cheaper developer alternative

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StevenJohn

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I really love the look I'm getting from TMY2 @400 souped in DDX 1:4. It's sharp, low grain, and has nice tones. There is only one hiccup...DDX is fairly expensive. Is there a cheaper alternative that can give me the same look? I don't have to stick to 400 speed film, but it's nice. Also a liquid developer is nice, but not a must have. Any suggestions?
 
I recently switched from rodinal because of Two bad bottles
LOVED DDX but agree at 100ml it goes FAST

Since I am NOT nto mixing Powders / i wok with enough toxins in Life :eek:
Pre made Liquod developers are My Choice

I am now using HC110 ( a heaping 10ml for two rolls + 500 water / 1:50 )
And I LOVE the 'Look' ... Am Quite Pleased
 
I was mixing 10 liters of ID-11 every month and used it 1:1 to economize, and basically got tired of constantly mixing chemicals.

I now use Diafine because it gets reused and does not need replenishment, in fact it gets better mid-tones as it gets seasoned. Also has an almost unlimited shelf life. Basically I have to add volume for losses due to wetting film and spillage.

The bad is that it is a two part contrast compensating developer that adds an extra step, but the times are short. Also I found the suggested film speeds to be too aggressive that led to thin negatives, but now I shoot Arcos at 100 and Tri-X at 650 and get detailed negatives that I can straight print in a wet darkroom.

I generally process 40-50 rolls a month and the cost of processing is a few pennies worth of fixer and the cost of film which I buy in mass quauntities for a discount. Many here on this forum dislike Diafine, but I get great results and spent the time to get it to work for me.

Cal
 
Barry Thornton's 2 bath developer formula.
The chemicals are pretty cheap from freestylephoto. You can mix it up a few liters at a time for convenience since it is reusable with a long shelf life.

I like the results.
 
helenhill said:
I recently switched from rodinal because of Two bad bottles
LOVED DDX but agree at 100ml it goes FAST

Since I am NOT nto mixing Powders / i wok with enough toxins in Life :eek:
Pre made Liquod developers are My Choice

I am now using HC110 ( a heaping 10ml for two rolls + 500 water / 1:50 )
And I LOVE the 'Look' ... Am Quite Pleased
Click to expand...

I am planning to try HC-110 as my faster film developer (using rodinal for 100iso and when I want that extra sharpness) as I hope that it will produce images with decent sharpness and well controlled grain in a concentrate that has a decent shelf life!
 
Thanks RF'ers. One thing I should add is that getting the contrast right is important to me. I didn't like D-76 1:1 for instance. HC110 looks interesting. I'll have to look into it.
 
StevenJohn said:
Thanks RF'ers. One thing I should add is that getting the contrast right is important to me. I didn't like D-76 1:1 for instance. HC110 looks interesting. I'll have to look into it.
Click to expand...

Try Diafine. I find that I kinda get the look, detail and contrast range of medium format in 135. In 120 and 220 someone who does large format told me, "With negatives like these you don't need a 4x5."

Diafine is basically a contrast compensating developer that is used to moderate high contrast. There are problems of getting thin negatives if the contrast isn't ultra-high, but added negative density via additional exposure is the solution.

Out of all the film I've tried, Diafine seems to work best with Fuji Arcos at 100 and Tri-X at 650. It is a two part developer where Part A soaks into the film and is poured out to be reused; and then Part B is added to activate the Part A that soaked into the film. Its a little like stand development using Rodinal in that the highlight only get developed so much until the developer is exhausted. At the end of the part B soak the solution is poured out to be used again. Times for Arcos is 5+5 and for Tri-X is 3+3. Another useful feature is that I can process 120 and 135 in the same tank. No replenishment needed. Water rinse and then fix.

What gives Diafine an edge is its fine grain. Arcos has no grain and to see the difference in Tri-X you need a lupe. Then there's the vast contrast of a larger format than you shot in. 135 looks like 120, and 120 resembles 4x5. Plus you get a bump in film speed with Tri-X. Add a 2X yellow filter with Tri-X and shoot at 320 ISO. The most special feature of Diafine is all the added shadow detail without the overexposed highlights.

Cal
 
Calzone said:
The most special feature of Diafine is all the added shadow detail without the overexposed highlights.
Click to expand...
Same with Stoeckler or Thornton. The only difference is, that for the price of one 1 gal. pack of Diafine one will have a bathtub full of Stoeckler.
 
+1 for either Stoeckler or Thornton. Both are good; Thornton gives more contrast. Either can make fine negs to wet print or scan. There's another alternative - D-23 mixed 1:3. The times are little long, but with less agitation, it handles contrast well and is quite sharp, unlike straight D-23. The chemicals are cheap.
 
Caffenol is pretty cheap, not very toxic (hey, its soap, coffee and vitamin C after all!) and one can pour it down the drain with relatively clean conscience.
 
Slip on over to APUG. I've just read a thread there about making developer from Green Tea, another from Red Grape Juice, and someone is going to try something else with a litre of vodka. You guys are amateurs when it comes to adventurous darkroom work! :)
 
Another Thornton user here. It's not my favorite (I prefer XTOL), but it's easy and economical so I end out using it fairly often. Components are cheap (especially in bulk) from Photographer's Formulary and once mixed up it lasts for ages (a year or more for me in the past). Scans easy too.
 
i don't want to experiment too much so i stick with the known developers listed in the cookbook. i don't mind mixing new chems at least once a week. keeps them fresh, so if something bad happens to the negs i know it was my fault.

+1 on Diafine. it was my only developer for 3 years (my mix is now 4 years old). almost fool proof. but i got bored of it.

recently i've been buying D-76 and D-23 clones in dry form at the local Yodobashi and Bic Camera. the clones are from Naniwa (probably, better known for their Naniwa color kit). the D-76 clone is half the price (170yen vs 740yen) and can do 3x (stock, 15 rolls vs 4 rolls) more rolls than the Kodak 1L pack. most probably these packs are local to Japan only.
 
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