 |
All of this film is beyond it's best
before date. |
They
say that fact is stranger than fiction - but
this is not fiction! I have processed XP2 super 400 in Kodak's HC 110.
It has produced some wonderfully smooth toned negatives with just the
right amount of contrast. I really will not know how good these
negatives are until they are darkroom printed.
This
adventure started with my pinhole camera and the crazy idea that I
would like to use the out of date XP2s sitting in my film cupboard. I
have used this film in the past and been completely under whelmed by
the flat looking photographs I received back from the lab. That is
why I think I am being crazy!
So
for the first time I am going to see what others have done and said
about this film. I started with a bit of research something I do not
usually do. When using a film product for the first time I like to
approach it fresh without all the hurly burly from other people.
 |
HC 110
Not to be mistake for golden syrup. |
First
I should explain that XP2 super is a chromogenic black and white film
designed to be processed using the C41 process for colour film. Super
is the updated version of the original XP2 first released in 1981.
With
a quick search a number of references came up, the first one I went
to was the online photographer blog. Written by Mike Johnston. I took two things away
from this blog. First was how to get the best from the film in
different light if you are using the C41 process. He suggests
altering the ISO depending on the lighting conditions as the film can
become very contrasty. Not from my experience.
- For regular shooting in normal
lighting ISO 200
For shooting in extremely bright
and or contrasty light ISO 100
For shooting in low and low
contrast lighting indoor or out ISO 400
He does not recommend using it at
ISO 800
The
other bit of information that took my eye but was not part of the
post was about cross processing using the monochrome chemicals. This
made me sit up and take note. I like the idea of using black and
white material to process and print the film because I could do it in
my darkroom without a costly upgrade.
I
found the write up about using black and white chemistry on the
Ilford photo web site. It is very informative and took some time to
read. The author Chris Moss has not only developed XP2s in HC 110 but has also
used Rodinal and Ilfotec HC. He has posted a lot of images to back
all his work up.
 |
| HC 110 in syringes |
It
became apparent that he preferred HC 110 as most of the work described
is devoted to this developer. It was at this point I decided to use
HC 110 myself so I could in part test his results and cut out a lot of
trial and error on my own account - a short cut so to speak. I was
however disappointed to find that all his negatives had been scanned
and not printed in the darkroom. The short cut in the beginning means
I will have more time to experiment in the darkroom.
Lastly
before I move onto my results it is worth mentioning Erik Gouldproject web site and in-particular his article on using HC 110 to
control contrast by varying the dilution of the developer. This is
mainly in response to Mike's assertion that XP2s can get very
contrasty in certain situations. Most of this he relates to the C41
processed negatives he has produced. This could be the case for
monochrome work.
 |
| Lets just check those setting again. |
What
have I gotten myself into! this was going to be a straight forward
article about using XP2s and my pinhole camera. I'm pleased to say we
are now getting on with the photography. The good thing about it is
that I will be able to take part in world pinhole Day for the first
time.
I
was able to go out over a number of days with my Zero that included
world pinhole day to make the images. The sun was out which made a
change from the dullness we had been experiencing, but it still had a
bite.
I
used three rolls of XP2s that I rated at 100 ISO I did this because
it was a bright day and I wanted exposures that were seconds long
rather than part seconds that a faster ISO would have produced. It
also occurred to me after exposing a roll of delta 100 that I could
do a comparison between the two films. In most cases it took about
eight seconds for each exposure or round about as I can be quite
cavalier when it comes to closing the shutter. This does lead to over
exposing the film, something I should take in hand because I end up
with longer printing times in the darkroom due to the density of the negatives.
 |
XP2 S 400 negatives this shows
the colour of the neg base. |
It
is the first time I have experienced scepticism and anticipation in
relation to the results. A bit of an April fool feeling, no matter
what happens I have a plan B or do I?
Right!
I loaded the first roll into the tank. Developed it for 5 mins as
suggested being a first for me, I develop one film at a time so I
can adjust the dev time if needed. I used the HC 110 at a dilution of
1+49. Woe! this stuff is so concentrated it is like syrup. I was
warned, which means using a normal graduated measure is out. You will
need to use syringe/s to get the right amount of HC 110 out of the
bottle if you are not going to end up with sticky fingers etc
everywhere. They should be marked out in mls and part mls as the 49
works out at 12.3 mls in 600 mls of water. I wanted it to be the exact
amount that was used.
Please note: that this article was written before Kodak changed the formulation of HC110 to make it easier to pour. This makes certain bit of this post superfluous but does not take away from the overall results.
 |
| Contact print. 2 sec using white light. |
When
it came to processing the film I kept to my standard method 12
inversion for the first 30 seconds and then four inversion every
minute there after. the stop was for two minutes with the same
inversion count as the developer. I did the same for the fix, fixing
for 5 mins and then checking to see if the film base had cleared. I
did this partly because there can be an issue with under fixing if
the fix is old which mine was having been used for five previous
film. When I looked the base appeared a little foggy so I put it back
in for a further two minutes.
While
I was checking the film base I was relieved and pleased to see the
tell tail squares that images were there. I now had the unspooled
dripping wet film in my hand. To be presented with some wonderfully
toned negatives on a pinkish magenta film base, was something I had
not been prepared for. What wonders are to be had in the darkroom!
Let the fun begin!?
I recently exposed and developed some XP2s that is ten years out of best before date. There is an issue with fixing, you may find that after ten minutes of fixing that the base is still quite white looking and has not cleared. It is a normal situation that will clear once the film has been washed and dried.
If you are interested The second part of this post:
