First film development in Diafine

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pukupi

Guest
With some good advice from forum members, I jumped in and developed my first roll of film: Tri-X at 1200 in Diafine.

Fun and easy!
 
Thanks for posting your Diafine pictures. They look good. I have some Diafine that I haven't mixed up yet. Now I'm looking forward to it.
 
Good experiment, pukupi! Now you know it works. I too notice low detail in shadow areas. This might just be your digital post-processing. But you can lose shadow detail (and effective film speed) by too-vigorous agitation in Solution B. Very gentle agitation only, just enough to let the chemical byproducts of development drift away from the film surface. Agitation isn't needed to bring fresh developer to the film, as in other developers, because with Diafine, all the developer is already in/on the film when you gently dunk it in Soln B! Too much agitation can, I think, wash the developer OUT of the film and lead to thin negatives.
 
After months of begging for the local shop to order me a box of Diafine, I gave up, and just ordered it from Adorama (and credited the site!)

It seems like such a strange thing- I met with such resistance to get it, and for no seemingly rational reason- I shoot low light, very high contrast scenes, which is why I got fast lenses with which to begin, so why the trouble ordering the stuff? I can't answer that. Everyone rememebered it, nobody wanted to order it, even alongside their other chemical orders.

Feh.

Your shots are great- perfectly representative of how I'll use mine. High speed, low light.

And I won't have to buy more developer every couple of months, just fixer.
 
They look nice pukupi !! Keep with it, I love how easy it makes things and the looks of Neopan 400 and Tri-X with it, but also liked how it behaved with FP4. JD I'm so happy you finally got it !! :)
 
I've had good luck with Tri-X @1250 and Pan F+ @ 50 in Diafine. There are only two shops left here and neither of them stock Diafine. Actualy, they don't stock a whole lot of anything anymore so I have had to move to shopping for my supplies online for most non-film needs. Go figure... Have fun with your Diafine, it is quite interesting and easy as anything to use!

- Randy
 
Doug said:
I too notice low detail in shadow areas. This might just be your digital post-processing. But you can lose shadow detail (and effective film speed) by too-vigorous agitation in Solution B.
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Yes, I think I was a bit too vigourous with the agitation of part B but I'll learn. I actually like the effect with these photos which were taken on a dark, cold, Sunday afternoon during light snow.
 
jdos2 said:
After months of begging for the local shop to order me a box of Diafine, I gave up, and just ordered it from Adorama (and credited the site!).
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I also had to order my Diafine from Adorama which is an expensive way of doing things when you have the courier charge to Japan as well. Fortunately this stuff seems to last forever.
 
taffer said:
They look nice pukupi !! Keep with it, I love how easy it makes things and the looks of Neopan 400 and Tri-X with it, but also liked how it behaved with FP4. JD I'm so happy you finally got it !! :)
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How is the grain of Neopan 400 (@ 640) compare with Tri-X in Diafine?
 
I have not heard it claimed that mixed Diafine improves with age... I've used it off and on over many years. It may have been my imagination, but I thought after some months' use it seemed to lose strength. Others have said they use it indefinitely, more than a year, or to the point there's not enough Part A to continue.

Part A would seem to last indefinitely except for the fact some of it is carried over by the film into Part B. And some films stain Part A when they lose their anti-halation dye. Part B doesn't lose volume like A, but gradually gets contaminated from chemical byproducts of the development activity. That might not matter, though.

I've heard of other things improving with age... :angel:
 
pukupi said:
I also had to order my Diafine from Adorama which is an expensive way of doing things when you have the courier charge to Japan as well. Fortunately this stuff seems to last forever.
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Try Rodinal. It lasts a long time too. It is in a concentrate (one small bottle) that you can dilute up to 1:100. I haven't used Rodinal in a while, but I found a ~20 yr. old one-third full bottle of the stuff in an old box of my processing equipment. I haven't tossed it yet, because I keep rubbing my chin wondering... :D
 
varjag said:
Speaking of Diafine, anyone knows its formulation?
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I'm pretty sure I know of a substitute formula. I think I have it in an old Dignan cookbook. If you want it, PM me, to remind me, then, when I get back to the office, I'll look for it and send it to you (or post it here). :)
 
RayPA said:
I'm pretty sure I know of a substitute formula. I think I have it in an old Dignan cookbook. If you want it, PM me, to remind me, then, when I get back to the office, I'll look for it and send it to you (or post it here). :)
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Varjag as you requested:

Diafine Substitute

Solution A
Water 750ml
Sodium Sulfite (anny) 35g
Hydroquinone 6g
Phenidone .2g
Sodium Bisulfite 6g
Water to make 1 liter

Solution B
water 750 ml
Sodium Sulfite 65g
Sodium Metaborate 20g
Water to make 1liter

The temp. of the water isn't specified, but the standard mixing temp should work. INstructions and results claimed to be the same as Diafine. As formulated above, this will supposedly give more than a stop of speed increase, might be grainy. A note to the formula says 20g Borax can be substituted for the Sodium Metaborate giving D76 like results with the Diafine two-bath benefits, non-critical temp, etc.
 
RayPA, thanks for the recipe!

Do you know if Diafine's speed-enhanicng effect remains when metaborate is repaced with borax?
 
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