Developing B&W help?

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PollitowuzHere

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Silly question, I know. I'm new to film developing, although not film shooting, been using a R3A and 40mm Nokton with BW400CN and all sorts of different color negatives, but want to expand to true B&W film. I bought some HC-100, Kodafixer, and the Delta cup set from B&H, and a changing bag from Roger Luo, Paterson Tanks, and thermometer from eBay. Now, could I get some help figuring out how to start. At least in regards to the solutions and the time I'll need to give to the developer to do its work. Since I live in the Caribbean, tap water temperature is helpful, bottoms out at 85F, so I would have to compesate for that. So, any help for a rookie?
 
Yes, massive dev chart and Ilford guides are great. You should also retrieve the HC-110 pdf from the Kodak Professional site. The HC-110 pdf lists times for temperatures up to 24C/75F. Get PDF's on the film you've selected as well.

Specific Hints: Dilution B is the most commonly used. However, if you must develop at 85F, you might select a higher dilution (weaker developer). The times for B might be too short to confidently develop evenly. Also, Kodak goes on an on and on about preparing the working solution via two seperate dilutions: Concentrate to 'stock', then 'stock' to working dilution. Most folks doing roll film in small quantities mix working solution straight from concentrate (1+31 for 'B').

Hope that helps.
 
I'm doing my own film development in a warm climate as well. Houston is not tropic, but it seems so on many days.

I have been using a very inexpensive tempering bath for all my chemical.

I mixed all my stock solutions, and then store at room temp.

Then, when ready, I make the final dilutions up directly in 1 liter plastic soft drink bottles. Those are then floated in the tempering bath. I use a plastic storage tub about 18 inches wide 36 inches long and 8 inches deep, filled with tap water, and with frozen blue ice block floating. With that, I can get to 72-74 F depending on ambient temp and a few other bits.

I'm using D76, and mixed a full gallon of stock. with the HC-110, the internet wisdom seems to be mix exactly one shot to dilution B.

The bit that I had the most trouble finding was the quantity of developer to use. I started by just filling the tank, that is a waste. It seems that about 11 Oz of 1:1 D-76 works just fine for a single roll of 35mm, I use about 20Oz for a double roll or 110/220.

I have read a whole bunch of different thought about the best way to agitate. The basic idea seems that more shaking leads to the highlights getting more developed, and less shadow development. I'm still working to figure that out though.

Dave
 
Maybe good to know for you when developing B&W films far over 24 degrees C you need a hardener to prevent the emulsion is comming loose from the layer.
In the simplest way this can be 1% Formaline adding to your developer. But Formaline is a nasty stuff, you need glooves and good ventilation.

Diafine is an easy developer because it's temperature independent and at a certain iso rate you have a fix C.I. (Contrast Index) of the film.
But also over 24 degrees C you need a hardener. Here is some Diafine info:
http://www.fotohuisrovo.nl/documentatie/Diafine-data.pdf

Best regards,

Robert
 
A question about fixer: since I can one shot HC-110, could I also do the same with the fixer? Or must I make the fixer into a working solution like in the bottle?
Click to expand...

For film fixer your regular working solution is 1+4. If you're making 500ml this is for re-using 6-10 times.
The limit of saturation in Silver ions (Ag+) is 2g/ltr. for film and also for PE/RC papers.
You can check this limit with a fix test solution KI, Potassium Iodide 10% solution.
10ml fix under test + 5 drops KI: When it's milkey you're over the limit, when it stays clear it's OK.
You can also calculate how many films you have done, however Tgrain type films are taking more of the fix capacity.

Also the stop bath (Citric Acid) you can re-use. It's normally equipped with an indicator which is turning to blue when the pH is going over 5,5.

Best regards,

Robert
 
PollitowuzHere said:
A question about fixer: since I can one shot HC-110, could I also do the same with the fixer? Or must I make the fixer into a working solution like in the bottle?
Click to expand...

Fixer needs to be at the stated dilution to do it's job properly; you can't thin it out from the recommended dilution and use it one-shot. However, a litre or quart of working fixer can be used over and over again until the fixing times become too long. For example, a litre of Ilford Rapid Fixer (1+4) can be used to fix somewhere around 20 rolls of 35mm film.


If you feel more comfortable mixing fresh fixer after just a few rolls, then dump it into a large container and continue to use it for fixing prints. A litre of Ilford Rapid Fixer (1+4) can still fix approx. 25 or 30 sheets of 8x10 even after doing 10 rolls of film.
 
Lets say I manage to get the temperature around 75F, now, whats the dilution to use thats the most controllable? I've read dilution B everywhere, but if the developer is diluted even more, say dilution D or E, wouldn't time also increase? Also, can fixer can be used and poured back into the bottle? Thanks for the help, film developing is boggling me right now.
 
You'll find dilutions and times in the massive development chart. Try to use a dilution that gives you times around 7 to 15 minutes. Less than 7 minutes is hard to control because of tank filling and depleting times. More than 15 minutes and it begins to get boring -- and you'll risk emulsion damage at higher temps.

Developer PDF data sheets should be available in manufacturer's Web sites. They will include graphs of recommended development times plotted against temperature.
 
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