Advice for a beginner

[Rwhallandal]

Hello All, I’m getting set up to start developing my black and white film. I’m going to stick with Tri-x, HP5 and FP4 in both 35mm and 120 for now, I’ll continue to send others to Thedarkroom. Can you recommend a developer that will work well with those three? I like my images a bit contrasty. Thank you

 

[lynnb]

Have a look at Chris Crawford's thread here.

 

[sepiareverb]

I don't shoot Tri-X, but DDX is wonderful with the HP5 and FP4 for sure. ID-11 is the Ilford 'regular' developer, like Kodak D76, it would also be a great choice when starting.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Have a look at Chris Crawford's thread here.

And his excellent website info too - there is so much there.

 

[retinax]

Everyone will tell you their favorite developer or what they think is a standard. But all commercial developers are pretty much the same in use, some comes as powders, mixing them in water is an extra step, but not hard. So nothing prevents you as a beginner from picking a developer with the characteristics you want. You can get contrast with all of them, that's a function of how long/warm you develop. Pick grain/speed/sharpness. Some are less poisonous and caustic than others. Tell us if you have a preference!
As a practical matter, I'd pick one that has lots of official data published. Ilford or Kodak as you use their films.

 

[John Bragg]

There is much to choose from, but as a beginner, I would advise a standard developer such as ID:11 or D76 if you want powder, or a liquid such as Ilfosol 3. If you are an infrequent developer then Ilfotec HC as it keeps very well in its concentrated form. There is no wrong choice when starting out, as long as you pick one and stick with it to keep the variables to a minimum. Good luck.

 

[KenR]

I agree with all of the above who advise D76/ID11. It is still the standard which all other developers are tested against. While it may not be the best for all films, it is certainly not the worst either. I got away from it because of longevity issues and started using HC100, but now and then use some D76 and I am amazed at how good it is.

 

[Brian Atherton]

I’m long out of developing and printing for a living but D76 was my go-to developer.

I reiterate the link to Chris’s excellent guides.

My simple advice is to stick with one film and one developer to start and get to know and understand them in combination, and the results they give.

Be consistent (temperature, agitation); double check everything (ISO speed, dilution, developing time); keep your gear clean (tanks, bottles, filtered water, film drying area); make clear notes on what you are doing and the outcome; label films and keep up to date with your negatives filing.

Finally, practice good hygiene. You are working with chemicals; use gloves and keep chemicals out of reach of children. Dispose of them responsibly (the chemicals not the children 😉).

Developing is not difficult and very rewarding. Break it down to simple steps, and have fun.

Let us see some results. Good luck!

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

One piece of advice I was given by Keith Moss, an Ilford Artisan Partner, who taught me to develop and print - only change one variable at a time. Stick to a routine - ensure all your kit is labelled or indeed colour coded - and be very systematic.

Plus the obvious - until you are confident that your developing technique is sorted - do not sacrifice a roll of valuable photographs in your mistake making phase!

 

[Ccoppola82]

I would say HC110 or pyrocat-hd. Both are cheap, last forever, and will give nice results on all stocks you've listed.

 

[Bill Clark]

When I started my film developing journey, way back in the late 1950’s, I used D-76. It was easy to use, widely available, and inexpensive. It was hard to store the mixed solutions back then as the bottles & lids were not very good compared to what I recommend you’ll find with this memo.

D-76 is a very good developer to begin your journey. Ilford’s ID-11 is very similar. For me, at my old age, I still use it! All the films you mention work great wih D-76.

What I do, to store chemistry I have mixed from powder, is use empty 2 liter soda bottles. The chemicals don’t react with the plastic and the lid seals the bottle over and over, lasting a very long time. I use clear or green color bottles, either works fine. They rinse out very easy when you pour that last drop of D-76, ready to be filled again!

I store the full bottles under a bathroom cabinet, keeping them in the dark with fairly constant temp.

I find the mixed chemistry, as mentioned above, lasts me a couple of years.

I would try one of these two developers, D-76 or ID-11, as they work very well, simple to mix, use and store.

 

[eli griggs]

D-76 1:1 would be my first choice for those films, but I suggest you compound your own, so it is free of the 'preservatives ' in either D-76 or ID-11.

The Chemistry is simple and you can try other formulas once you've a handle on D-76, and good control of the process of compounding raw chemicals.

There are many, many different developers out here in the wild, but getting to know what gives you what you want and why, is, imo, really part of the joy of B&W film and processing.

Additional, buy your Sodium Sulfite, in large bulk buckets, 25 lbs as it is used in a number of formulas, no all developers, and is far cheaper than small quantities,so try it from sellers that are recommended by others whom have currently bought it in bulk, online, for the best deals.

By-the-way, many of us use gunpowder scales for weighing out, but you do no have to spend a lot of money on a premium brand like RCBS or Lyman, just look to the Lee powder scale, it is cheap but weights to one 1/10 of a GRAIN.

 

[Ambro51]

Keep it simple. Dark means Dark, load the film in the Dark. Make sure it’s Dark when you load the film. Make SURE you have a DRY reel when you load in film. Pay attention to time and temperatures! Your rinse water should be close to the temps of your solutions. Don’t cut fix and rinse times short. After you pull it off the reel, run the film between two clean fingers and then hang to dry in a dust free area. Resist the urge to handle the film before it is completely dry. If you want to experiment, remember you can do six inch or so lengths of test roll images to work with. (You’d be surprised how many beginners ruin film 36 exposures at a time 🙂

 

[LCSmith]

After you pull it off the reel, run the film between two clean fingers and then hang to dry in a dust free area. Resist the urge to handle the film before it is completely dry.

All very good advice from Ambro51. I might humbly submit the following suggestion, that, if one must run fingers over wet film, do so by first dipping the fingers into the tank which still contains the wetting agent (e.g. photoflo). This makes your fingers less likely, in my experience, to cause damage to the emulsion. Best practice is not to touch the emulsion at all, ever.

I hang my roll films above an air-purifier which shoots clean air upwards. I attach a clothes-pin on the bottom tip of the roll to give it weight and to prevent the film from swaying around. A 24 exposure roll dries in about 15 minutes, which means I can go from shooting to scanning in less than an hour.