Ilfosol S or D76

manfromh

manfromh

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I have a 3.8 liter (1 gallon) pack of d76. It seems like a lot of hassle to mix it, since its powder. I thought about selling it and buying Ilfosol-S intead. But is it worth it? How much of working solution would i get out of a 0.25 liter bottle? Maybe 2.25 liters?
I also think that the d76 would go bad before i manage to use it all. And would tri-x 400 and tmax 400 develop okay in ilfosol?

Thanks
 
What about multigrade?


EDIT: Nevermind. I just found out its a paper developer.
 
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Ilfosol-S and ID-11(=D76) are my favourite developers for emulsions up to EI400. They have a very similar tonality with Ilfosol being maybe a little sharper for the same granularity. Ilfosol-S is a liquid concentrate for one shot use, i.e. you do NOT make a stock solution as you do with powders like D76/ID-11. Thus at the usual 1:9 dilution you will get 8 rolls out of a 250ml bottle with 10ml left over if using Paterson tanks. 3.8L of D76 will give you 25 one shot doses of 150ml each assuming you use it 1:1 and discard after use.

I actually reuse my ID-11, a 1L pack does me for 12 rolls, increasing the development time by 10% after every second roll. Many people will tell you not to do this, but it works for me. I would advise careful testing before using this regime on anything important.

Then there's shelf life. Ilfosol-S is notorious for only lasting a few weeks after you open the bottle, but the small bottles help ameliorate this. ID-11/D76 lasts indefinitely in powder form, the stock solution should last 6 months (often more) if all air is excluded from the bottle.

Finally I've tried Ilfosol on Ilford Delta 400 and couldn't recommend the results. ID-11/D76 was better. Tri-x is one of those films that doesn't seem to mind what you use. I don't use Tmax.

As with all these things, your results may (read:will) vary from mine.

Hope this helps,

Mark
 
Ilfosol-S is intended for 1+9 use or if you want to be economical 1+14. At 1+9 dilution it would be exactly 2.5 liters from 0.25 liters.

Although Ilfosol-S is recommended by ilford for slow to medium speed films I've had the best results so far with HP5 (but this is with medium format 120 film. 35mm may be different)
 
I guess its best for me to stick with the d76. And after a little calculating, i discovered that it wont go bad before using all of it. That is, if i use some of it as stock.
 
manfromh said:
I have a 3.8 liter (1 gallon) pack of d76. It seems like a lot of hassle to mix it, since its powder. I thought about selling it and buying Ilfosol-S intead. But is it worth it? How much of working solution would i get out of a 0.25 liter bottle? Maybe 2.25 liters?
I also think that the d76 would go bad before i manage to use it all. And would tri-x 400 and tmax 400 develop okay in ilfosol?

Thanks
Click to expand...

I have personally stopped using Kodak chemicals. Based on their recent past it is clear to me that Kodak will, sooner than later, stop production of all b&w film and chemicals. I decided to familiarize myself with Ilford products as they have made a major (read that as long term) committment to traditional b&w photography and will be around when I need them.


Bob
 
Since you are in Estonia and I don't knwo what is available there I'll give you my experience.

D76 is the "standard" developer, used for a gazillion years and proven to exhaustion by everyone. If you mix the 3.8 l you can store it in small bottles (cough syrup or plastic green soda bottles) filled to the brim in a cool dark place and you'll get 12-18 mos of useful live of your gallon of D76.

Ilfosol S is a great developer for 100 films, but it also works great with HP5, Neopan 400 and tri-X. Use it at 1+9 for 400 films though.
After you have opened the bottle, make the leader test which is:
- Cut the leader of your film (35mm I assume)
- Prepare you 1+9 solution of Ilfosol S
- Put the leader in the solution and check if it goes to black in about 1/5 of the time you expect to develop your film..... if it takes much longer the developer is dead!
 
ill probably keep it in few 1.5 or 1 liter bottles. Unfortunately i dont have a cool place to keep it in. Only room temperature, which is about 22C for now. Im gonna stick with d76 for now, and leave everything else to the future.
 
rpsawin said:
I have personally stopped using Kodak chemicals. Based on their recent past it is clear to me that Kodak will, sooner than later, stop production of all b&w film and chemicals. I decided to familiarize myself with Ilford products as they have made a major (read that as long term) committment to traditional b&w photography and will be around when I need them.


Bob
Click to expand...

I have to say something on this because it's important.

If you stop using something it means that there's one less person helping the fight to make that company stay in the film game. If we show Kodak that we still WANT their products they will continue to make them. If people stop buying them...that's when Kodak will shut everything down.

Case in point, people at APUG, within the last few months, ordered large quantities of sheet film from Kodak through J&C. Not only did Kodak honor the request for some odd sizes, they did it in a relatively prompt manner in most instances.

We're working in a dwindling medium. I don't like to say that, but it's true. I buy from both Ilford and Kodak and other smaller manufacturers like Foma and Efke as well. I think that showing support for ALL the companies is important. It will show them that we are commited to using the products and that we don't want them to stop producing them.

But do what you want.
 
I really appreciated reading about the Ilfol-S test. I have an older selad bottle and this could saave a roll of film.

Thanks
 
It's usually called a clip test, willie_901 and works for any developer. Check the density against the fogged bit of leader on a normally developed roll. At least Ilfosol-S changes colour before it dies, thus giving you fair warning.

Mark
 
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