Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2007/10/26

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: [Leica] Developer for Neopan 1600/TMax 3200
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Fri Oct 26 19:20:12 2007

> sometime again in the future.
> It would certainly be handy to be able to travel with a single type of 
> film.
> 
> One thing I have noticed with Neopan 1600 is that, like APX 400, it 
> benefits
> from being developed promptly
> after exposure.  The latent image must be relatively weak.
> 
> I'll try your suggestion and let you know how I go.
> 
> Marty
> 


Looks as sharp as Tri x in D67 1:1 to me although that's of course not high
rez.
Might not even be medium rez but is kind of a benchmark for a lot of images
many of us have made and seen.
The anti went up rez wise with tab grain films for the most part.
But I think it really went up a full notch with the more modern awareness of
what some ascorbic acid can to to a PQ or MQ developing formula.*

As I've said when viewing my many darkroom fiber print 11x14's made with
Neopan 1600 @ 1600 in Xtol 1:3 people want to know if its 400 or 100 film.

Id go from there to Neopan 100 for my tripod or studio strobe work. Which
was half my work.

But if I'd go in there and they'd be out of the 1600 I'd get the 400 and it
is SO high rez looking in an 11x14 print it makes the 1600 look low rez by
comparison.
But that's because the 400 looks like Panatomic x or pan f  and the 1600
looks like plus x or good 400 films even tab grain ones.

So its all been moved a notch up.
Xtol 1:3 is the main reason I think not so much the Neopan films.
Xtol 1:3 put any film a notch up from what is was.

 
* MQ is Metol hydroquinone which powers most Kodak developers
The Metol is the soft end the hydroquinone is the hard end. They work as a
team together. D76 and Dektol (a paper developer of course) are MQ as well
as most the D'##s.
PQ is Phenidone Hydroquinone most Ilford developers. Paper as well as film.

For many reasons I prefer Metol which Kodak calls Elon over Phenidone.

THE future of my silver developing my go in Metol Ascorbic acid developers.
Xtol is Phenidone Ascorbic acid.

And Pyro with Metol.

I'm lucky to not be allergic to the stuff so far.
Mark William Rabiner
markrabiner.com



In reply to: Message from freakscene at weirdness.com (Marty Deveney) ([Leica] Developer for Neopan 1600/TMax 3200)