HIE and Xtol, ghost of an image?

[David Riecks <riecks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

What are others using for exposure index and dilution/development time with
HIE and Xtol?

I had shot some HIE a few months ago and did some test head to head with
D-76. I liked the look of the negs better, as the highlights were less
extreme and they were fairly easy to print. 

All seemed well and good except the last three rolls I've shot came out
ghost like with the image all but missing. At first I thought this might be
exhausted chemistry, so I mixed a fresh batch. Second roll, with new Xtol
chemistry...same problem. Though I did notice that I did have shadow detail
(faint as it was) it simply looked as though the midtones and highlight
areas were not completely developed. I would have suspected the chemistry
again, except I had developed a roll of plus-x at the same time (just
dropped it in the tank about 1 1/2 minutes after the HIE started) and it
looked great. 

I shot this last roll as a deliberate test with a very wide bracket. Outside
full sun from f5.6 and a half at 1/125 to f16 and a half in half stop
increments both early on in the morning and at noon on a full sunlit day
(Nov 11, 1998, central Illinois, USA). It also came in looking very ghost
like, even the images a full 2 to 2 1/2 stops over exposed from my normal
settings. I selenium toned the negs for over 3 minutes in a 1:3 dilution of
selenium toner and while that helped, they are still too thin for me to
consider printing.

My effective ISO for HIE shot with a Red#25 filter when using D-76
(straight) is about 100-125. In other words my normal exposures are about
1/125th at f11 1/2 to f16. The first test I ran with Xtol actually seemed to
be giving me MORE exposure, so I cut back the exposures to f/16 1/2 or f/16
at 1/125 for the first four or five rolls that I shot.

Could it be that the amount of IR reflecting off of subjects at this time of
year has changed dramatically enough to cause this? The only other thought
I've had is that I may have done the first tests with the developer
straight, rather than 1:1 dilution. I checked the Kodak PDF file that I
downloaded, but can't come up with a development time that matches what I've
been using if I were a full strength.

The suggested Xtol development time for 1:1 dilution at 68 degrees F was
something like 8:75 minutes...but I've been using 9 minutes. If anything I'd
expect denser negs, but I'm getting the opposite effect. I'm aware that
Kodak reccommends that you use at least 3.5 oz of the developer in any
dilution, as all of my development dilutions have been 1:1 with about 4.5 oz
of developer and 4.5 oz of water when processing a single roll.

I'm pretty sure that this isn't the batch of film, as I switched bulk rolls
a while back and believe I've been using the same 150 foot roll since about
April of this year (bought before traveling last spring).

I'm stymied, anyone have suggestions to test?

David
David Riecks                    *       riecks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx  
701 W. Washington St            *                 or
Champaign, IL 61820             *       riecks@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx       
ph/fax 217-239-FOTO (3686)      *        Midwest/Chicago ASMP   
          http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/riecks            

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