Normal contrast

[Argentum]

I'm a bit pre-occupied at the moment testing films and developers and I'm just wondering what others development targets are.
So I thought I'd do a little poll on how many stops either side of your metered (not adjusted ) value do you expect to get with normal development?

i.e. do you expect 3 stops either side to just fit the paper or 4 stops either side to just fit the paper or 5 stops etc...

Feel free to elaborate on different circumstances.

[Rob Archer]

Although I've said 4 stops either side, it depends very much on the subject or the film being processed. E.g. if I'm using HP5+ in ID11 (1+1) for a sunlit landscape of average contrast I would expect to get 9 reasonably definable steps (zones, of you're that way inclined!).

I know, however, that I can squeeze 11+ out of a film by using a 2-bath developer (e.g. Stoecklers) - even with PanF+, which is not known for it's latitude. That said, 2-bath development favours the shadow areas of the scene, so the '4 stops either side' idea may not be exactly what I'm getting, as I generally meter for the shadows anyway.

I'm not sure I've answered the question correctly (or even answered the right question!). I think I've even confused myself now!

Rob

[Trevor Crone]

I would expect to achieve with N development 4 stops either side of zone V (9 stops/zones full range).

Example; 1) Delta 100 in PMK pyro, 10 minutes @ 21C, intermittent agitation.

[Mike Meal]

Now I maybe completely wrong (I usually am!) but I base my film tests on a four stop difference but meter sometimes using a five stop difference to meter a scene.

eg.In this picture I metered the rock closest in the foreground at two stops under but took my highlight reading in the lightest part of the sky three stops over. N-2 development and a pre flash when printing brought some of the highlight detail back.
Still not 100% sure if this was the best way of dealing with this scene and I'm all ears for other suggestions.
http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/picture.php?albumid=67&pictureid=551

[Victor Krag]

My answer I suppose, for landscape work, is that I place metered dark textured shadows at Zone II with a Pentax Spotmeter when there are 6 or more values read above that. If it is a flatter scene of 4 values or less, I'll place the darkest textured shadows on Zone III. But I still bracket a bit, also to have back up negs of the same composition. Adam's states in 'The Negative' book that nothing good can be gained by placing a flatter scene at Zones IV and up. If I were shooting lot's of white textures or studio portraits I'd place skin tones on Zone VI and under dev for smoother contrast.