HP5 question

[batey_1020]

Im new to film and haven't processed anything myself yet.
Ive been shooting mainly HP5. I have a paterson tank, reels and almost everything ready. I want to know what is the easiest way to get started with chemicals (most idiot proof i guess) to get my frist few rolls out of the way?

Looking forward to some advice 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Ilford DD-X, any stop bath (or none -- use plain water), Ilford Hypam.

The big advantages are (a) that they're all designed to work together and (b) DD-X lasts extremely well, even in half-empty bottles. Any Ilford developer, or Kodak D-76, will work just as well (usually with slightly lower film speed), but you did ask for idiot-proofing...

Manufacturers' recommendations are almost invariably a better starting point than the Web. Even if you don't get tinfoil-helmet suggestions, you may get some excessively confident predictions. What works for one person doesn't always work for another. From Gurus and Why to Ignore Them, http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps ignore gurus.html

Photography sometimes attracts people with a very high opinion of their own expertise, and a predilection for bossing others about. Listen to some of them, and you will be amazed that silver halide photography ever succeeded at all, given that it is so difficult, complicated, and expensive.

Except that it isn't.

It really isn't. Have fun.

Cheers,

R.

 

[sebastel]

what roger says.

i'd like to add some encouragement: just go ahead and do it. it's easier than you may believe now.

HP5 i consider the sweetest tempered film (if you can say so) for home development. i also find LC29 a rather foolproof developer, coming at a lower price than DD-X it may make it easier to begin with film development (i prefer liquid developers).

have fun!
cheers,
sebastian

 

[Roger Hicks]

what roger says.

i'd like to add some encouragement: just go ahead and do it. it's easier than you may believe now.

HP5 i consider the sweetest tempered film (if you can say so) for home development. i also find LC29 a rather foolproof developer, coming at a lower price than DD-X it may make it easier to begin with film development (i prefer liquid developers).

have fun!
cheers,
sebastian

Dear Sebastian,

At one of the camera stores in Canterbury, one of the guys behind the counter was an ex-armourer, and he referred to HP5 as 'the AK 47 of films': almost impossible to screw up.

His party-piece with the AK 47 was to check it in a barrel of motor oil; go to lunch with his trainees; come back; shake the oil out of the gun; and fire off a magazine...

Or to draw another analogy, someone quite senior from ADAC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club) referred to Series Land Rovers as 'unkaputbar' or 'un-kaput-able' (I met him in a restaurant in Croatia). HP5 is much the same.

You are quite right about LC29; I just prefer the tonality (and the extra 1/3 stop speed) that I get with DD-X.

Cheers,

R.

 

[batey_1020]

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess i have to get out and shoot a few rolls first 🙂

Its all new to me but im going to have to get in the deep end since i sold all my digital equipment last week.

 

[Bob Michaels]

Ilford's "processing your first black and white film" is about the best I have seen for beginners. It actually applies to any film or developer but since you are using their film and thinking about their developer, it is perfect for you.

 

[venchka]

Roger is right. The Internet can be a terrible place to get information.
However, if you were to ask me face to face. Perhaps in pub with a pint. I would say that HP5+ exposed at ASA 250 and developed in Kodak Xtol, diluted 1:3, for about 10 minutes is a beautiful combination. With the 3 formats I use.
All of the black and white film in my Leica Users Group Gallery were developed with Xtol 1:3.

Wayne