sugestions for b&w film developing

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nixphotopix

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hi there, been bout ten years since i developed my own b&w film at school and now id love to do it again. I used to use ilford hp5 either rated at 400 all the way up to 3200 cause i love grain. im pretty sure i used ilford chemicals but can anyone suggest what chemicals i need. dev/fixer/, stopper and wetting agent if required. The rollei range of film and chem looks very interesting as id also like to use 35/127/120 film formats. id also wanna try a super fine grain film to dev. films are then to be digitised via fuji frontier.
any suggestions welcomed, also advice on drying film (in shower cubicle?)
best dust free enviro?
thanks, nick
 
nixphotopix said:
hi there, been bout ten years since i developed my own b&w film at school and now id love to do it again. I used to use ilford hp5 either rated at 400 all the way up to 3200 cause i love grain. im pretty sure i used ilford chemicals but can anyone suggest what chemicals i need. dev/fixer/, stopper and wetting agent if required. The rollei range of film and chem looks very interesting as id also like to use 35/127/120 film formats. id also wanna try a super fine grain film to dev. films are then to be digitised via fuji frontier.
any suggestions welcomed, also advice on drying film (in shower cubicle?)
best dust free enviro?
thanks, nick
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Hi Nick,

Developing your own is the best thing since swinging doors. HP5 is HP5+ these days, a bit better what it used to be and you can rate it from 200 up to 1600, even up to 3200 if needed. You need a developer and a fixer. Wetting agent and stopper are optional (you'll want wetting agent sooner or later). Ilford ID-11 is as good as any developer for HP5+. Dev times are printed inside the HP5+ box. Ilford rapid fixer is very good (actually any fixer will do).

You can dry negs in shower cubicle, just rinse the cubicle first to decrease the amount of dust particles in the air. Try to hang neg strips in an angled position so that water runs along the edges.
 
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For grain and speed, give a try to Tri X (or Arista Premium 400 - same thing but cheaper) in Rodinal 1:100. If you search here you will find references on how to develop stand or semi stand. Use no more than 4cc of Rodinal per film. For low grain stuff for scanning, the most hassle free is XP2 shot at EI 200.
 
Hi Nick,

If you're starting again after a long-ish break, I'd suggest starting with D-76/ID-11 developer (Kodak and Ilford's versions of the same stuff), because it's hard to get bad results with it - and Tri-X or HP5+ work very well in it.

Best,
 
thanks everyone for your help. Ill buy some id-11, as that was what i used to use. it surprisingly cheaper than i thought for b&w chemicals. dev tank arrived in the mail yesterday, now i just need to organise some film!
 
I love the smell of developer in the morning.

If you enjoyed it before, you still will. It is a neat feeling for most of us. I still remember the first time I got my own film from the can and looked at it. I was fortunate to have the tutilage of a good instructor in the Army craft shop where I was stationed in Korea. We remained friends for years.
 
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