Digital BW, The Print

I love that Tech Pan when shooting and I hate it when processing it!

That technidol beer foam developer makes me think that it's a cheap 
developer that needs a wetting agent to work.

I'm sure it's a cheap formula that can be done easaly at home. Kodak 
just tells us that we need that wetting agent as the Kodak formula of 
technidol looks like a good glas of beer.

I have learnt myself to do the following when developing Tech Pan.

Only use destilled water - 20 degress celsius (68 in US?).

Presoak for two minutes with some slow agitation.
Spill it out - yepp it's black!
Use Technidol that is  diluted for 25% more than stated.
Develop for about 6minutes and 30 seconds. Agitate continiusly for 
the first 30 seconds then 5 seconds every 30 seconds until finished.
Stopbath 15 second or more.
Fix in hardening fixer for about 10 minutes - agitatete now and then.
(5 seconds every 30 seconds).
Photoflo and the other stuff as usual.

However - can someone give me that EXPENSIVE Kodak formula?
I have the wetting agent and soap to make it look like beer!

To get rid of the red sensivity use a mild green filter. For me the 
red sensivity is no problem. 

Lux!
Bo
Sweden





--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark" 
<paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> Gareth,
> 
> It seems like lots of little companies and individuals (like me) 
have at
> some time come up with "the" solution for Tech Pan development.  
It's
> expensive and time consuming to test all the brews.  It's also 
impossible to
> compare all these developers based on just the claims of the 
manufacturer.
> So, I'll start my search for an Xtol replacement by going with what 
I found
> in past testing.  If some one else has good test data or experience 
with one
> of the brews and it's not overpriced, I'll give that a try also.
> 
> For testing I shoot grayscale patches (from the Kodak Bland-and 
White
> Darkroom Data Guide) covering a 13 stop range.  (This takes 4 
frames -- one
> on the spot meter reading, one -3 stops, one at +3 stops, and one 
at +6
> stops.  They are read under my enlarger [dichro head] with an 
enlarger
> meter.)  I also shoot resolution charts and plain, middle-gray 
frames (to
> evaluate the evenness of development).
> 
> If, like with SpeediBrew's CELER MONO, the seller gives a speed, 
that helps,
> but it is only one end of the curve.  Also, the way most people 
measure
> speed, it might be mostly reflecting contrast, and not how many 
stops below
> the meter's gray point that shadow detail can be printed.  I want 
to know
> how far down the shadow detail is useable.
> 
> Most developers do not allow TP to capture a very broad range of 
light.
> With most developers it ends up having, if you're lucky, a latitude 
that
> close to slide film (about 7 stops -- with low quality shadows at 
that).
> This is just not enough for good printing for many scenes.
> 
> Yesterday I developed a 120 roll of TP in Kodak's Technidol.  Since 
that is
> the (way too expensive) special developer Kodak makes for the film, 
it seems
> like a good standard against which to measure other brews' 
performances.
> With Technidol, the TP had a straight-line curve that extended for 
about 11
> stops.  The toe and shoulder were short, but the shoulder was not 
totally
> useless.  My scanner (Nikon 8000) could separate the entire 13 stop 
range of
> my test procedure.  This is impressive for TP.
> 
> What I'd like to see are the characteristic curves of competing 
brews
> overlaid on this Technidol-TP curve.  That tells me the most about 
speed,
> dynamic range, and the "look" of the film.  (I prefer a 
slightly "S" shaped
> curve to a straight line.  I think it gives a better balance of 
contrast and
> dynamic range.)
> 
> The Technidol plain gray (ground glass over the lens at f 11 and 
middle gray
> exposure) frames were reasonably even -- a very hard thing to 
accomplish
> with medium format & TP.
> 
> If Technidol were not so expensive ($5 a roll for medium format), I 
might
> stop my experiments here.  However, I also have a 1998 TD-3 test 
that shows
> it can capture all 13 stops, give a true speed increase, comparable 
grain,
> OK evenness, and a nice, "S" shaped curve.  So, given it's vastly 
lower
> price, I'll see what I can do with it.
> 
> I have no doubt there are a number of good TP developer 
combinations.  I
> used to mix my own POTA before Kodak started making that 
commercially.  (It
> has since been dropped because Technidol is finer grained and more 
even in
> development.)  Having once mixed developer from the raw chemicals, 
I don't
> want to bother with that again.  So, price and easy, reliable 
availability
> are part of what I'm looking for.  Over here, Photographer's 
Formulary has a
