand by now that you dislike Rodinal. To which I have but one answer:

There are some advantages to having a fridge reserved for storing chemicals!

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3 hours ago, chrism said:

 

Not quite sure how your reply pertains to understanding acutance, although I think we all understand by now that you dislike Rodinal. To which I have but one answer:

There are some advantages to having a fridge reserved for storing chemicals!

Some products achieve 'cult' status for no particularly good reason. Sometimes there is a lack of technical sophistication, as in those who prefer 'vinyl' to CDs.

Rodinal is one such product. I do not for the life of me understand why anyone uses it.

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You got me - I love my LPs! But really, you should let us wallow in our lack of technical sophistication. We get to do what we like, and you get to feel superior. Otherwise this thread is hardly going to turn out encouraging for the original poster.

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2 hours ago, chrism said:

You got me - I love my LPs! But really, you should let us wallow in our lack of technical sophistication. We get to do what we like, and you get to feel superior. Otherwise this thread is hardly going to turn out encouraging for the original poster.

As it should be!

At one time I owned 1200 LPs. I couldn't wait to get rid of them!

 

Edited by Ornello
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11 hours ago, Ornello said:

Some products achieve 'cult' status for no particularly good reason. Sometimes there is a lack of technical sophistication, as in those who prefer 'vinyl' to CDs.

Rodinal is one such product. I do not for the life of me understand why anyone uses it.

I think there are far better developers than Rodinal for many jobs, FX39 being one of them. But better at what? Everything has to line up with the look you want, matched to the film you choose and the developer you use. Threads like this help in understanding why to use Rodinal although I appreciate it is too often seen as a miracle cure and the buzz words acutance and grain sharpness are often mistaken for 'more is better'.

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I processed my 2 first rolls yesterday and scanned a few images  doing exactly the same thing as with dd-x (same sharpening). 

summicron v1, trix in rodinal 1:50

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Excited to see how this will look in the darkroom 🙃

Edited by Aryel
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12 hours ago, Aryel said:

I processed my 2 first rolls yesterday and scanned a few images  doing exactly the same thing as with dd-x (same sharpening). 

summicron v1, trix in rodinal 1:50

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Excited to see how this will look in the darkroom 🙃

A print this size from 35mm Tri-X should show no grain.

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3 hours ago, Ornello said:

A print this size from 35mm Tri-X should show no grain.

Unless the photographer wants it to show grains. It is all about choices and intent. However, one has to take the time to experiment and learn first. I will try to scan the print, I like it actually. The grain is very visible but in a subtle and beautiful way. 

1 hour ago, chrism said:

I think the OP has done well. We all know by now that you hate Rodinal. Leave him/her in peace to get on with it. It's hardly a mature attitude to keep on criticizing the OP.

 

No worry, it will take more than this to discourage me. Beside, I am having fun. Next TriX will be at 1:25 to see the difference but I have a few more to print first. 

Edited by Aryel
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I think it worked very well for this one (this is a scan of the print). My main issue with this one is that I mis focused the eyes a bit 🙃

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Edited by Aryel
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This one, it definitely added some pop (another scanned print)

still trix and summicron 50 v1


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Edited by Aryel
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