Texas Newbie Developing film

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lightwriter

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Greetings all. I have recently registered to the forum but have been visiting everyday for many months now. I have been quite inspired by your comradery and respect with which you all treat each other as much as I have been your photographs. Another forum, which I used to frequent a lot, was not like this. I recently sold my 20D along with the rest of my gear and have purchased an M7 with a 50 cron. I just didn't like what digital was doing to me...not thinking my shots...taking too many snaps and not photographs...looking at the LCD all the time etc...etc. But most importantly, it was way too loud and obvious. Anyway, I am really happy with the M7 and also happy that I had the 300D and 20D as they got me back into photography and helped me re-learn much of what I had forgotten (most importantly how much I enjoy photography regardless of how crappy my shots are). I am looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead on Leica road and hope to one day be a capable contributing member. But for now, I will just have to annoy all of you with stupid questions. So, here it goes...
I just bought (sent a message to buy) 10 rolls of Ilford HP5+ from another member. I have not developed film since I was in high school. I downloaded and read the Ilford fact sheet, but was just wondering if anyone had any other advice on developer choices, times, etc... I know it's kinda open ended, but I am a clean slate and don't really have any preference of prejudice yet since I don't know how the film reacts to the different methods. Thanks in advance.
 
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Thanks, Kevin!

Diafine does look to be quite popular. It definitely gives a good starting point.

Yeah, I've been following that story. There are some very disturbing details that were published in American Photo regarding a similar case. I guess one can't be too careful about that sort of stuff.

I tend to worry more about photographing monuments. I've been harrased a little bit about that especially right after 9/11.

Well, thanks again.
Carlos
 
Oh, I have just done my first B&W film develop last night with a roll of HP5 pushed to ISO800. Here was how I did it. I came out okay.

Tank : Agfa daylight developing tank Rondiex 35U

Developer : Kodak T-Max 1 + 4 (distilled water)

Film : Ilford 35mm HP5 pushed to ISO800

Develop : 5 mins @ 20C

Water bath : Tap water @23C fill and discard 5 times

Fixer : 10 mins @ 20C

Wash : Tap water @23C 10 mins with 3 drops of wetting agent added for final wash

Dry : Hanged dry with the cool fan approx 4 feet away from the hanging film.


Hope the above is helpful for you.



lightwriter said:
Greetings all. I have recently registered to the forum but have been visiting everyday for many months now. I have been quite inspired by your comradery and respect with which you all treat each other as much as I have been your photographs. Another forum, which I used to frequent a lot, was not like this. I recently sold my 20D along with the rest of my gear and have purchased an M7 with a 50 cron. I just didn't like what digital was doing to me...not thinking my shots...taking too many snaps and not photographs...looking at the LCD all the time etc...etc. But most importantly, it was way too loud and obvious. Anyway, I am really happy with the M7 and also happy that I had the 300D and 20D as they got me back into photography and helped me re-learn much of what I had forgotten (most importantly how much I enjoy photography regardless of how crappy my shots are). I am looking forward to the new challenges that lie ahead on Leica road and hope to one day be a capable contributing member. But for now, I will just have to annoy all of you with stupid questions. So, here it goes...
I just bought (sent a message to buy) 10 rolls of Ilford HP5+ from another member. I have not developed film since I was in high school. I downloaded and read the Ilford fact sheet, but was just wondering if anyone had any other advice on developer choices, times, etc... I know it's kinda open ended, but I am a clean slate and don't really have any preference of prejudice yet since I don't know how the film reacts to the different methods. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
 
I would not recommend Diafine for a beginner. A better choice would be using Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 as a starting point. I personally am a fan of HC-110 and there are a lot of Rodinal addicts out there. Go out and try different film and developer combinations. Good luck and have fun!
 
photodog said:
I would not recommend Diafine for a beginner. A better choice would be using Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 as a starting point. I personally am a fan of HC-110 and there are a lot of Rodinal addicts out there. Go out and try different film and developer combinations. Good luck and have fun!
Click to expand...


