Developer for travel

I also vote HC-110 and Ilford Rapid fix.
A wetting agent needed, plus measuring jar and syringe.
I did develop on trips and it was easy..
Nice to arrive back with all the rolls except last few days, ready.

Worst idea, process at labs of unknown quality..

Security can change, causing a NO-NO.

I love Film, but last few years, use point and shoot digital.
My trip to South Africa, from Canada.
Carry a large capacity SD card as back up,
leaving copies on daughter's PC.
I have access to Her DSLR outfit if needed.:D
 
For years I would travel with a bag, stainless tank, and chemistry - HC-110. On the road meant 6-9 months each year.
Take D-76 or diafine for when you do have heat - a small bottle of HC for when you don't.

Enjoy your trip.
 
R3 Monobath? It's said that increased temperature cause push processing, and it has a high capacity, and stability. See Ted Forbes the Art of Photography about it video, and New 55 website. You can mix it your own with HC-110 and rapid fixer(and some nasty stuff), or get it mixed on the site. I'd consider it. Other options involve at least two chemical to carry around, aside equip. to make dilutions, and stuff. The monobath is just the tank and the developer container. The development is fast, and there is no over development risk. It's stand development making it super easy, there is no dilution to make, and you pour it back to the container after you finish.

There are cons tough.

I'd also take a look at ilford's Ilfosol 3, and the small container of Rapid fixer. Both sum up just a liter.
 
Thank you everyone for your input.

It looks like HC110 is the best choice for this trip, so I'm going to buy a bottle and give it a try before I leave. Would the concentrate last 10 months in mixed climates?

I'm not so concerned about the weight of carrying chemicals so much, I'll be using a Peli case to carry dev kit and a neg scanner. If it wasn't for a project that I'm hoping to make into a book then I would just leave all of this until I get home, however I want to make sure I have the shots given that I'm traveling to the other side of the world.
 
Hc110 lasts forever.. Use it as a one shot, mix when using, should last a long time. I separate mine I to smaller bottles for less air exposure, but even before that, I've had it last a few years without any effect. Temp in my apartment is all over the place.
 
HC-110 is currently tied with Rodinal for longest lasting concentrate. Use 1 oz of concentrate to 31 oz of water and you get Dilution B, rinse and use the residue in your 1 oz measuring graduate.
 
HC-110 is a very stable developer. 3-4 years you can keep it. However most photochemicals you can not transport in international flights. Depending on their symbols they can be rejected and taken out of your luggage. It is better to sent it as parcel seperately to the destination. Further I would suggest Diafine too, works with Tri-X 400 from iso 400-1000. Any powder fixer is then also handy. Further Diafine is panthermic between 21-28C, very easy for developing in the field.
http://www.fotohuisrovo.nl/documentatie/Diafine-data.pdf
 
bence8810 said:
Yes HC110 can "fly".
. . . from what I heard it is pretty similar to D76 just in liquid form. Also supposedly a very good push developer and gives higher speed than other developers.
Ben
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Well, they both contain Hydroquinone and sodium sulfite, but that's as far as it goes. D-76 is a metol developer, while HC-110 doesn't.

Writing about HC-110, Anchell and Troop note that " . . . it produces coarser grain than D-76, and is not as sharp as many high acutance developers." (The Film Developing Cookbook, 1998; p. 58.)

Kodak offers the this comparison of several of their developers:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/prof...wFilmProcessing/selecting.jhtml?pq-path=14053

One of my photography professors liked to call HC-110 the "Bisquick developer." Meaning, you can make various things with Bisquick, like pancakes, rolls, biscuits; but perhaps not as well as with Aunt jemima pancake mix or Pillsbury Biscuit dough (etc.). I think the Kodak reference I gave above corroborates this. HC-110 is not much of a push developer, not much of a high acutance developer, and not much of a fine grain developer. It is more of a convenient developer.


kxl said:
Hc-110 . . . can never be mistaken for D76.
HC-110 does shine for pushing film.
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I agree with the first part. But again, the Kodak does not support the idea that HC-110 shines for pushing film.

John Bragg said:
HC-110 is very stable and the swiss army knife of developers in my opinion, as it works at a variety of dilutions.
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I agree, it is very versatile. I love the "Swiss Army Knife" analogy! I have no quarrel with HC-110 with a convenience and portability focus, but i don't think it's the developer to end all developers.

lawrence said:
I like Tmax with Tri-X and I believe it gives higher film speed than HC110.
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Yes. TMax developer is a push developer and does offer higher film speed. But also note:

Having jumped into this and disagreeing with several posters, I will now offer my own two cents for a concentrated portable developer that I have recently gotten great results with. It is Ilford D-DX. Although a push developer, I have also used it at normal box speed, and have obtained easy to print and snappy looking prints with nice tonality. I have no data on how the acutance compares, but I like the stuff! And, like HC-110, it is a one-shot, so is suited to the purpose of travel.
 
Dark is fairly easy to obtain. Filtered water and air more difficult.

Single burner hot plate to heat water. Sterno or camp stove also works

Two part developer like Stockler, D23, Leica. No wait, they do not work well with reformulated thin emulsion.

D76 water bath ?

All I can say is establish and test well before you go. 6 exposures or 12" is all you need for a test.
 
I take my hat off to you to use film only capture and develop it on a long trip you are going on. Why, during this day and age of traveling the logistics involved would be too much for me and take away too much time. Would it be possible to have a lab process your film near where you live, mail it to them or use a carrier like Fed-X and save the negatives for you when you return? Maybe a lab that would digitize them and post on a web site for you to look at.

If I were going out for the trip it sounds like you are embarking on, I would use digital capture and maybe some black and white film.
 
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions.

I'm going to do a bit of testing with hc110 before I go to see if I can get the results I want when pushing to 1600. I don't plan to make darkroom prints but to scan and print instead. I will be possibly be carrying a small burner with me for a later part of my trip where I won't be developing, so could potentially mix up d76, the only problem is the quantity which needs to be mixed up at one time. If I move from one place to the other I potentially will have to dump a load of chemicals because carrying 3l of D76 stock really won't be fun.

I've never used DDX either so that's possibly worth a try for me.
 
Bill Clark said:
I take my hat off to you to use film only capture and develop it on a long trip you are going on. Why, during this day and age of traveling the logistics involved would be too much for me and take away too much time. Would it be possible to have a lab process your film near where you live, mail it to them or use a carrier like Fed-X and save the negatives for you when you return? Maybe a lab that would digitize them and post on a web site for you to look at.

If I were going out for the trip it sounds like you are embarking on, I would use digital capture and maybe some black and white film.
Click to expand...

Thanks Bill, I made the move to film about a year ago now and don't actually own a digital camera and cannot afford to buy a decent one now either, so film is the only choice for me. It suits my work much better actually so I'm happy to make that sacrifice of carrying the kit with me. I considered getting film processed when I'm traveling but there aren't many options in the places I'm going to and also the cost of developing in a lab back in my home country is beyond my budget, especially when factoring in scanning costs. In fact I'm taking a Plustek scanner with me too... surprisingly all of my dev kit, scanner and cameras fits nicely inside of a PELI carry on size case (obviously I can't carry on the chemicals so they'll go in my bag as checked).

Many think I'm crazy for doing this, but I have a project in mind and feel these small sacrifices to my convenience will pay off when I see the end result.
 
Flying with liquids can provoke interrogation by the security and customs - but then, so can flying with powders. And a bottle of HC-110 can be opened without damage for (drug and explosives) testing, while you won't want to cut open all your sealed developer bags for a swab test...
 
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