Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/08/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Frank Filippone wrote: > > I know this is a bit late to get involved, but the times given among you are > quite short to me... > I also use Ilford MG IV Fiber Based paper. Developer is Ilford MG. > Dilution is 1:14. Development temp is the old... room temp. ( Gotta get me > one of those fancy Zone VI developer timers). > > My development time was the recommended 3 minutes. But extending this to 4 > minutes improves the blacks and also seems to give more depth to the > highlights, effectively lowering the local contrast in the highlights. 5 > Minutes does this a tiny bit more. And my large sky areas that have minimum > detail are not grey but show like zone 2 density. > > Your times of 60 seconds really does seem short to me, as at 60 seconds I am > really quite developing still. > > I also use RC paper for contact sheets, and the recommended times are 2 > minutes, dilution 1:14. These times disagree with the labels, but I found > them on the Ilford Site. > > Frank Filippone IMHO Through testing you can find a point where you are no longer getting an increase in contrast in development but just an overall increase in density. That would be your optimal time. Chemistry requiring 2 minutes for RC and 3 for fiber would be noncompetitive as there is a competition for convenience. Also just from experience and what I do know about even Ilford chemistry those seem like longer times. But as I communicated to Jim Brick directly darkroom work is as much a question of temperament as well as temperature. If you feel like more time at the trays "feels" right to you then I would go with it. It's a question of the pace you like to set yourself in the darkroom. Some people like a very unrushed leisurely process in the compliplative OC wavelengths. I tend to rush around like a maniac punctuated by occasion very long starings at test prints. Mark Rabiner