A Quick Dip in Rodinal

I’ve processed 7 or 8 rolls of film by now, all in Rodinal, and most using  a steep dilution (1:100) and a “stand” protocol. In this case I wanted to try a more typical protocol, and see how it affected grain and contrast. The film was LegacyPro 400, which is said to be re-badged Fuji Neopan 400. I bought 20 rolls of this, short-dated, from Freestyle Photo. This time I went with a 1:25 dilution of Rodinal. Agitation was continuous for 30 seconds, then for about 2 seconds every 30 seconds thereafter for 4.5 minutes, or a total dev time of 5 minutes. Contrast is certainly higher with this protocol, and I honestly don’t see a huge difference in grain compared with a 1 hour stand. I’m just starting out, so obviously need to make more comparisons, and more rigorous ones. But my thought right now is that perhaps this shorter, more concentrated process might be indicated often, and that stand development might be reserved for very high-contrast scenes, where I need to hold onto my highlights while bringing up some shadow detail.

Tags: 35mm • fuji • legacypro • neopan • pentax mx • rodinal