Update: On requet, I have added times for Rodinal from EI 100-6400.

Over the years I’ve built up a large bank of development times and schemes for many black and white films, old and new; and I’m regularly asked about them – especially those for extended push processing over one to two stops. They’re something I happily provide as and when requested.

The tables below show both real world tested and untested (extrapolated) development times for ILFORD FP4 PLUS.. I don’t use filtered or distilled water for any of my developer solution; it’s all straight out of the tap. My stop bath and fixing chemicals are sometimes mixed with tap water and sometimes with bottled water – I use what’s most convenient for me at the time. I mostly stick with HC-110 these days and have also started experimenting with stand development for extended pushes.

The times listed below may not work for everyone (differences in water quality/hardness/softness, agitation schemes, etc.), however I’ve yet to hear back that any of them were anything other than a success – here’s keeping fingers crossed.

Here’s what’s covered in this article:

A basis for development

I have taken the base ISO for FP4 as 100, not the published 125. This is a personal preference but for the sake of bringing some order to this and future articles in this theme, I have published the times below with ISO 125 as the base speed (N). All other times vary from that as N+/- in full or fractions of stops

In case you’re wondering what “N” is, it’s “normal development” as per Ansel Adams’ Zone System. You can expect a future article covering my take on this pervasive metering and development system in due course but if you’re serious about making the most out of your own photographic process in the meantime, I would strongly recommend that you pick up a copy of “The Negative” for further reading.
Ready? Here we go.

ILFORD FP4 PLUS baseline development times – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure (EI)Pull/PushDeveloperDilutionTemp (°C / °F)AgitationTime
125NIlfotec DD-X1+421C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min09:45
125NIlfotec LC291+921C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min03:35
125NIlfotec LC291+1921C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min08:00
125NKodak HC-1101+19 (C)21C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min05:15
125NKodak HC-1101+31 (B)21C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min08:45
125NRodinal1+2521C / 70F1st min + 10 secs each min07:15

ILFORD ILFOTEC DD-X: 1+4 – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/309:30
125N09:45
200N+2/312:00
250N+113:30
400N+1 2/317:00
500N+219:00
1000N+326:00
1600N+3 2/333:00
2000N+4 37:00
3200N+4 2/345:00
6400N+5 2/358:00

ILFORD ILFOTEC LC29: 1+9 – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/303:15
125N03:35
200N+2/304:30
250N+105:00
400N+1 2/306:15
500N+207:00
800N+2 2/309:00
1000N+310:00
1600N+3 2/312:30
2000N+414:00
3200N+4 2/317:30
4000N+519:30
6400N+5 2/323:30

ILFORD ILFOTEC LC29: 1+19 – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/307:30
125N08:00
200N+2/308:45
250N+109:45
400N+1 2/312:15
500N+213:45
800N+2 2/317:00
1000N+319:00
1600N+3 2/324:00
2000N+427:00
3200N+4 2/334:00
4000N+538:00
6400N+5 2/352:00

Kodak HC-110: 1+31 (Dilution B) – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/307:45
125N08:45
200N+2/311:45
250N+112:30
400N+1 2/314:00
500N+214:45
800N+2 2/316:30
1000N+317:30
1600N+3 2/319:30
2000N+421:00
3200N+4 2/323:30
4000N+525:00
6400N+5 2/332:15

Kodak HC-110: 1+19 (Dilution C) – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/305:00
125N05:15
200N+2/307:00
250N+107:30
400N+1 2/308:30
500N+209:00
800N+2 2/310:00
1000N+310:45
1600N+3 2/312:00
2000N+412:45
3200N+4 2/314:15
4000N+515:00
6400N+5 2/317:30

Rodinal: 1+25 dilution – EI 100-6400 at 21C / 70F

Exposure IndexPush/PullTime
100N-1/307:15
125N08:00
200N+2/311:45
250N+113:00
400N+1 2/316:30
500N+218:30
800N+2 2/323:00
1000N+326:00
1600N+3 2/332:00
2000N+436:00
3200N+4 2/346:00
4000N+551:00
6400N+5 2/358:00

Are there any times/developers/dilutions you were looking for not listed here? Leave a note in the comments and I’ll update the article.

Which film would you like to see next? Leave a note below and I’ll see what I can do.

~ EM

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28 responses to “Cheatsheet: ILFORD FP4 PLUS development times – EI 100 to EI 6400”

  1. What about rotary tank processing – should I substract 15% from each N+/-x times?

  2. This article….due to people sending in silly pushed films and expecting us to deal with them has lead to us now surcharging for push and pulling films.

