Diafine ????????

[zgeeRF]

tech pan

tech pan

zgeeRF, what was the E.I. for your techpan in Diafine "less than a minute"?

How far less? 45 sec?

Yes 45 seconds. (I know amazingly short..). There was a reference somewhere on the web. I'll look for the link and share it.
Others prefer diluting solution A instead of shortening the dev. time but I didn't like the idea.

The EI was 64.
I've used this method several times and it works well.

 

[bmattock]

One nice thing about Diafine is the fact that as long as you shoot each film at a specific EI (e.g., 1250 for Tri-X, HP5+ at 800(?), etc...), you can throw them all into the same tank and develop all of them at the same time.

Very true. Diafine has a lot to recommend it. It's not an 'all purpose' developer like Tri-X, but used within its parameters, it is terrific.

Someone wishing to experiment might also look into other compensating two-part panthermic developers. Yes, there are others. Some do not give as much of an apparent speed boost, so they might be worth looking at for those who are curious. Cachet makes an interesting one, AB55.

http://www.onecachet.com/products.php

Works like Diafine. Part A, Part B, 5 minutes in A and 5 minutes in B. Thus, the name.

By the way, I have found that five minutes in Diafine works better for me than three minutes. Since it develops to exhaustion, it can't hurt, and I have found it reduces streaking and the uneven development others have reported. Might give it a shot, if you have those problems.

 

[bmattock]

Yes 45 seconds. (I know amazingly short..). There was a reference somewhere on the web. I'll look for the link and share it.
Others prefer diluting solution A instead of shortening the dev. time but I didn't like the idea.

The EI was 64.
I've used this method several times and it works well.

The problem with processing for such short times is that tiny errors are larger in terms of percentage. A 10 second error in a 10 minute dev time is small. A 10 second error in a 1 minute dev time is large. Diafine was not intended to be pulled prior to complete development, so I don't recommend it, but if it works for you, then hey, cool. I'd much rather experiment with times in a non-compensating developer.

 

[Al Kaplan]

If you want to use very short times don't use a pour in and out of the tank regimen. It's too slow. Put the reels on a S.S. lifting rod, fill an open tank with each solution, plus a water rinse tank and a fixer tank, and work in total darkness. You don't need a bunch of expensive tanks either. Plastic food storage containers work fine and you can snap on the lids for storage.