Ah, the "different strokes for different folks" adage kicks it. 🙂

I most certainly WOULD recommend Diafine for the beginner. A beginner needs a bit of experience in getting all the variables he will face with doing his own processing under control.

Diafine is great for this. It removes 'developer variables' from the equation altogether. No worries about "was this done at the right temperature?" "was this done for the right amount of time?" "was this over exposed or over developed?" etc., etc.

With Diafine, you get exposure under control FIRST with the developer being the "given" in the equation. Diafine development is the exact same from roll to roll. Any errors are therefore errors in exposure. This allows the beginner to get the exposure portion of the process (the MOST important part) down pat before going on to experiment with other variables.

I have started a LOT of beginners on doing their own film processing and most had no difficulty at all beginning with Diafine.

Who knows... they might then be like me. I tried just about every developer there is including coffee 😱 and came back to Diafine as my universal developer. And it has been my developer of choice for over 30 years.

Tom
 
Welcome to the forum, I live in Houston as well.
I agree Diafine would be a great choice for a beginner but finding it in Houston is a challenge, you could have it ordered but most likely you will have to order it yourself.

HC110 is a pretty forgiving developer and available everywhere, it's in a liquid concentrate form so you'll have to dilute it. (It lasts forever in concentrate form).

Rodinal is another good choice, comes in liquid form and is easy to mix, it produces a grain that some people love and others hate.

Good luck and post some of your shots as you develop them.

Todd
 
Welcome to the forum, lightwriter! I am not too far from you--College Station--so it is good to see a 'neighbor' in the RFF.

I am also a relative beginner to processing my own stuff at home. I cannot compare my developer, HC-110, to Diafine or anything else, b/c HC-110 is all I have used. Still, I chose HC-110 because it is in liquid form and has a long shelf life. This means that you simply mix what you need when you need it, and the concentrated form keeps for a long time. Like I said, I'm a new to the process, there may be other developers that are just as easy to work with as the one I'm using.

T_om, please tell us more about Diafine. Is temperature really a non-factor when using this developer?
 
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jja said:
T_om, please tell us more about Diafine. Is temperature really a non-factor when using this developer?
Click to expand...

Do a search on this forum just using the word "Diafine" (without the quotation marks, of course) and you will have a few hours reading laid out before you. 🙂

But to directly answer your question: Temperature control really is a non-factor with Diafine.

Tom
 
photodog said:
I would not recommend Diafine for a beginner. A better choice would be using Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 as a starting point.
Click to expand...
a
I agree. You should start with a baseline. Every film is supposed to give very good result with D76 or ID11. Get familiar with the nuances with that developer. Afterwards, you can go and try out different ones and see what you like. You can't start playing Chopin until you start out with the scales. I think people read a lot on pnet and whatever and everyone has THEIR favorite film/developer but these are people who know what baselines are and what to look for.
 
I think that Diafine, albeit a good developer, is a little bit too idiot-proof for somene learning to develop film. (Walker Evans thought that nobody under 50 should use an sx-70.) If I were you I'd start with the basics and get that under control and then go on to exotic formulas. The basics being d-76 or hc-110 and rapid fixer in a small tank. Oh yes, and buy a good thermometer--the best one you can afford. Then the only other things you need are running water and a clock. You can improvise the rest, even use a thick wool blanket for a changing bag, and clothespins to hang the film to dry. You get the picture.
 
Welcome to the forum.

If you are just starting, I'd recommend trying D76 or HC110. Both will be easier than mastering Diafine as a beginner. Times with your particular film can be found at www.digitaltruth.com or in Steve Anchell's book on B/W chemistry.

Though it is a matter of personal preference, I use metal reels and tanks because they last longer and can be loaded while still wet. I don't use a stop bath (YMMV) and have never had any problems. Pay particular attention to your temperature, I keep a digital therm. in the bottle bath. Invert continuously the first 30 seconds, and thereafter 5 seconds every 30 or 10 seconds every minute.

