# Caffinol produced underexposed negatives



## TarterTurtle (Aug 1, 2020)

Hi all, I decided to try caffinol a couple of days ago, and when I finished development, they came out underexposed, I did everything exactly as the recipe said, and after I saw that they were underexposed, I checked the iso on the camera and it was set correctly, so Im not sure where I went wrong, thanks for any help.
-Nathan


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## 480sparky (Aug 1, 2020)

Developer, regardless of what it is, can't 'underexpose' the image.  That's a function of the camera.

The only thing it can do is, if you don't develop the film long enough, is to under-develop the film.

You may have a camera issue.


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## TarterTurtle (Aug 1, 2020)

480sparky said:


> Developer, regardless of what it is, can't 'underexpose' the image.  That's a function of the camera.
> 
> The only thing it can do is, if you don't develop the film long enough, is to under-develop the film.
> 
> You may have a camera issue.


Ok, I'm running another roll of film through the camera right now, I'll develop it in normal developer when it's done, it was probably just I didn't develop it long enough though, because it was the whole roll, and the last roll I shot didn't have any underexposed pictures, thanks for the help though


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## limr (Aug 1, 2020)

TarterTurtle said:


> Hi all, I decided to try caffinol a couple of days ago, and when I finished development, they came out underexposed, I did everything exactly as the recipe said, and after I saw that they were underexposed, I checked the iso on the camera and it was set correctly, so Im not sure where I went wrong, thanks for any help.
> -Nathan



What recipe did you use?

And just to be nitpicky, there is a difference between underexposed and underdeveloped. Underexposed is done in the camera by not exposing the film to light long enough. Underdeveloped is not leaving the film in the developer long enough.

Can you post an example?


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## Derrel (Aug 1, 2020)

Regular developers usually make decent negatives in 6 to 11 minutes. HC-110 and D-76 are solid choices.


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## limr (Aug 1, 2020)

Derrel said:


> Regular developers usually make decent negatives in 6 to 11 minutes. HC-110 and D-76 are solid choices.



I usually go 12-14 minutes for the Caffenol recipe I use.


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## TarterTurtle (Aug 1, 2020)

limr said:


> TarterTurtle said:
> 
> 
> > Hi all, I decided to try caffinol a couple of days ago, and when I finished development, they came out underexposed, I did everything exactly as the recipe said, and after I saw that they were underexposed, I checked the iso on the camera and it was set correctly, so Im not sure where I went wrong, thanks for any help.
> ...


I'll post one in the morning, but It won't be great considering that I don't have a scanner

And this is the recipe I used, developed for 10 minutes


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## limr (Aug 2, 2020)

TarterTurtle said:


> limr said:
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> > TarterTurtle said:
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Can you post the link to the full recipe? It doesn't show anything about times or film speed.

I don't know the source of the recipe, but I can tell you right off the bat what I don't like about it: "six heaping teaspoons ... (heaping = not leveled; more than leveled)."

I know that Caffenol is not a standard developer and it's made with things regularly found in a kitchen or bathroom, but it's still chemistry and you're going to get better results with more precise measurements of ingredients. You shouldn't need a definition of 'heaping' to know how much of whatever ingredient to add.

Also, what was the film speed and how long did you develop it for?

Try these recipes: Caffenol: Recipes

I actually tend to prefer the variations described here:
Caffenol: Caffenol C-M and C-H (RS/RSA)


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## TarterTurtle (Aug 2, 2020)

limr said:


> TarterTurtle said:
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Here is a link to the recipe Develop B&W Film with Coffee! A Caffenol Developing Tutorial » Shoot It With Film, I was at 400 for 10 minutes 
Thanks


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## limr (Aug 2, 2020)

TarterTurtle said:


> limr said:
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Just read through it. I understand there is variability in some people's procedures, but hers is way too loosey-goosey for me.

I found that when I was first developing with Caffenol, it took a little experimenting with different recipes, but it was better to start with being very exact with measurements to get a baseline and then start varying from there. There are a lot of variables that can affect the chemistry, the biggest one being the composition of the water. To add even more variation by just using "heaping teaspoons" and "cold water" can mess things up in ways you can't control for as well.


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