B&W Developer Advice?

bmattock

bmattock

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Howdy, folks:

Just got back from our Gettysburg, PA vacation. Had a great time! Shot lots of B&W, and now need to process it. But, I have a bit of a conundrum - I shot lots of different stuff.

1 roll Arista.EDU Pro ISO 200
1 roll Agfa APX ISO 100
4 rolls Ilford HP5 Plus ISO 400
1 roll Konica Minolta Pan ISO 100

I shot all of them at EI=ISO rating, so no push or pull is required. Most are either closeups of monuments or landscapes - weather was heavily overcast/raining lightly the entire time. Yellow filter used on some, not on others.

I have no more D76 and I'm out of fixer entirely. I have the fixin's for 1 gallon of Acufine or 1 gallon each of the Diafine 2-part developer. However, since I didn't push any of the film and I've never used Diafine or Acufine before, I'm not sure if they're appropriate here.

Since I have to order some fixer anyway, what developer would you recommend for the oddball conglomeration I have here?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
i'm no expert but...:)

if you have not yet tried it, ilford's ddx is a great developer.
i'm also in the small club that likes ilford's ilfosol s.
but i do think ddx is better.

joe
 
Bill, if you like using D-76, you'd probably like Kodak XTOL even better. Like D-76, you use it straight up, or diluted 1:1.

Gene
 
Well, I'm a big coward when it comes to processing B&W, I'll tell you. I've always used D76 and am pretty comfortable with the way it works, but I end up throwing a lot of it away - just don't shoot enough B&W and it goes bad or gets so old I don't trust it. I've purchased the Acufine and the Diafine with the idea of doing some push-processing at some point, but since I shot all these at their recommended ISO, I suspect that they would not be a good choice this time.

I'd be interested in trying DDX or XTOL, neither of which I have any experience with - what would I be gaining over D76? I realize we're talking about perceptions here, which tend to be subjective, but I'm still interested!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
DDX is liquid and ideal for one shot, it's my regular brew. (U.K)

XTOL is powder and you've gotta make a gallon, not so convenient for me.

There's a lot of info on the Ilford website. they deserve support, - they,re supporting us.
 
I see the point about liquid and one-shot use - if it keeps for a long time and I can mix it up as needed, that would be cool. I was just looking over Freestyle's list of available developers that fit generally within this category:

Edwal FG-7
Ethol T.E.C.
Fotospeed FD10
Ilford Ilfotec DD-X
Kodak HC110
Zonal Pro Gamma Plus

Of these, I am most attracted to the Fotospeed FD10, the Kodak HC110, Ilford DD-X, and the T.E.C., which sounds interesting - especially if Leica uses it, as they advertise.

Any thoughts beyond what's already been advanced?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I have a little jar of Ethol TEC that i have been meaning to use.....I may try to do up a roll in it soon and post some examples...Only problem with it htat i can see is that a little bottle carries a big price tag...
 
Chaser said:
I have a little jar of Ethol TEC that i have been meaning to use.....I may try to do up a roll in it soon and post some examples...Only problem with it htat i can see is that a little bottle carries a big price tag...
Click to expand...

I'd love to know if anyone else has used it - Freestyle has it at $8.99 USD for a 4 ounce bottle, mix at 1:15 or 1:30. I think I could spring for that, but of course not if it does not give excellent results!

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I have kept DDX i the fridge for a year. Roger Hicks say it keeps for "ages". You could ask him about it as well.

DDX wil give you maximum 'normal' film speed (no loss of shadow detail) HP5 650asa,
and is great for "pushing" as well.

In my opinion it's a bit sharper than d76.
 
p.s. you don't have to reset the asa rating, you'll just get a bit more shadow detail and slightly more contrast.

Both DDX and XTOL will give more shadow detail than d76.
 
HC-110 is a classic. Extremely long shelf like (kinda like Rodinal) and dilutes to working solution. Several dilutions to choose from. Really nice stuff, and very similar to D-76 1:1 in results. Here's the key site on HC-110:

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

I could easily get by with this developer alone.

Gene
 
I'll second HC110, a real time tested solution and as Gene mentioned, it keeps forever. It's also a very active developer, so for those days when you don't want to sit and agitate once a minute for te next 20 min's, HC110 can dev most films in about 5min's or so at the right dilutions.

I go by the times on Covington's site also.
 
