Ilford Delta 5x4 Sheet Film

Ian-Barber

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I've used Pyrocat HD with Tmax 100 & 400, Acros, Fortepan 200, EFKE (Adox) PL25, Delta 100 & 400, HP5 and also Fpmapan 100 & 200, all with excellent results.

All the films get the same 17mins development @ 20ºC 1+1 to 100 n a Jobo 2000 tank or Paterson Systen 4 2 or 2 inversions every minute. water stop bath and Hypam or Ilford Raod fixer. The only exceptions are Fomapan 100 & 200 at half box speed which needs significantly less development 12 mins @ 20ºC, and for 10x8 sheet film I usually process 2+2 to 100 for 11 mins 20ºC in a tray.

These days I use Pyrocat HD for all my films, I predominantly shoot Delta 100 & 400 and HP5, Fortepan as a backup, but I still have some boxes of 10x8 EFKE PL25 and Fortepan 200 left. I guess I've been using the developer for about 14 years.

Ian

Just been re-reading your post you submitted in March @Ian Grant , and I was wondering how you rate Delta 400 against TMAX 400 developed in Pyrocat. I see you give them both 17 minutes and although you never said, I am guessing you rated them both at ISO 400.

I have been using some TMAX 400 but developed for 15 minutes and I really like the tones it produces, the grain is extremely fine but the results are sharp. I can't really justify the cost of TMAX £150 a box so I want to try and find an alternative. I have narrowed my options down to either HP5 or Delta 100 because I don't think Delta 400 is available in sheet Film
 
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I always rated Tmax films at half their box speed, however I'd switched to Delta 100 & 400 and HP5 for LF bfore Kodak reformulated Tmax 400.

Sales of Delta 400 in LF were quite low and Ilford dropped it as it was impacting HP5 sales. I really like Delta 100 and HP5 but prefer a slower film, I like longer shutter speeds and really only use HP5 when working hand held or with moving subjects. In terms of tonality I don't see any differences between Tmax, Delta, or HP5 but then I'm probably ironing out any differences during printing. I do like the tonality of HP5 in Pyrocat HD and have some FP4 to use soon as well. I've not used FP4 for over 30 years but it should be superb in Pyrocat HD.

Ian
 
FP4+ is absolutely wonderful in Pyrocat-HD, IMO. Delta 100 in Clayton F76+ is another favorite of mine.
 
FP4+ is absolutely wonderful in Pyrocat-HD, IMO. Delta 100 in Clayton F76+ is another favorite of mine.

I find Delta 100 and 400 (120) superb in Pyrocat HD, however there's more noticeable staining with HP5, this is more the warmer (redder brown) colour of the stain than maybe density and this gives negatives that print beautifully and scan just as well. I'm told that FP4 stains almost as well so once I exhaust my current stock of Delta 100 (5x4) I'll use it.

Ian
 
I'm told that FP4 stains almost as well so once I exhaust my current stock of Delta 100 (5x4) I'll use it.

Can't say I've used enough HP5+ to draw any real conclusion when comparing to FP4+, but I can say that FP4+ stains beautifully in all the staining developers I've used over the years. As a totally unrelated side note; one of my absolute favorite combos is Acros 100 (120) in Pyrocat-HD developed using minimal agitation.
 
Is that the Sherman method Alan

I do use Steve's EMA technique with 5x4 and 10x8 FP4+, but for 120 roll film I develop Acros 100 (EI80) for 15 mins @21C with continuous agitation for the first minute, followed by 10 secs of agitation at the 3/4, 1/2, and 1/4 marks; and, I don't do a pre-soak here. Oddly, I've never cared for Acros sheet film in Pyrocat-HD, rather I like it in good 'ole D-76 at 1:1.
 
Is there anything you particular like about this combination Alan than say using a more formal agitation routine such as 10 seconds in every minute
 
Is there anything you particular like about this combination Alan than say using a more formal agitation routine such as 10 seconds in every minute

Yes, it gives me nice edge adjacency effects (look up Eberhard effect, if you're not familiar with this concept) and beautiful tonal range without the concerns of semi-stand or stand development techniques.
 
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