Diafine ?

i can't say for sure about the diafine but any powdered chemical i've used in the past said to dissolve the whole package at once. i believe it's to ensure (sp?) that all of the mix is included which can't happen if you only dissolve a part of the pack.

joe
 
I have brown 1 gal jugs that I mix up D76 in and keep them under the cabinet. I am not sure about Diafine but I mix the whole envelope at once.

Todd
 
Joe, Todd, thanks. My first souped film would be probably HP5+ (my current stock in the fridge). Next I may give a try to FP4, as Diafine 'pushes' it to EI250 and that looks like a good all-around film speed.

Must try the legendary Tri-X also !
 
taffer,
if you have not been here yet (or run into this guy on any of the other forums) you should check out his site, he uses Diafine for everything and has alot of info and a great gallery: http://grantheffernan.com/

Todd
 
Oscar, always a smart idea to use an entire packet of a prepared chemical mix at one time. There are different powders in there, some of them are finer or coarser, lighter or heavier than others, and so the distribution of these different powders is likely to be uneven in the packet. Using only part of the packet could lead to an incorrect solution.

This would not be true for single-chemical powders like sodium sulfite, for instance, which can be used in whatever quantity you wish.
 
I'm getting my home darkroom setup finally and have been considering using Diafine due to the lack of time/temp sensitivity (We have a 2 1/2 year old who has decided it's time to remind us about the "terrible twos") Anyone have recommendations for the other chemicals? Which fixer, hardener, etc works best for you? I shoot mainly 400Tmax right now in 35 and 120, but am open to other films.

Thanks!

William
 
William, I keep it really simple. I only stock two developers: Rodinal and HC-110.

Both have 'forever' shelf life and both are extremely versatile. I use dilution H with HC-110 1:64 to get easily controlled times. I usually use Rodinal at 1:50 but will ocassionally use 1:100. Both have longish temperature operating ranges. HC-110 is similar to D76 and is good for pusing film and also takes a little edge off the grain. Rodinal is better as a pull developer and gives you max grain, but also max sharpness. Tri-X/Rodinal is a very beautiful combo.

The only other chemical I use is Kodak Fixer (the dried package you mix up into a gallon's -- i.e. 3.8L -- worth). It has good keeping qualities and one package can fix up to 100 rolls of 36 exp film.

I don't use stop bath or hypo clearing agents (not needed for film). Just water.

Oh, and a small bottle of Photoflo to mix a dilute mixture to dip the film in just before hanging to dry.

Everyone's got a different set of recipes and likes/dislikes. It's part of what makes B&W film processing so interesting.

But after much experimenting with film/dev combos in my early days of photography, I decided years ago to keep things simple and mainstream. Both of these developers are easily obtainable nearly everywhere.

Gene
 
Nosing through the cabinet in my darkroom, undisturbed for many years, it's interesting to come across jugs of this and that, reminding me of my previous workflow. Some of these bear handy grease-pencil notations about usage.

Nacco Nufix fixer 1 gal unopened container with a separate hardener bottle, also about 1/2 gal of diluted mix for use (marked "film"), and a small bottle of Hypo Check that confirms the old mixed fixer is still good.

Also a gallon bottle with Hypo Clearing Agent marked with grease pencil "for film", so I figured this stuff would shorten wash times. Interestingly, this mix also includes Selenium Toner. I recall this as another aid to archival stability.

I like liquid concentrate chemicals better than powders. Easier to deal with I think, and I've often had trouble getting the powders to dissolve right away. Hot water helps, but containes more air to start the mix oxidizing, and then you have hot mix to cool down. Often there's one powder component that's particularly reluctant to dissolve, and gets trapped in my filter. I was reminded of this the other day in preparing some Diafine from powder. Best to mix it up a day or two ahead of time I think, to give the powders plenty of time to dissolve fully.

Good point about individual recipes, Gene!
 
Free Style Photo does international shipping and I find their pricing rather reasonable. :)
 
All my chemicals are already mixed (it was like being in the high school chemistry lab :)) and ready but my system-4 developing tank doesn't arrive :bang:

Worst part is I'm SURE it will be here the same day I'll go home with a new one from the store :)
 
just buy a different size if you get one from a local store.
i have about 3 sizes ranging from very small for a roll or 2 to a really big one that handles quite a few rolls at once.

if i would have thought i could have sent you one as i have a few, some were given to me also, some from yard sales etc.

joe
 
Dont' worry Joe, and thanks for your generous offer ! :D

I think another of 'my' stores carries a small 1 roll tank called 'AP Minitank' (original eh?) which may be useful as well. It's also pretty cheap so I may give it a chance.

That store (fotoprix) doesn't close at lunch time so I may pay them a visit tomorrow after leaving from job and get home with it.

The Paterson will take 2 35mm rolls if needed or maybe 1 120 :)

Now the question is... to squeegee or not to sqeegee ? ;)
 
i was never comfortable with sqeegeeing (is that a word?).

i bought a rubber bladed thing and also used my wet fingers and i don't remember scratching my film but i was always too worried that i would.
a good rinse plus photo flo (or whatever) does the job ok.

and a one roll tank is great for those days when you really want to see the results from a one roll shoot.

joe
 
I've never used a squeegee, but years ago you could purchase photo sponges that were free from any dyes and were very soft. I still have them and after doing the photoflo thing and hanging my film, I then soak my two sponges in the photoflo and squeeze them slightly, but not totally dry. I then very very gently with very light pressure pull the sponges down the strip, which removes most of the excess moisture from the film.

Been doing that for some 30 yrs now and to the best of my knowledge have never scratched my film. I've tried photoflo by itself with no squeegeeing and have had a few occasions when it left a spot or two on the negs. Never had any spots when I squeegeed with my sponges.

Gene
 
Thanks for the advice Joe & Gene ! I bought a squeegee last week so I'll give that a try. Just to try each way so I have different options to keep the one that works ok for me :)
 
I'm a Pro-Squeegeer (is *that* a word?!?) myself. I noticed some wet spots on occassion even with the photoflo, so i started squeegeeing. I got a pretty nice little squeegee at the local store, it doesn't scratch the negs. I'm going to order some of this diafine and try it too.
 
I tried squegee once, and it scratched my neg, after that it's just the good ol' 2 fingers.

btw I was surfing, and apparently adorama sells diafine much cheaper but they don't have stocks.
 
And the winner is...

And the winner is...

HP5+ !!!

that's it ! My first Diafine processed roll is already hanging in the shower.

I bought the tank this morning,and practiced processing my dummy roll after lunch. Came out nicely black ;) but gave me some more practice about loading chemicals, etc.

No film changing bag finally, the bathroom is completely black at night with all home lights off. I had an HP5 roll I took of my 'collection' reserved for this moment, and comes in handy (if you mess it up, you can always repeat those shots).

Well I suppose I'll be able to scan something tonight :)

To all of you hesitating about trying this, just like Rover and others said some months ago, DO IT !!! :D

Oscar
 
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