Steve M.
Veteran
I've been successfully shooting Arista Premium film in 35mm (rebadged Tri-X) for years. Never had any issues....until now. My last negs turned out thin, and w/ fainter edge markings that I'm used to. Thinking that maybe it was my developer and other chemicals (I'd been experimenting w/ Acufine and Rodinal), I went back to my old standard of D76 and mixed up a fresh batch of that. Also mixed up fresh fixer, etc. I got the same problem. The negs look great, they're properly exposed, and I developed them just like I always develop do. But they're still too thin, w/ those faint edge markings. Since the film base and edge markings are a product of the factory, I think I got some film that didn't meet Kodak's QC standards. I just developed some HP-5 and it looks like it's supposed to, and when the Tri-X arrives I'll retest it, but at this point all signs point to the film itself.
The other thing I discovered is that while Rodinal and Acufine are both excellent developers, nothing gives the beautiful tones and blacks of D76. The Acufine is for sure sharper, the Rodinal has that great grain and will keep for decades, but D76 and Tri-X are a match made in heaven.
The other thing I discovered is that while Rodinal and Acufine are both excellent developers, nothing gives the beautiful tones and blacks of D76. The Acufine is for sure sharper, the Rodinal has that great grain and will keep for decades, but D76 and Tri-X are a match made in heaven.
