Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/07/08

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Subject: Re: [Leica] XTOL Again (slightly off-topic)
From: Christer Almqvist <chris@almqvist.net>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 1999 17:07:42 +0000

>I apologize for continuing (slightly) off topic but this is something which
>I feel is important, as we all strive  to get quality images from our Leica
>equipment.

Good point

>I have used it with Agfa 25 with beautiful results. You must use it at full
>strength with APX25 however. This is from a technical bulletin put out by
>Jobo. It will work with TechPan but I have not tried it.

I have tried Xtol 1+1 with Agfa 25 but it does not work well. I will give
full strength a try. Please give me the time/temp you used.

I have also tried Xtol 1+1  and 1+3 with Tech Pan. The result is grainless
negatives that prove the point that "no grain does not necessarily mean
sharp images".  The negatives are quite hard, but not more than they can be
handled with a grade 0 filter. Perhaps you should avoid taking close up
portraits of women if you use TP though. I do not use TP because the
disadvantge of slow speed, less sharpness and higher cost are greater to me
than the somewhat coarser grain you get with Delta 100.

Here are some TP/Xtol times and temps if you want a starting point, but
your mileage will vary. I agitate 10 sec at the beginning and then 10 secs
every minute and the temperature is always 68°F/20°C. I used 125 ml stock
solution per film to make up the diluted developer

- --- for 1+3 use an e.i. of 25 and develop for 12 minutes. (The negatives
will have those very faint frame numbers which set off this whole trail!)
Skin tones are OK using grade 1 or 0 filter.

- --- for 1+1 use an e.i. of 75 and develop for 12 minutes (no typo, time is
unchanged).  Skin tones are such that your wife will kill you, but the
tonal range is fantastic if you want to take photos of backlit ice cubes on
a black dish. Sharpness is not as good as with Neofin Doku.

- --
christer almqvist
eichenstrasse 57, d-20255 hamburg, fon +49-40-407111 fax +49-40-4908440
14 rue de la hauteur, f-50590 regnéville-sur-mer, fon+fax +33-233 45 35 58