New Member - Developing Questions

[Ed Weatherly]

Hello all, I am new to this forum. I recently bought a Diacord L TLR and have begun shooting B&W film and processing it at home. So far, I have shot 1 roll of HP5 and about 6 or 7 rolls of Tri-X. All has been developed in Rodinal 10ml:500ml water for 12 minutes. 68 degrees F. Agitation for the first 60 seconds then about 4 - 5 rotations of the tank every minute.

I recently bought a 5 pk of Ultrafine 100 asa film and some D76 to try.

1. Is there a good standard for developing Tri-X and Ultrafine in D76 1:1?

2. Has anyone used Ultrafine and how does it compare to Tri-X?

My plan is to shoot and develop film myself, then scan so I can post online and for snapshot quality pics. I then plan to have drum scans made of any good negs I get and have them printed at my printer.

any help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[ornate_wrasse]

According to the information at www.digitaltruth.com Ultrafine 100 should be developed for 10 minutes at 20 degrees Centigrade in D76 1:1

For Tri-X, the time depends on the temperature, but at 20 degrees Centigrade, and using D76 1:1 the recommended development time is 9.75 minutes.

For more detailed information, check out http://www.digitaltruth.com

I've never used Ultrafine so can't comment on how it compares to Tri-X

Ellen

 

[Ed Weatherly]

I forgot about digitaltruth. I will make sure to check out their recommendations. Thanks.

 

[Roger Hicks]

And remember -- VERY IMPORTANTLY-- that recommendations are only recommendations. If you personally prefer the results with more/less exposure or more/less development, go for what you like better. Personal preference is the ONLY criterion (though personal preference may change as you learn more).

Cheers,

R.

 

[Ed Weatherly]

Thanks Roger,
I appreciate that wisdom. I am going from "stock formulations" and experiementing a bit until I get the look(s) I am after. I shot a fair amount of B&W back in the late 70's and early 80's using my dad's Argus C3 and a few Pentax SLR's. Then I took a class att eh JC in 2008 so my experience varies a lot. Now I can control things better so I am looking for a new baseline.

That brings up a question I had. How do you all keep good records of how you process a roll of film? Metadata has made me lazy. I am planning to start a lab notebook while I still have some loose notes on the last 7 rolls of Tri-X.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[pschauss]

For record keeping , I store my negatives in plastic pages like the ones from Clear-File. I mark each page with the date that I finished the roll. If I complete more than one roll on the same day then I mark then dd/mm/yyyy A, B ... When I develop the roll I record the roll id, the camera and lens that I used, developer, temperature, time, and the subject. After I print the contact sheet I copy this information to the back of the contact sheet which I store in notebook next to the negative sheet.

 

[Ed Weatherly]

Pschauss, this is excellent info, thank you. I am storing in sleeves and have started keeping record of how the film was processed. This has helped set my plan for record keeping.

Ed