beginner dev question

bkrystad

bkrystad

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Just getting going this year with developing (accumulating materials right now and reading a lot). Many bonehead questions, here's my first:

I'm inheriting a 4-reel stainless tank (without instructions). I'm planning to start with HP5 in D-76.

Kodak literature recommends 8oz. stock D-76 per roll, which means four rolls in a 1qt tank of stock or two rolls in a 1qt tank of 1:1 (16oz. stock, 16oz. water).

Here comes the dumb part: aside from wasting developer, which is obvious, what happens if I try to develop only one roll in a quart of D-76 at 1:1? And what happens if I try to develop just two rolls in a quart of stock D-76? Are either of these combinations bad for the film because they have more developer in solution than required?

Trying to figure out if I need to add a 2-reel tank to my setup for doing one roll at 1:1 or two rolls at stock while I'm experimenting with development times.
 
You'll just be wasting developer. I would suggest getting both a two reel and one real tank (metal) to go with the set. I also recommend Kodak HC110 Dilution B because it last a lot longer than using stock developer. But that is just a personal choice.
 
the concentration of solution is the important part. The volume needs to be enough to cover the film, and contain enough developer to do the job before exhaustion. Using more than enough volume isn't an issue.

I regularly develop 1 roll of Tri-X or Pan F in 400ml of D-76 1+1 and two rolls in 675ml, which is technically less than 8oz of D-76 stock, and have yet to have any recognizable issues. I would hesitate to use D-76 at 1+3 in 400ml. The issue is the chemical reaction depends on sufficient developer in the mix to adequately covert the emulsion. So using more solution than required would present no issues. Using too little would be a situation to be avoided.

In my situation, I would guess that towards the end of the dev time, I have more leeway to pour it out late than using straight D-76 - less dev action at the tail end due to depeleted solution. To be honest, I had forgot about the minimum volume requirement of D-76 in 1+1 solution - it wasn't an arty "refinement." 🙂 I might change my volume now - thanks for bringing this up.
 
The 4 reel tank means you have a tall slinky tank.
If you use 1 reel only check how much dev you need to cover it (about 300ml) and that's it.

You may put only 1 reel in the tank but it will be "dnacing" and maybe putting the 4 reels will keep it in place when you turn the tank over. That is the only reason why you may consider buying a 1/2 reel tank.
 
40oz said:
the concentration of solution is the important part. The volume needs to be enough to cover the film, and contain enough developer to do the job before exhaustion. Using more than enough volume isn't an issue.
Click to expand...
Very true. A small thought experiment is interesting, too.

Consider a 2-bath developer. All the developing agent is in the first bath.

Assume a 225ml (8 oz) tank. Around 25ml of Solution A remains in the tank when the rest is poured out. With 8 g/l of metol (taken for ease of calculation) that's 0.2g of metol, much of which is not even in the gelatine but merely wetting the tank.

And this is enough dev agent to develop the film...

Oxidation during processing is a problem with some devs (e.g. PMK) and Kodak makes specific recommendations for Xtol for which I have never been able to get a satisfactory explanation, but as a general rule you use something between a teaspoonfull and a tablespoonfull of dev to develop the film and the rest to wet it evenly and quickly (think also of Polaroid 4x5).

Cheers,

R.
 
You need to cover the reel plus a little.; though too much won't hurt you too little will.

Make sure you bang the bottom after putting developer in. I've used D-76 1-1 and 1-3 both dilutions are good. I think 1-3 gives nicer tones when I shoot Ilford FP and Pan f .
 
As several have said, enough developer to completly cover the reel. Also, put the other three reels in the tank so when you agitate the reel with film doesn't slide back and forth. Too much agitation can cause streaking - especially with 35mm, as developer flow through the sprocket holes will leave a streak at each hole.
As others have recommended, I would get a two roll tank for smaller jobs.
D-76 is the old standby standard, and is still excellent. I like Acufine as I think I get finer, sharper grain, and it does give you a speed increase. Rodinal is another good developer, as you can mix what you need for one use. It also keeps a long time in the bottle.
All just IMHO 😎
 
bsdunek said:
Too much agitation can cause streaking - especially with 35mm, as developer flow through the sprocket holes will leave a streak at each hole.
Click to expand...
Not sure I agree. Streaking is normally a result of either bromide drag (inadequate agitation) or excessively regular agitation, i.e. in a constant direction, e.g. from a mechanically agitated Paterson Orbital. I don't think you could agitate regularly enough with frequent or constant hand agitation in a tank to get streaks from excess agitation. I may be wrong, but I'd be surprised.

Cheers,

R.
 
How much D-76 do you really need?

How much D-76 do you really need?

I've read the Kodak tech sheets for D-76, Microdol-X and Xtol. I've read the Kodak Official Party Line about 8oz. D-76 per 80 sq. in. Here's what Kodak says about Microdol-X diluted 1:3

Don't reuse or replenish diluted developer. When using MICRODOL-X Developer diluted 1:3, you can develop one 135-36 roll (80 square inches) in 473 mL (16 ounces) or two rolls together in 946 mL (one quart) of diluted developer.

If you process one 135-36 roll in a 237 mL (8-ounce) tank or two 135-36 rolls in a 473 mL (16-ounce) tank, increase the development time by 10 percent. This will compensate for the weakened developer and lower volume.
Click to expand...

And for Xtol

The volume of diluted XTOL Developer needed to cover the film will depend on the size of your tank or tray or the design of your rotary-tube processor. However, the minimum amount of diluted developer needed to cover the film may not contain enough active ingredients to develop the film fully in the recommended time. We recommend always starting with at least 100 mL (3.5 fluidounces) of full-strength developer to prepare the diluted solution for each 135-36 or 120 roll (or the equivalent of 80 square inches [516 square centimetres]). For example, when processing 4 rolls of film with developer diluted 1:1, use at least 800 mL even if the processing equipment will allow the use of less solution.
Click to expand...

I've also read the Agfa official word on Rodinal: 10ml/80 sq. in. Numerous people here and on other forums say they get good results with anywhere from 3ml to 6ml per roll with Rodinal.

I know I'm asking an apples to oranges question. Has anyone ever used less D-76 than the amount Kodak says is the minimum?
 
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Thanks, all. I was uncertain about the impact of inversion when less than the tank volume of developer was inside. Sounds like a non-issue.

Definitely seems like adding a two-reel tank to my setup will save me some headaches when using smaller volumes of developer. It just makes me cringe to imagine 8oz. of stock developer slopping around in a 32oz. tank.

Time to go shopping ... again. <grin>

-Byron
 
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