Click on the audio play button to listen to my review of this great classic film!
Bergger BRF 400+ at EI 6400!!!!! A very low light test….. click on the image to see larger.
Development as outlined in audio:
1:100 Rodinal at 68-70F 2 Hour Stand Dev
Usable EI from 400-1600
- Initial agitation for 30 seconds
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Dump and finish process.. Stop/ fix/ clear/ wash/ dry.
1:50 Rodinal at 68-70F 2 Hour Stand Dev
Usable EI from 1000/1600 – 6400+
- Initial agitation for 30 seconds
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Swirl like wine for 10 sec
- Rest 30 Min
- Dump and finish process.. Stop/ fix/ clear/ wash/ dry.
Another great alt developer is Caffenol CL… just google it and follow the directions exactly!!! Usable out to 3200 but the Rodinal version outlined above is better at the higher speeds. And you can see the grain is a bit softer but the tonal range is still crazy great!
NOTE: I meter my shadows for Zone 4 in most cases… with this film it is VERY important for faster EI’s to meter for the shadows… highlights are not a problem. Here is a video on why meter for Zone 4.
Viva la Revolution- Stephen
Figital Revolution 
Reblogged this on A Kraftwerk Orange and commented:
Cool stuff! Thanks, mate!
Love the grain, particularly in the first image… the effect it has on the rendering of the picture on the wall.
For European photographers, go to macodirect.de
Love hearing about film… haven’t tried the Bergger yet myself.
stunning, classic film, gorgeous grain… hardly wait for the 120 format… and one question: how would the film look if developed according to the package instructions? would the look / grain of it be different, or you gain the dramatic EI range?
Did some today in PMK according to package and spot on!
New here (btw: Great Blog..!) and have just a question regarding metering for shadows in zone IV. With ZS, we should meter in zone III and then expose for that reading -2 stops. This rule apply the same way to zone IV readings? Or should we expose just -1 stop…?
Thanks!
Yes just like zone 3 is -2 zone 4 is -1… I also use this technique for color negative film as well with great success.
Thanks..! 😉
For some reason the audio seems broken. The other recordings work just fine, but not this one… I have just ordered some Bergger and was eager to hear your thoughts and comments on this film.
Love the blog, wish there were a few more examples of your experiments with this film and stand development.
This is an ORWO film. How does that relate to Kodak roots you mention in audio?
Do you mean one could shoot the same roll with different ISO, eg. a coule of frames at 400 and the rest at 800?
Thank you for sharing.
Yes!
Thank you again for sharing as there is not much practical info on the net as of yet. There is an ORWO group on Flickr though with some dev numbers.
I am glad I found your blog. Happy shooting!
Which leads to the next question: have you experimented with mixtures of diluted Rodinal + Xtol?
Sorry for the persistent bugging
Yes I have and with quite good success… I also like Xtol with D76…
Great article. Thanks! Have you tried printing from the negatives in the darkroom?
no… my darkroom printing days are over… for now 🙂
heijm thank you for this article!
I accidently underexposed a Bergger BRF400+ by having the iso-settings of my camera @ iso5000.
What developing times do you recommend for rodinal?
Thank you!
I would do a stand dev for several hours… there are some articles here on FR on how to do…
He outlines what to do in this article actually. What did you end up doing, and how did it turn out?