RO9 special/ Studional three months on.

Out of date Fomapan 200

Another month on and I'm back to using the turquoise Studional and a further cutting from the Fomapan 200, only this time there are couple of dozen images to muck up. The chances of something going wrong diminishes as you get used to the way the developer works, the only spanners are out of date film and senior moments, if it all go's wrong I may learn my lesson.

Out of date Fomapan 200

So far the developer has been used seven times without it missing a step. When comparing the negatives with the naked eye or in this case a magnifier the density between the batches looks to be identical. As far as the compensation factor is concerned this is uncharted territory for me. The question is, does 20% allowance still apply two months on? Thinking on it carefully the answer is yes. My reasoning is that to increase it without knowing whether the suggested compensation worked or not does not make sense. I should test the information and not do my own thing.

 

The information on this developer states that once it is diluted one litre should be good for three months or 12 film processes which ever you arrive at first if stored properly. I will admit that the bottle this is stored in is to big leaving an air gap that will allow the developer to deteriorate more quickly according to the data sheet. I have not done this on purpose I didn't have a container the right size and yet it still works well. Obviously it is better to do what manufacturer recommends to get the best results but in the real world we all make compromises. So is it such a surprise that I'm getting good results? The real test will be at four, five or six months after dilution.

Out of date Fomapan 200

 I processed the negatives as previously mentioned and the results are just as good so much so that I also developed a roll of Agfa APX 100. It just so happens that the dilution for this film is 1+15 (the same as HP5+) or 1+31 for 4 and 8 minutes respectively at 100 ISO. With the 20% adjustment added it took all of five minutes in the developer to receive another set of good looking negatives.

 

 

 

The more I use this developer the more impressed I am with it.

 The table below shows ten popular film that use the 1 +15 dilution. The ones marked with * are the ones I have had good results with at the suggested times with the compensation added.

The double ** is my suggested time for this film at this dilution.

Dilution of 1+15
Film	ASA/ISO	TIME
Adox CHM125	100	3.5
Agfa APX 100 *	100	4
Fomapan	100	10
Fomapan **	200	6
FP4+ *	125	4
HP5+ *	400	4
Neopan	400	6
PAN F+	50	3
Rollei Retro S	400	8.5
Tri-X	400	05/03/05

All the images that appear in this post were Developed in RO9 special
Studional.

This image is from the Agfa APX 100 film mentioned.

Massive dev chart App

Digital truth have produced an app for all that wonderful film developing time data they have on their site. Called the Massive Dev chart timer. It has different colored screens so it can be used in the darkroom and will recalculate times for different temperatures.   

Now you can get any combination of  film and developer the heart desires at the touch of a button on your phone. It will cost you £5.99 and comes in Android and Apple flavors.