> good reputation and will probably still be in business for a long 
time.  So,
> if their brew works as well as I think I can get it to work, it has
> substantial appeal.
> 
> Paul
> http://www.PaulRoark.com
> ___________________________________________
> 
> >Anyone tried this?
> 
> >Quote from Speedibrews site
> 
> >Technical Pan film is in a class of its own with resolution streets
> >ahead of CCD/Digital. The snag is the harsh contrast (necessary for
> >astronomy purposes) which makes Tech Pan a right pig to work as a
> >pictorial film. Many low contrast developers have been tried over 
the
> >years but Speedibrews now has the answer for workers preferring to
> >scan film negatives and work on prints via a digital option.
> 
> >CELER MONO tames Tech Pan, yielding a clean negative absolutely
> >tailor-made for digital scanning. The negatives contain an amazing
> >tonal range, almost impossible to duplicate by conventional
> >developers, whilst offering a true 2-stops speed increase to a nice
> >and familiar 100 ISO film rating. The resolution even out-performs
> >most camera lenses.
> 
> >Because Tech Pan is a specialist film, the extended red sensitivity
> >is really effective under artificial lighting. CELER MONO is a
> >universal developer, working with all films, including the 'So-
> >called' "Chromogenics", all of which can be printed conventionally,
> >or digitally scanned.
> 
> >Most films are developed in 10 to 12 minutes at the standard 20
> >degrees Celsius. The modern trend to higher temperatures is also
> >recommended and times for 24 degrees Celsius are given in the
> >comprehensive instructions.
> 
> >Unquote
> 
> >Seems like a good product but has anyone used it?
> 
> >Gareth
> __________________________
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "dirkhobman"
> <dhobman@h...> wrote:
> > I have had mixed results with TechPan and personally preferred the
> > old Agfa APX 25. I found it had much smoother tonality with
> excellent
> > grain characteristics. I still have some rolls of it, but in the
> > meantime have found Efke R25 to be a fine alternative. I also 
tried
> > Acros 100, and, like Paul, had unrealistic expectations (though 
its
> > reciprocity characteristics make it outstanding for low
> > light/nighttime photography). Efke R25 can be hard to find, but if
> > you'd like to try it, you can buy it at the following site:
> >
> > www.jandcphoto.com
> >
> > Also, though I haven't tried it, Maco also produces an ISO 25 fine
> > grain film that is panchromatic. You can find it for sale at:
> >
> > www.freestylephoto.biz
> >
> > Happy shooting!
> >
> > Dirk Hobman
> >
> >
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Paul Roark"
> > <paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> > > Don,
> > >
> > > I agree, Fuji makes great films.  I think their color technology
> > has the
> > > best grain.  So, with luck this new c-41 film will be an
> excellent
> > addition
> > > to our quiver.  My only disappointment with Acros 100 was that I
> > wanted more
> > > than just another excellent 100 ISO film.  My expectations were
> > unrealistic.
> > > Tech Pan still has a noticeable edge in image quality.
> > >
> > > Paul
> > > http://www.PaulRoark.com
> > > ___________________________________
> > >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: D. Hill [mailto:hill14701@y...]
> > > Sent: Friday, August 15, 2003 7:44 AM
> > > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> > > Subject: RE: [Digital BW] Re: TechXactol
> > >
> > >
> > > Having been a loyal fan of Fuji films for the last 12
> > > years or so - I thought they had reached an excellent
> > > film with acros.
> > >
> > > Leafing through a magazine yesterday (Black and White)
> > > I noticed that Neopan C41 will soon be released.  I
> > > imagine it is modeled after xp-2 - but very exciting
> > > news none the less.  As this was a European magazine,
> > > one can only hold their breath as to wonder if it will
> > > actually be released in the states.
> > >
> > > Don
> > >
> > > --- Paul Roark <paul.roark@v...> wrote:
> > > > >>  So I'm going to see how Neopan 100 works.  It
> > > > >> claims to have the finest grain of any 100 speed
> > > > film.  We'll see.
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > I'm under-whelmed by my first Neopan test.  It's
> > > > just another Tmax 100, as
> > > > far as I can tell.  Not in the same league with Tech
> > > > Pan.
> > > >
> > >
> > >
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> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, 
Polls and
> other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
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> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
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