Tri-X and HC 110

[ChrisR]

I have only recently started using HC 110. much seduced by the lovely results that @simon ess gets with it. However, I'm not getting the results I want, and someone else mentioned they were having trouble with this combination, so I thought a thread might be in order. You may remember my January FPOTY entry:

1901APMXBW36 by Chris R, on Flickr

That plate is dead white, but in this rendering it's badly marred by grain. I actually tried to get it a bit whiter with a Levels adjustment, and the grain just got worse. The negative looks fine, and as far as I can remember the exposure was OK; I don't have a record, but I metered it and then adjusted for reciprocity failure using the Reciprocity Timer app.

This was devved in HC 110 solution B in the Rondinax with continuous rotation for 5:30 (being 85% of the 6:30 time that Simon suggested; the times advertised by Kodak are weird, and the MDC is also very vague on Tri-X in HC 110 B).

Any suggestions what I'm doing wrong? At this rate, I'll use it up as quickly as I can on 4x5 tacos, and get back to Ilfosol 3!

 

[Carl Hall]

I've noticed MDC makes no sense for Tri-X in HC-110 dil B as well Chris. I pushed a roll to 1600 last week and then looked at the dev times. for 400 is says 7.5 minutes (although there are two entries, and the other says 4.5 to 6 mins), for 800 it increases a bit to 8.5 minutes, but then 1600 it almost doubles to 16 minutes! Can that be right? In the end I just split the difference and went for 12 minutes and I was surprisingly really happy with them.

I haven't used Tri-X with HC-110 in 35mm but I've used it a bit in 120. Oddly the only examples I have with whites in them are from the Highlands meet that I posted yesterday (clicky). I don't think the whites look too bad and there's certainly not a lot of grain, but then I'm comparing 35mm to 120.

 

[simon ess]

I was thinking about my inability to get on with Acros when so many people love it.

I can't explain that as I can't explain your struggles with Tri-X.

Which film works best for you Chris?

 

[ChrisR]

I was thinking about my inability to get on with Acros when so many people love it.

I can't explain that as I can't explain your struggles with Tri-X.

Which film works best for you Chris?

Well, Tri-X has been my go to black and white film for ages, I've probably shot twice as much Tri-X as all the others put together! But that was with Ilfosol 3...

I'm wondering if I just under-exposed those table-top shots. Here's a daylight one, which is perhaps not so bad, though there is still plenty of grain in the highlight areas.

1901APMXBW25 by Chris R, on Flickr

River Blythe, Pentax MX, Tri-X in HC 110 B

 

[trypdal]

Apologies, I can't help re your specific question but I wanted to ask if you know the reason for the strange effect visible in the top part of the picture - corresponding with the out of focus portion of the wooden table. It looks weird: grain-less patches (for instance just above the knife handle) alternating with very grainy patches - any idea as to why?

I have only recently started using HC 110. much seduced by the lovely results that @simon ess gets with it. However, I'm not getting the results I want, and someone else mentioned they were having trouble with this combination, so I thought a thread might be in order. You may remember my January FPOTY entry:

1901APMXBW36 by Chris R, on Flickr

That plate is dead white, but in this rendering it's badly marred by grain. I actually tried to get it a bit whiter with a Levels adjustment, and the grain just got worse. The negative looks fine, and as far as I can remember the exposure was OK; I don't have a record, but I metered it and then adjusted for reciprocity failure using the Reciprocity Timer app.

This was devved in HC 110 solution B in the Rondinax with continuous rotation for 5:30 (being 85% of the 6:30 time that Simon suggested; the times advertised by Kodak are weird, and the MDC is also very vague on Tri-X in HC 110 B).

Any suggestions what I'm doing wrong? At this rate, I'll use it up as quickly as I can on 4x5 tacos, and get back to Ilfosol 3!

 

[ChrisR]

Apologies, I can't help re your specific question but I wanted to ask if you know the reason for the strange effect visible in the top part of the picture - corresponding with the out of focus portion of the wooden table. It looks weird: grain-less patches (for instance just above the knife handle) alternating with very grainy patches - any idea as to why?

That's very weird; no idea why that's happened!