Hektor said:
I have kept DDX i the fridge for a year. Roger Hicks say it keeps for "ages". You could ask him about it as well.

DDX wil give you maximum 'normal' film speed (no loss of shadow detail) HP5 650asa,
and is great for "pushing" as well.

In my opinion it's a bit sharper than d76.
Click to expand...


you keep an opened bottle in the fridge?
i never heard of that before nor have i tried it.

can you tell me more?

do others use the fridge to store chemicals?

joe
 
GeneW said:
HC-110 is a classic. Extremely long shelf like (kinda like Rodinal) and dilutes to working solution. Several dilutions to choose from. Really nice stuff, and very similar to D-76 1:1 in results. Here's the key site on HC-110:

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

I could easily get by with this developer alone.

Gene
Click to expand...

Gene,

Good information, and I had just about ordered the HC-110 - then I saw the tech sheet on my single roll of Arista.EDU Ultra 200 - it says not recommended for HC-110. The HP5+ would be OK, but it's anybody's guess on the Minolta PAN 100 - I have no tech sheet for that...
 
Ha Ha Manny, Spag J is so you guys just keep on truckin past when you're trying to find "The North", we've even worked out a way to charge you for it now !! (northern relief roed).

Or put another way- some people will even pay to bypass Birmingham and the Black Country.

only joking Manny, you're welcome to help out me and Fgianni with sinking a beer at one of our RFF Bham chapter meets anytime, I think tues eve is the next one, - my treat.

About the Fridge: putting the chemicals in the fridge lowers their temperature and slows considerably the rate at which they oxidise and "go off". chemical reaction proceeds much more slowly at low temperatures, thats why you have to get the temp of your dev soup right for correct film dev times.
 
Hey, Back alley Joe,
see above post for stuff in the fridge, - how's sugar doing - is she taking you for walks yet ?

Spaghetti Junction is pretty impressive even by Yankee/Canadian/Italian standards. - google it and get an aerial photo !
 
Hektor said:
Ha Ha Manny, Spag J

About the Fridge: putting the chemicals in the fridge lowers their temperature and slows considerably the rate at which they oxidise and "go off". chemical reaction proceeds much more slowly at low temperatures, thats why you have to get the temp of your dev soup right for correct film dev times.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't there a risk of some of the chemical components crystallize out of the developer solutoion? It may not occur with the particular formulation that you are using, but it could happen with other formulations. I don't think that this should be recommended as a general practice. I'd suggest that if anyone wishes to try, he should at least experiement a bit first.

Tin
 
Well I've tried most of the Paterson and Ilford ones + Rodinal, Kodak T-Max (2yrs) and more I can't remember now. I've always done it and never had a problem, and I know pro's who do it too !, maybe we should ask Ilford or Kodak what they think, - but they want you to buy fresh anyway, - it's good for business. I've never seen crystals, and I think discolouration is a good guide. They discolour much more slowly in the fridge.
 
I'm surprised no one is pimping Rodinal. I've used it successfully with just about every film I've ever shot. The stock lasts a long time, even after opened, and it's extremely economical. With the overcast conditions, 1:25 might be the best dilution.

HC-110 and FG-7 have also been staples for me in the past. I was standardised on HC-110 for a long time because Rodinal was difficult to obtain at the time.

I can't image why HC-110 is not recommended with the Astia. I'd have to see it to believe it.

The knock on DD-X is that it produces higher base fog than the others mentioned.

My next "unknown" developer to try will be Defender Alpha: http://www.defenderphoto.com/Defender Photo Alpha Film Developer.htm

Trius
 
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Trius said:
I'm surprised no one is pimping Rodinal. I've used it successfully with just about every film I've ever shot. The stock lasts a long time, even after opened, and it's extremely economical. With the overcast conditions, 1:25 might be the best dilution.

HC-110 and FG-7 have also been staples for me in the past. I was standardised on HC-110 for a long time because Rodinal was difficult to obtain at the time.

I can't image why HC-110 is not recommended with the Astia. I'd have to see it to believe it.

The knock on DD-X is that it produces higher base fog than the others mentioned.

My next "unknown" developer to try will be Defender Alpha: http://www.defenderphoto.com/Defender Photo Alpha Film Developer.htm

Trius
Click to expand...

Tell me about Rodinal!

Also, the Freestyle website has dev charts on both the Arista.EDU Pro 200 and the Foma 200 (same stuff) and both say NR for HC-110. Don't know why, but there you go.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
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