    It has ended push / pull as a free service.

    As a lab that does hand processing we cannot now keep paying someone for an hour to do one film…that is below minum wage and I am sure all will wee that it’s not a viable business proposition,

    Therefore I feel duty bound to advocate that your readers think ahead before they proceed with pushing films in this way if they send their films to labs for processing. Home users….fine, fill your boots

    My professional advice is that people exercise caution as some of the films that have been sent so far don’t repsond to the times stated so well as is told here.

  3. Just did RODINAL: 1+25 DILUTION EI 3200 and I can confirm it is working like a charm. 🙂

  4. Hi, any plans on testing, pushing Fp4 with Ilfotec HC?

    1. Not at the moment, Dennis. That said, the developers are quite similar, with near-identical times.

  5. Hi!
    great work, I’ll test N+2 in Rodinal and I’ll say you if it works well for me.

    can you also have some tests and experiments also for N-1 and N-2?
    Sometimes you have scenes with lot of light contrast and the shot 4×5 sheet film has to be developed with N-1 or N-2.

    So, times for Rodinal with iso 63 and iso 32.

    thanks!

  6. Hi Em,
    This is really great. I’ve just tried some FP4 @500 and am loving the results.
    I do have a quick question: your temperature states 21°C, whereas normally temperatures on the massive dev chart are for 20°C. I also just saw that you were developing the new Acros at 20°C. Is there a reason for this temperature at 21°?
    Thanks for your help,
    Theo

    1. Hey Theo, glad you found it useful. The “20c” standard is something that’s been fallen on over the years – mostly because that’s the temp the vast majority of film manufacturers publish in their recipes. I’ve no qualms about going from 19-24c when the mood (or available time dictate). Making a temp adjustment for colder/warmer chems is pretty easy, too.

      I will say this, cooler temps along with high dilutions can help to control active developers and in my experience, can help to control grain (again, depending on the chem/agitation scheme). Did any of that help, or did I just add more noise here? 😉

  7. scott maliszewski Avatar
    scott maliszewski

    Was there any data on this film for dev times in ilfosol 3?

  8. I just shot a roll of FP4 at 1600 and I plan on using Ilfosol3 at 1+9. According to digital truth I should multiply my time by 4.5 for 3 stops, which gives me about 20 minutes I will try it out and see what comes out.

  9. FP4+ @ 6400 in DDX… 58 minutes! Haha Better get a decent playlist going then! 🙂

  10. I’m curious to see how these compare to my own times.

  11. I have tried to push fp4 to 3200 ant developed with LC29 @ 21C as you wrote 34min but developed negative looks almost transperent.
    do you have any ideas what could gone wrong ?

  12. What developer has given you the best results with pushed FP4? I recently had some FP4 developed (pushed to 400) by a lab and they used TMAX developer. The results were decent but nearly all shadow detail was lost. Of the developers you discuss, which do you see as giving you the best shadow detail with a mild push?

  13. “KODAK HC-110 – 1+31 (DILUTION D) – EI 100-6400 – 21C / 70F”
    Should this not say Dilution “B”

  14. I’m I use FP4+ as my standard film in 35mm and 120 but have always used ID-11 as my developer as it was the one I used in school years ago and have never experimented on the grounds I was told keep things consistent then you will get consistent results; therefore, do you have an ID-11 chart squirrelled away somewhere?

    1. I can pull some published data for you and apply some of my own push processing multipliers. It won’t be perfect but it’ll be somewhere to start. How’s that sound?

    1. I’ll add it in. Any particular dilution/schemes you’re interested in?

      1. Thanks! Since (a) I live in Israel and I need to ship in all chemicals by post or smuggle them in my luggage and (b) I am a lazy / sloppy developer, I tend to favor high dilutions and semi stand development (Rodinal 100:1 or 50:1, HC-110 Dilution H or G). But I am interested in getting more accurate results and am intrigued by the concept of pushing FP4+.
        If it’s not to much to ask, it would also be great to see sample photos or links for the different combinations you have posted…

  15. nice! So a question. Do you do inversions for the first min or just agitate ?

    1. Just agitate, I only do inversions when doing semi-stand development.

  16. Before get old I have to try FP4 @ 6400…

  17. Good grief. I don’t think I even have a body that meters at 6400!

 

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