FrankS
Registered User
It's true, I left my tried and true Ilfosol S that was faithful to me for many years, for a fling with Diafine. It was impossible to resist. Diafine was so fresh, sexy and seductive. It has come to an end however, as I've come to realize the error of my ways.
Diafine negatives may scan beautifully, but I don't have a film scanner, so the flat negs just haven't satisfied me over the long term. I guess I prefer the more shapely tones my old developer consistently gave me, while asking for little in return.
The initial allure of no time, temperature, and agitation worries have not worked out for me. Only the time insensitivity proved to be accurate in my case. Living in an old house in a cold climate, I've had to heat Diafine up from the typical 10 to 12 degree Celcius storage temperature anyway. Agitation caused me great worry. It's true very little is required, but if not enough is given, the negs will be ruined by bromide drag. Too much agiotation in solution B, and you wash away the developer added to the emulsion in solution A.
So please forgive me, Ilfosol S (and D-76). I"m coming back to you and will again use you as my daily, general purpose developer. I've missed your shapely tones and need for agressive and regular agitation. I've also missed the option of tweaking the degree of development.
I admit though, that there may be instances where I may slip back and use Diafine in certain specific situations, such as when pictures were taken in very contrasty light conditions such as night time, beach, and at the ski slopes.
Diafine negatives may scan beautifully, but I don't have a film scanner, so the flat negs just haven't satisfied me over the long term. I guess I prefer the more shapely tones my old developer consistently gave me, while asking for little in return.
The initial allure of no time, temperature, and agitation worries have not worked out for me. Only the time insensitivity proved to be accurate in my case. Living in an old house in a cold climate, I've had to heat Diafine up from the typical 10 to 12 degree Celcius storage temperature anyway. Agitation caused me great worry. It's true very little is required, but if not enough is given, the negs will be ruined by bromide drag. Too much agiotation in solution B, and you wash away the developer added to the emulsion in solution A.
So please forgive me, Ilfosol S (and D-76). I"m coming back to you and will again use you as my daily, general purpose developer. I've missed your shapely tones and need for agressive and regular agitation. I've also missed the option of tweaking the degree of development.
I admit though, that there may be instances where I may slip back and use Diafine in certain specific situations, such as when pictures were taken in very contrasty light conditions such as night time, beach, and at the ski slopes.
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XAos
Well-known
I'm starting to feel the same way. I've gotten too many grey litho shots of late. I was playing with 110 before, maybe it's time to give d76 a whirl.
FrankS
Registered User
Is no one else willing to admit to an affair? You feel better once you do. 
Flyfisher Tom
Well-known
Frank,
I would love to 'start' an affair with Diafine, but my mail-order source (BH) won't ship it due to hazardous shipping regulations
I would love to 'start' an affair with Diafine, but my mail-order source (BH) won't ship it due to hazardous shipping regulations
Flyfisher Tom
Well-known
Thanks Gman, I'll look into it
XAos
Well-known
B&H isn't shipping hardly anything these days. Adorama still does, as does freestyle.
I've got a bunch of Arista Edu Ultra, which IIRC is foma. They don't list 110 times for it, and I think foma says they don't recommend it. It does ok in diafine but I'm always fighting the bromide drag - overagitation war in 120.
I've got a bunch of Arista Edu Ultra, which IIRC is foma. They don't list 110 times for it, and I think foma says they don't recommend it. It does ok in diafine but I'm always fighting the bromide drag - overagitation war in 120.
lido
Established
Huron Camera is awesome to deal with, I bought one 1 gallon package of Diafine and they shipped two with Happy Holidays greeting.
Frank, I am in the same boat with house / temperature situation, and I don't do wet printing, so Diafine is perfect for me. I did try D76 and didn't think the results were that much different contrast wise compared to Diafine (Tri-X).
Frank, I am in the same boat with house / temperature situation, and I don't do wet printing, so Diafine is perfect for me. I did try D76 and didn't think the results were that much different contrast wise compared to Diafine (Tri-X).
FrankS
Registered User
Doug, with the Hp5+ and FP4+ that I use, the negs from Ilfosol are full-bodied, compared to flat when developed in Diafine. Could be the different film.
PS: Wearing 2 sweaters at home sure helps cut down on the heating bills!
PS: Wearing 2 sweaters at home sure helps cut down on the heating bills!
Stephanie Brim
Mental Experimental.
Hrm. Maybe I'll try some Ilfosol. I like my Diafine, but I do have some Pan-F that I need to develop.
Hugo vanG
Newbie
FrankS said:
Yes, here's another 1, just started to use it,...we'll wait how it turns out.
