| Foma 100 Classic (100 ISO) | Rodinal |
| Format: | 120 |
| Exposed at: | 100 ISO |
| Developer dilution: | 1+25 |
| Development time: | 4 minutes |
| Temperature: | 20°C |
| Agitation: | Agitation during the first minute, then 30 seconds at the 30-second mark of each following minute. |
The Same Film with Another Developer
I had already developed this classic grain film before, but in FX39, a developer designed for tabular grain films. Here, I used Rodinal, a non-solvent developer that is supposed to work particularly well with classic grain films. Is there a noticeable rendering difference between these two developers? Which one is better?
A Very Short Development Time
In its datasheet, Foma only recommends using R09 (almost identical to Rodinal) at a 1+50 dilution… which did not suit my needs since the photos were taken under cloudy weather. I therefore wanted to increase the contrast by using a less diluted developer.
I found here (https://tables.pirate-photo.fr/film/29) a development time of four minutes at 1+25 dilution. The risk with such a short development time (under five minutes) is uneven negative development.
And I did indeed notice some streaks in the brightest highlights (the sky) on a few images.
This can be corrected digitally, but it would still create problems when making darkroom prints.
Grain Still Extremely Fine
As expected from a 100 ISO film, the grain remains barely noticeable.
Shadow Details Are Easily Recoverable
A Stronger Rendering and Greater Perceived Acutance
Foma 100 produced a soft rendering when developed in FX39.
Things are quite different with Rodinal. The resulting images appear sharper and more “cutting,” with details standing out more strongly.
FX39 or Rodinal?
Personally, I think FX39 produces more interesting images than Rodinal (diluted 1+25) when used with Foma 100.
I had to experiment quite a bit in post-processing to obtain a rendering I liked with Rodinal diluted at 1+25.
Likewise, the additional acutance provided by Rodinal seems to come with a more chaotic and nervous rendering.
With FX39, on the other hand, the images required less editing afterward, and the rendering was more pleasant overall, without the nervous look produced by Rodinal at 1+25 dilution.
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