The rest, as they say, is totally your personal experience and practice, good luck!
 
I'm another Houston area Leica user. My preferred developer is FX-39, with Rodinal a close second. The main issue you will have here in Houston is the tap water temperature in the summer - it can be above 80 degrees in August and September. So be sure and use a thermometer and the temperature corrections. The other thing is that I use distilled water for all of the processing steps except the final wash. I then rinse the film in distilled water before hanging it to dry. The Houston area water has a lot iron and other junk in it that will leave scum all over your film.

Check out my website at www.clayharmon.net and you'll see some Houston scenes!
 
welcome aboard !!

i lurked here for quite awhile + then joined...great community of helpful folks with a wide variety of experience.

sounds like you have had many good suggestions already presented to you + can't think of any thing to add dev. wise.

but, i do have an idea about labeling your bottles/containers/etc for developer, stop ( if you use it) , fixer, permawash/ photo-flo/etc/etc that may save you grief. besides labeling each container in the sometimes provided "label" space on the side, mark the lip/cap that goes with it - use a sharpie pen and use the initial 'D' for developer, 'S' for stop, etc etc i have another idea that may help you.

there is an additional marking i've added - some 30 years into this whole process - use that sharpie again to add 'D', "S' ,"F', etc/etc around the neck of each container. why? read on...

say i now have the film safely loaded in the dev tank and have been somehow distracted and accidentally pick up - let's say the fixer container and take the lid off - thinking i have picked up the deveploper and pour it right in - and the result is ruined film ( pouring fixer into undeveloped film basically washes the emulsion off - here's where someone with better technical knowledge than i can help explain this. since i don't have a keen sense of smell and i'm pouring into a tank instead of a tray, it's easy for me to miss the difference in aromas between dev and fixer until it's too late....aarrghh !

i added this extra marking around the neck because ,once the labled cap/lid is off, it serves as another safeguard for me to see before i start pouring.

sorry for the rambling style here ...i truly hope it saves you from the grief of ruined film.

hasta la vista, fino al prossimo tempo, adieu, dasvidanya, auf wiedersehen, and later, y’all
_______________________________________________

"...patience and shuffle the cards" miguel cervantes
"nothing can be learned..." herman hesse
"...everybody knows everything" jack kerouac
"...some memories are realities and are better than anything" willa cather
 
I (re)started last year with Amaloco AM-74 which is close to idiot proof 🙂
I used a Jobo tank which can be loaded in daylight without a changing bag but it needs more developer per film than usual tanks and since it has plastic reels it takes some time until it's dry and you can load the next film.

Next was Tetenal Neofin blue with FP4 for APX100 and ID-11 for HP5+ or Tri-X in a bigger Jobo tank for two rolls.


Amaloco AM 74 is a low grain speed enhencing developer, I got Tri-X and HP5+ to EI 1600 without too much grain. I used it 1+7 for 5 films per litre solution and then you can develope most 25 to 400 films 5 minutes at 20°C.
If you have a two roll tank, you can develop FP4 and HP5 at the same time.

ID-11 is somewhat speed enhencing, too but not as fine grained and not as
easy to use, but I get better contrast and better sharpness with it.

Neofin blue is realy nice fine grain developer for slow films and easy to handle, but expensive.

Next thing I'll try is Patterson FX 39.
 
thanks everyone!!
I will go to my local camera shop tomorrow and buy all the stuff I need. I plan on developing some film over Thanksgiving...I have 5 days off. Next, I will need a film scanner. But, that is another topic all together...
 
One last post - I'll call it serving suggestions, as the best advice I can give is be organized with a developing kit. This you can put together yourself, mostly without the help of your local camera shop.

Yes you'll want a proper developing tank and thermometer that is water proof, but the rest is available from various sources.
 
The above bottles are old one liter hydrogen peroxide bottles. The pouring spout is a bit small. Arizona Ice Tea bottles are glass and wide necks which work better for quick pours. The styrofoam container holds a water bath.
 
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