Stephanie Brim
Mental Experimental.
FrankS said:
I know what you mean. It's colder there than it is in Iowa (it's been rather...nice...here
), but I still do this on the days where it's 25F out and I don't want to freeze. Usually it's colder here this time of year. We're having so many days where it's 40F that I'm thinking spring is going to come early this year.XAos
Well-known
Kinda suprised Tom hasn't been in yet to write a scathing letter about deserting the faith yet.
taffer
void
Central heating in winter, warm temps in summer, my diafine usually is around 20 C. I only need to let tap water warm a bit, so I usually fill a 5l jug the day before developing and let it reach room temp.
I wanted to give a try to Rodinal, but it went out of the stores here before I could grab a bottle.
I wanted to give a try to Rodinal, but it went out of the stores here before I could grab a bottle.
FrankS
Registered User
In Tom's defense, he did clearly say that Diafine negatives are perfect for scanning, which is perfectly true, they're just not the best (the negs I've made anyway) for wet printing.
kaiyen
local man of mystery
One thing that pushes me away from Diafine is the lack of contrast control. The ease of use certainly is appealing. I haven't even tried it yet, though.
FWIW - I just souped a couple rolls of FP4 and TXT in D76 stock. For scanning, this looks great. I gotta do some 100% crop action to get a better look at the grain, but it seems like a better combination of fine grain and sharpness than the more commonly-recommended 1+1 dilution. For scanning it is looking excellent.
allan
FWIW - I just souped a couple rolls of FP4 and TXT in D76 stock. For scanning, this looks great. I gotta do some 100% crop action to get a better look at the grain, but it seems like a better combination of fine grain and sharpness than the more commonly-recommended 1+1 dilution. For scanning it is looking excellent.
allan
MCTuomey
Veteran
I'm developmentally a virgin, so fidelity isn't the question. I burst out of my mild-mannered, lab-dependent self and just bought some HC-110 to go with a changing bag, a Samigon tank , and some other stuff. Have I done wrong? Have I plighted my troth poorly? What will my HP5 and Delta films think of me in the morning?
markinlondon
Elmar user
I'm with you, Frank. For printing, the rolls of HP5 I souped in Diafine last year just didn't cut it. I'm now back to using DD-X and Ilfosol S. DD-X is proving especially flexible with Delta 400. I'm not sure I need another film now that testing's finished, but how could I forsake FP4+ in Ilfosol (or just about any other developer for that matter).
Mark
Mark
tetrisattack
Maximum Creativity!
MCTuomey said:
They'll learn to love it. HC-110 is the cute, intrepid girl that nobody can bring themselves to dislike.
N
NelsonFoto
Guest
Below samples = Ilford FP4+ in Diafine. Film shot at or near 125ASA, dev time 2.5 mins - what, you played with lessening the time in Diafine yet? Give it a try.
Camera was an Iskra.
Camera was an Iskra.
Dave H
Established
Ah Frank,
I have found the same problem and am back to ID11 after a fling with Diafine. I didn’t think she was all that special in the end. Mind you there have been others, let me see, there was D76, ID 11’s twin sister. Then there was that PMK Pyro lass she was sharp but a fussy girl she only liked graded papers. Prescysol was nice but she was fussy with her expensive fixer. Perceptol was a lovely girl but slower than a glacier on dope. DDX and Microphen were racy but not really racy enough. Then I met Rodinal who was rougher than a lapdancer’s crotch, (mind you I like a bit of rough every now and then!). But Diafine, she was just a plain jane and down right boring, she didn’t have any sparkle.
I think after a couple of years spreading the wild oats I’m going to settle down with ID11/D76 and have a couple of tanks, I can hear the pitter patter of tiny reels on the worktop now.
dave
I have found the same problem and am back to ID11 after a fling with Diafine. I didn’t think she was all that special in the end. Mind you there have been others, let me see, there was D76, ID 11’s twin sister. Then there was that PMK Pyro lass she was sharp but a fussy girl she only liked graded papers. Prescysol was nice but she was fussy with her expensive fixer. Perceptol was a lovely girl but slower than a glacier on dope. DDX and Microphen were racy but not really racy enough. Then I met Rodinal who was rougher than a lapdancer’s crotch, (mind you I like a bit of rough every now and then!). But Diafine, she was just a plain jane and down right boring, she didn’t have any sparkle.
I think after a couple of years spreading the wild oats I’m going to settle down with ID11/D76 and have a couple of tanks, I can hear the pitter patter of tiny reels on the worktop now.
dave