Agitation!

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stevebuk

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Steve
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Hi all,

I've bought myself all that I think I need for my first go at developing b+w film and am now researching the process. I've followed the advice in the "first film" thread but am still a little confused at the agitation part.

I'm using Aculux-3 and it states "4 inversions at the end of each minute".

However, the Acros 100 data sheet says "To prevent the appearance of development marks and assure uniform finish, agitate the developer continu- ously for the first minute and for five seconds every minute thereafter."

And for my other film, Delta 100, they say "invert the tank four times during the first 10 seconds, then invert the tank four times again during the first 10 seconds of each further minute. "

It all seems reasonably consistent in that it looks like I should do 4 each minute or ten seconds, probably about the same, but the Acros asks for constant agitation for the first minute which seems at odds with the developer advice.

Can anyone advise as to whom I should follow?

Do I also invert during the stop? I've bought the first call own stop which says it is complete after 1 minute of immersion and doesn't mention inversion.

Finally for the fix..

I've seen Ilfords instructions that say agitate as development and others, such as the Acros data sheet which says just continuous agitation for the first thirty seconds.

I'm a bit lost..

Any advice would be great!

Thanks
Steve
 
Confusing as hell ain't it.

Personally regardless of film (so far) I invert constantly for 30s, then twice every 30s, same with the fixer if I can be bothered.
 
My advice would be not to get too agitated about it all as you'll end up in a fix. Just make sure the film is well covered in the chemicals and you'll soon develop your own technique.

Sorry, couldn't help myself! But seriously it's not anything to get too hung up on as long as you make sure all the film gets fully covered by whichever chemical bath you're using, and gets moved around regularly to ensure no air-bubbles are caught on it.
 
A bit of agitation at the start and a bit every minute or thirty seconds is all it needs. Just be consistent.

It doesn't matter if you do three, four.... seven, whatever number of inversions. The reason is to put fresh developer at the emulsion surface and the first inversion does 99% of that.


Steve.
 
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