http://www.flickr.com/groups/rodinal/discuss/72157622920663977/

Interesting discussion.

I added the Ascorbic Acid and the Borax, all in distilled water. I even used distilled water for both the initial water bath and the developer. NOTHING came out on the Acros! Not even frame numbers and the film came out a light magenta base. Acros is fairly clear. I had two rolls in the tank, shot at two different times, specifically done for testing. I also shot a couple of other rolls those days, developed them normally in HC110 which turned out OK. I used one liter of developer for the two rolls. One response I got from Mr. Axel to a question I asked about volume of developer per roll. Was it to use just enough to cover the roll or more. After a few emails his response was that the whole point was to exhaust the developer and use only the amount needed to cover the film so that is what I used.

So I am at a loss as to why it did not work. I used the same film, same recipe as Mr. Axel and nothing came out. It’s not like there are a lot of variables. Even with the 1:300 Rodinal, something should have come out. So if it works for him, why not for me?

Is it the Ascorbic Acid? Does it change the PH of the solution so drastically that it renders it “dead”?

I sent Mr. Axel an email a couple of days ago, and this was the response I got: “Hello Marek, thanks for pointing me here. I don’t monitor Flickr too often due to other projects. What film are you using when you don’t get edge markings? I would drop the ascorbic acid and borax (Xtol too) until you get a decent result with a 100 speed film, like Acros.”

I responded that I was using Acros and am waiting his response.

I am going into the darkroom just now and will try a number of variables.

1 – No Ascorbic Acid or Borax, but with Xtol mixed 1:4 from the final 5 litre solution.
2 – Just Borax
3 – Ascorbic acid mixed first with Sodium Bicarbonate which will turn it into Sodium Ascorbate.

Can anyone help me with this?

1.Do you have any sense how stand development would work with 4×5 sheets in a Jobo tank? I am intending to use Acros.
Not a clue… I know you can use something like the Yankee or Combi tank… check on APUG as I am sure someone has asked this before.
2. How many stops of light do you think stand development could potentially encompass. Depends on the film but with Acros a lot is possible with good metering. How does it compare with Diafine? Similar in the way the neg looks but with more contrast.(I have listen to your Diafine blogs and I have read Sandy King article in View Camera Magazine. I have use it and I like it) It is a great developer esp for scanning.
3. How would you meter for stand development? I am reading the book Iridescent Light by Michael Axel. Good book. He mentions in page 85 to be concerned with blown highlights and suggested decrease the exposure by one stop. But he does not specified from where exactly he is taking the meter reading. What is your experience? Metering varies from meter to meter and how you place your shadows… I’d suggest shooting at the recommended speed and bracket a bit till you get your style dialed in… in my experience with proper understanding of your materials, what your scanner can do and what you can print my “normal” metering technique works just fine. The scanner is the key here and of course the curve of the film but with Acros on my Imacon I have scanned negs with good highlight detail that fell around Zone 9 or 10.

Thank you for your time and effort that you put in your craft and sharing information with the rest. Have a good 2010.

Manuel

This unblinking eye article helped me alot:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Rodinal/rodinal.html

Different chems may be producing different results…
Distilled H20 is a must in my opinion
The Borax and Ascorbic acid are both optional.
The Ascorbic Acid can be left out and still ok to use the Borax… on Fuji Acros the Borax is really not needed as the fog is so low.

Hope this helps-
Stephen

I’ve used this technique twice and it twice failed. There was simply no development, the negs came out completely blank. Now I have to say that I did not use Rodinal and Xtol, but Adolux APG 09 and Spur HRX-3. The former is a rebranded Rodinal and HRX-3 is a liquid fine grain developer based on the same developing agent as Xtol. Without borax and ascorbic acid this combination works like a charm, albeit a little foggy. Hence the addition of borax and ascorbic acid.

I have a suspicion that the cause of this no-development issue is the use of tap water over distilled water. I will test this later today. However, if you do not mind, I would like to ask you two questions regarding this issue.

Is the use of ascorbic acid mandatory if I use borax? Or, to rephrase, can I use borax to fight the fog without the acid? The second question might be a little far fetched, but do you have any idea what happens with the acid when mixed in tap water?

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Best,
Marcel Schepers

Are the recipes one shot or can they be reused. I have never

used either developer and was wondering what to due with

such a large amount. Seeing that your recipes are 1000 ml

and most single developing tanks are 16 oz’s or 500ml.

Thanks,

Don