The testing continues… BW400CN (C-41) by Kodak processed in my tweaked Caffenol C… the testing for this film is almost done… usable EI is around EI 50 – 400 / 800 all with the same processing time! Grain has a nice defined presence but not overpowering. A big advantage to this material beyond the flexability of the EI as mentioned above is the fact that is has fantastic reciprocity characteristics (no compensation required till 120 seconds) and it is very easy to scan on almost any scanner.
Below is a sample image shot with my Leica MP with a 28mm lens – the EI for this shot is 200. The dark barn board above the doors was placed at Zone 3… the light snow outside which has full detail is Zone 16!! This is a straight scan with minor adjustments in PS for contrast / levels… more soon.
Here is an example just for comparision of the same test shot on Kodak Tmax 400 processed in PMK using the technique outline here… instant coffee is looking pretty dam good!
Note: both shots were done using only natural light.
Figital Revolution 
Amazing- what a difference! Looking forward to more details down the road.
Wow!!! The result looks great.
Please please, stop teasing us and get the book out!
I know… hard to stay motivated with writing this time of year in VT… I hope to have it written by Mardi Gras…
Cheers-
Stephen
This is really cool, thank you for sharing. Your site was recommended by google’s reader, and I was stunned to find out about the Cafenol. What times are you using for the BW400CN in it? And you also said you had tweaked yours?
All the testing info will be in a book I am working on called the Photographers Coffee Break… stay tuned.
The huge dynamic range seems amazing. I’m quite interested to see how well this method will work for Night Photography.
Stephen,
Wow, that 400CN shot has even more detail in the highlights than the Tmax shot! There’s more grain, but it really works and grain is a small price to pay for that much latitude. I also really like that vintage record player. What a cool place!
Cheers,
Ron
I love records… they just sound better to my ear. Yeah the BW400CN in my tweaked Caffenol C has an insane range… I am still working on refining the process but in my most recent test the grain is much smaller…not as fine as Tmax 100 but more like a traditional 100 / 200 speed grain…
Cheers-
Stephen
Found this comment online regarding the Caffenol BW400CN image:
“His BW400CN result is what you expect from a neg film (silver or C41) when pulled one stop, which he did. It’s good but it’s pretty normal.”
Actually the range is the same from EI 50 to almost 800 so the pull has nothing to do with it I just chose 200 as it was in the middle of the negs. With regards to being pretty normal… normal on what planet… this type of dynamic range is very difficult to achieve even with flat C41 film…. the combo of Caffenol C and exceptional latitude of BW400CN is a very nice marriage indeed.
I end my rant…
Viva la Revolution- Stephen
Amazing! You say 50-400/800 with the same dev times. Does this mean you can essentially change ISO on the fly, and develop the whole roll at the same time?
Yes indeed!
Hi Fig, I’ve lots of this film which I don’t like in C-41. So I will try Caffenol. But how do you brew Caffenol C? I know the C-C-M, C-C-H, and C-C-L recipes. But just C???
I shot my first roll of XP2 today – I have stuck to traditional silver films all these years, but I was curious about the possibility of reduced grain. I used 1:100 Rodinal semi-stand, not having any instant coffee in the house. Wow! Very smooth indeed and easy to scan. Example is at http://tinyurl.com/parrwnc
I’m trying Diafine with the next roll. ISO200 again.
Lovely blog you havee here
thank you!