Remarks on developing b/w film.

[jlw]

My preference for a "standard" developer is HC-110, simply because I find it easier to work with and cheap.... also helps that's it's AA's standard dev also.

Alcoholics Anonymous has a standard developer?!?

 

[iggers]

Um... I meant diafine

Um... I meant diafine

Ooops. I meant Diafine. I was told that it is very forgiving and can be used in a wide temperature band without affecting the results.

Um.. you DO know that Acufine and Diafine are two VERY different developers, right? You are not looking for them to produce the same results, nor even require the same developing techniques, right?

Just wondering.

As for Diafine, you can mail order it from Huron Camera and have it delivered to your door.

Tom

 

[T_om]

Ooops. I meant Diafine. I was told that it is very forgiving and can be used in a wide temperature band without affecting the results.

That is correct. It also has an EXTREMELY long working life (years) and you can process a LOT of film through a one-gallon kit. I like Kodak Tri-X and Plus-X as well as the Ilford HP/FP emulsions in Diafine.

Tom

 

[titrisol]

1. If your TMax negs look too dark in Rodinal is just because you overdeveloped them.
Or if as you say it was long expired you may have a bad fogging problem

2. TMax developer works with almost any other film... look in digitatruth for times.

I --SNIP ----
Besides, he said, you're not likely to get decent results on T-Max, as you need the T-Max developer to take advantage of the T-something or other of the emulsion. (That might explain at least in paryt why the roll of ancient T-Max that I developed on the weekend with Rodinal was so very dark.) So I bought a bottle of the T-Max liquid developer (C$11.99% tax).

Now that I have this honking big bottle (makes 1 gallon) of T-Max developer, will I be able to use it with non-T-Max films, such as Ilford Delta 100?

 

[kiev4a]

My preference for a "standard" developer is HC-110, simply because I find it easier to work with and cheap.... also helps that's it's AA's standard dev also.

I've tried ID-11 (Ilford's D76 equiv), and didn't like mixing powder, and then storing that much dev, especially since I don't have much space.

I worked with HC-110 in 1965 at a newspaper (which was before it was available to the general public). The Kodak reps brought it in for us to try. I think it was designed for newspapers. Long shelf life in concentrate form. I think it was really designed for pushing film but you can dillute it to do just about anything you want it to do. I've never understood why it's never become more popular with the general photographic public.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

I think the reason I'm liking Diafine right now is that it allows me to be a bit sloppy but still gives me good results. While I know that learning proper darkroom procedure is going to help me when I start printing my own photos (a bit down the road yet as I can't afford a bloody enlarger), the simplicity of Diafine is my guard against screwing up great negatives for now. I still use my D76 and I'm learning with it, but Diafine, along with Tri-X, HP5, and Tmax 400/100 are going to be my main developer/films combo for a while. When it comes to an important set of negatives that I really want to make sure is the best it can be, I feel that being safe is better than being sorry in the long run.

BTW Stephanie, of all the films I've developed in Diafine, PanF+ might be the best.

Everyone else I've heard has said it's horribly grainy in Diafine and that it's hard to get a decent negative. How long are you souping it for?

 

[rover]

Hey Steph, is there a Craig's List for your area?

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/

I was surprised to see that near me in the "free" ads there were a couple darkrooms listed. "Free, just come pick it up" type listings.

 

[Stephanie Brim]

No, I'm in podunk Iowa. However, if you see something that I'd like and wouldn't mind...I don't know...picking it up and then packing it, I'd pay shipping. 😛

 

[Poptart]

Tip to people who can't find chemistry: the adorama link on the board. Don't know whether they ship to Canada but they are dependable in the US, and they have a lot of the products we're obsessive over here. The photographer's formulary have what's needed to make your own develop/fix and even toning stuff and lots of mysterious things you need a DEA form to buy. They have a website too.

 

[Justin Low]

I use Rodinal and Diafine regularly; the former for films rated at their recommended speeds, the latter for pushing. Rodinal is also great with medium format film.

I did try a gallon of D76 recently, and I can't say that the results were vastly different from my usual process. XTOL too, produces similar results, but again, I haven't found a specific use for it; and it goes bad rather quickly too, once mixed.


I suppose it's all a matter of personal tastes, so YMMV.

PS: In Singapore dollars, I pay $18 for a 500ml bottle of Rodinal (100 rolls, 18 cents a roll); $8 for a gallon of D76 (30 rolls, 26 cents a roll); $20 for 5 litres of XTOL (40 rolls, 50 cents a roll).

 

[Andrew Sowerby]

I've ordered things from PhotoCo before. They are fast and have a fairly good selection of developers from Kodak and Ilford:

http://www.photo-co.com/SecureStore/c59941.2.html

 

[Kin Lau]

So:
Are accufine or diafine available in the Toronto area? Where do you get yours?

I got mine from freestyle... there's a minimum order requirement. You might want to try Huron. I've checked for _months_, and no one in Canada carries diafine.

 

[T_om]

Tip to people who can't find chemistry: the adorama link on the board. Don't know whether they ship to Canada but they are dependable in the US, and they have a lot of the products we're obsessive over here.

I have been an Adorama fan for a long time, bought a ton of stuff from them over the years, but for international shipping they are WAY overpriced.

The reason I recommend Huron Camera for international Diafine purchasers is that Huron will ship via the regular international post. MUCH cheaper and people seem to have FAR fewer customs hassles.

Tom

 

[rogermota]

If I may just add my two cents... I use(d) HC-110, never making stock developer, always mixing the stuff for each development. The good thing with HC-110 is that it has a VERY long shelf life, and you only need to use a tiny bit. So its great if you have a home darkroom... a little HC-110 bottle should last you a very long time and is one of the least toxic developers out there (partially becuase you only need to use so little of it).

Personally I prefer HC-110 over D76. I'd recommend dillution 1:34, 7.5min dev on Tri-X 400.

 

[Kin Lau]

Alcoholics Anonymous has a standard developer?!?

haha...

AA = Ansel Adams.

 

[egpj]

Ilford's DD-X works just fine for me considering I develop all Ilford films in it. I even use it to develop Neopan 1600 in and it comes out great. Forget where I got the times from to develop the Fuji stuff but it was somewhere on the web. I keep all my chemicals at 20 Celsius though so everything is right where it should be on the dev times.

 

[Nick R.]

[. . . snip]
[regarding panf+ in diafine]
Everyone else I've heard has said it's horribly grainy in Diafine and that it's hard to get a decent negative. How long are you souping it for?

3 minutes in A, 3 minutes in B with agitation as recommended on the package. I should add that I only shoot panf in 120 roll size and I rate it at 50 not 80. All the panf stuff in my gallery was developed in Diafine.