CineStill Df96 Monobath - any experience ?

Ok from my second roll - Ilford Delta 400 120 - and the first roll of medium format film I have ever developed!
And I screwed up... a case of RTFM. I did not follow instructions which were clearly displayed and developed it the same way as my Arista 400.
Cinestill clearly states that films like Delta:

It also works well with tabular grain films with color dye technology, like Tmax or Delta films, but require double the processing time to clear the pink/purple dyes in the emulsion.

Anyway, I still really like my pics cuz these were just having fun and learning the process. Next time I'll pay attention! You can see the effects in the light foggy looking areas in the bottom left. On the neg the dyed layers are still visible.
It kinda gives it a nice vintage charm (making lemonade from lemons!)



FYI Lomo LCA-120
 
I developed my first two rolls (Tri-X and HP5) in Cinestill D96 and a Lab-Box just this past week. 3 minutes at 80F, then rinse for about sixty seconds in fresh water. I got great negatives, and they were more consistent than using D76 or any other multi-step process. I'll definitely keep using the method.

I took the closed bottle, put it in the sink, covered it with hot water, and when it was 80F, poured it into the Lab-Box. Easy Peasy.
 
Okay, for all you folks who like this stuff, help a bro out...

I recently tried a couple of rolls of 135 using a Lab-Box and another using a conventional tank and reels, just to make sure it wasn't the Lab-Box that was causing problems.

I followed the time/temp directions and was satisfied with the density range and overall appearance of the negatives -- but I got more agitation/flow/uneven development marks than I've ever encountered (and I have hand-developed literally thousands of rolls of film.)

My inference was that when using 80°F/3 min (for example) the development phase has to be completing in something like 60-90 sec., meaning any minor variations are going to be a significant percentage of total development. To this day Kodak data sheets recommend avoiding developer/temperature combinations that produce a developing time of less than 5 min, specifically because "tank development times shorter than 5 minutes may produce unsatisfactory uniformity," and unsatisfactory uniformity is exactly what I'm getting a lot of.

So, how are you happy Df96ers handling your films to get uniform development?
 
ranger9 said:
So, how are you happy Df96ers handling your films to get uniform development?
Click to expand...

I develop it at 70 degrees for 6 minutes with no issues.
While it can be developed quicker, I don't because my home interior temp is closer to 70 than 80, and I can spare an extra couple of minutes.

I develop using a standard daylight tank, and use the inverting agitation process. I found if I use the rod for rotational agitation I get uneven developing marks.
 
I noticed your air bells. After inverting agitation, I tap the tank onto the counter to dislodge any bubbles.
It is important to make sure your dev tank, spool etc is completely clean before you start. I rinse everything thoroughly with warm water (then dry) after each development. Left over residue from a photo flow type agent can cause those bubbles.
 
Ok, my 2nd roll of Delta 400 in DF96. This time I followed the instructions and developed for 11 minutes at 70 with inverted agitation (couple of times every minute) to clear the blue/purple dye base.
Love the results.

Moskva/Mockba 5 kamera.

 
The answer: constant agitation...just start cranking the knob.

The Lab-Box instructions (and their online videos) demonstrate both methods...what I did is right after I poured the chemistry in, starting turning the knob...until I poured the chemistry out. Three minutes later, great negatives.
 
David_Manning said:
The answer: constant agitation...just start cranking the knob.
Click to expand...

Did that. Question: Do you use a full Lab-Box (500ml) or partial fill (300ml)?

When I filled the Lab-Box with 300ml of solution -- which in effect provides intermittent agitation, since each piece of film is periodically going into and out of the developer, even though you're turning the knob continuously -- I got "shockwave" marks transversely across the film.

I interpreted this as being the result of partially exhausted developer on the film surface being replaced by fresh developer when the film first dipped back into the solution. At normal developing times this would even out over time, but since I figure that with Df96 the development phase can only last 60 sec. or so (after which bromide release kills development and the fixer takes over) even a small amount of variation would make a visible difference.

When I filled it with 500ml of solution -- which fills it up all the way to the top of the reel, providing what amounts to continuous agitation -- I got axial flow marks along the length of the film. Again, I figure that at normal developing times the flow differences would average out, but the very high activity of the Df96 developer doesn't allow enough time for that to happen.

I'm going to try Huss' (?) suggestion above to use a 70-degree temperature in hopes of slowing down the development phase enough for some of the agitations variations to even out, but am also interested in hearing any other suggestions. For example, do you suppose pre-soaking the film would help?
 
Huss said:
I noticed your air bells. After inverting agitation, I tap the tank onto the counter to dislodge any bubbles.
Click to expand...

I habitually smack mine on the heel of my hand. It's a plastic tank, and I'd feel pretty stupid if I banged it so hard on the counter that I cracked it. At any rate, as much hand-smacking as I dared didn't seem to be enough to dislodge these.

It is important to make sure your dev tank, spool etc is completely clean before you start. I rinse everything thoroughly with warm water (then dry) after each development. Left over residue from a photo flow type agent can cause those bubbles.
Click to expand...

Yup, all clean. As I said, I've been doing this for a long time! After rinsing, I like to fill everything with water and leave it to soak for several hours, then rinse again before drying and putting away.

So, I'm inclined to go with your first thought and blame insufficient smacking, but I don't know that I can smack much more than I've been doing...
 
Ok, I had a complete and absolute failure. I tried to develop a roll of Silberra ORTA50 which is an orthochromatic film. 7.5 mins at 70 degrees.
First bad sign was when I poured the developer back out of the tank - it now was pink. I hope that doesn't bogart the rest of my DF96..
The film was completely absolutely clear. Like glass. And yes, it was fed through my camera - even the end strip where you load it into the camera that is completely exposed to daylight several times was crystal clear. If there was a film loading issue this would still be max DMX black, while the rest would have been clear.
So now I don't think I will use this product on the Ilford Ortho film I just got, which is a bummer.
I'll just use it on regular panchromatic B&W film.
 
Huss said:
Ok, I had a complete and absolute failure. I tried to develop a roll of Silberra ORTA50 which is an orthochromatic film.
Click to expand...

I noticed this in the “Full background on Silberra” article on the Silberra website:

“First coatings of ORTA were real problematic: emulsion was going off the substrate, as ISO80 sensitivity gives new qualities to the emulsion (e.g. viscosity is completely different) so Micron had to find right adhesive and hardening component dilution to provide both nice emulsion quality and good adhesive properties. Now that problem is solved...”

...or maybe it's NOT solved, at least in the case of Df96 (which is bound to have different chemical properties than normal developer and fixer.) The two symptoms you describe — the used developer being pink and the film coming out completely clear — do sound as if the emulsion just slid right off the substrate.

Anyway, I would NOT be inclined to use that batch of developer again, as presumably it's got a whole roll's worth of emulsion suspended in it now. Maybe a pass through a coffee filter would be worth a try? You could always test with a clipped-off piece of leader before committing to another roll.
 
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