Also found that using conventional development with higher dilutions of xtol gives me a lot of the sharpness and silvery tones of stand development. The possible limitation being that the curve of the neg is not as linear so it’s probably less idea for maximum flexibility when printing digitally. I love the tones with TMX in Xtol 1:1 so far.

Cheers-
Stephen

if both density and grain become a problem the issue seems to be over agitation

too much contrast/fried highlights but ok grain– too much time and/ or too high temp

filters– with old tech films a yellow filter gives normal contrast, but with new tech films like tmy, and especially acros even a mild yellow filter can give a dramatic contrast boost– which may or may not be desirable– so this needs to be taken into account when experimenting with the process.

My first roll of tmy2 shot at iso 500-640 was pretty good– wonderful sharpness and fine grain, but a little on the thin side, with some shots loosing to much in the shadows.

No prob. I shot the next roll at 400– too dense, less sharp and grainier but usable.

Did a roll a couple rolls of tmy in xtol stock at box speed to make sure that was working fine– perfect results, but not quite as sharp and luminous as the successful stand negatives, but still fantastic for the speed.

Tried some tx at 200m — massively overdeveloped, grainy

My tentative conclusion is that getting the agitation dialed in is the most important factor– the first time I was super gentle. The succeeding times I assumed I had it down and may have been a little rougher than I thought.

I’ll keep working on it for sure.

I did follow your steps exactly, and as I said, had already followed Michael Axel on a previous occasion with the same results. And yes, everything was measured very precisely. For the Rodinal I used a finely calibrated syringe that only takes a maximum of 3mls. I used distilled water. Agitation was also exactly as you suggested. Gentle roll and tilt as per the video, and for the prescribed time. And temperature controlled throughout at 20 degrees. I did use a metal tank.

What I don’t understand is why it worked for the Efke 100 and not for the Acros. The same the first time round, it worked for the FP4, and not for the Acros. (And in neither case did I develop the films together.) I’ll try once more at a shorter time and see if it works.

cheers,
Peter

since both you and Micahel Axel make a point of using the Rodinal/Xtol formulation with Acros, I’m keen to get it right. Any suggestions as to why we are getting such different results with the same formula?

By the way, my benchmark has become Prescysaol EF, which in all my years experience, gives the sharpest results of any developer by a country mile – nothing I’ve ever used comes near it. In my opinion, Barry Thornton’s obsession with sharp negatives really paid off.

Peter