Thinking of changing Black & White Film Developer

[bayernfan]

one of my favorite film/dev combos is HP5 @400/800 in HC-110. pushed further and i use DD-X.

a lot of people seem to like Ultrafin T+ as well. i plan on using this with Acros 100 in the near future.

 

[Uncle Fester]

HC110 is an excellent choice for HP-5 and is the combination I often use. It's also excellent with Acros and Neopan if you have any. I'm also very fond of it with Delta 100 & 400.

As mentioned it's very versatile and the concentrate keeps for very long periods.

I've tried the Freestyle version and when freshly opened it's comparable to Kodak HC110 but it unfortunately oxidizes in a few weeks in concentrated form. For that reason I quit using it.

Ilford makes an equivalent of HC 110 called HC. Film responds identically when developed in it when compared to HC110. The downside is it's much more expensive than HC110.

I still recommend doing as in a previous post. Mix your stock then divide into smaller GLASS, not plastic, bottles. If not totally filled use Bloxygen or Wine Preserver to displace the air. Another solution ive heard people use is to drop marbles into the bottle to raise the liquid level and displace the air.

Since youve used D76 and you like it I wouldn't change. Changing requires dialing in speed, agitation, times and ISO all over again. In addition HC110, Rodinal, DDX, D76 or any other developer will produce different negatives. Pick a film and use 6 different developers and you'll get 6 different looking and printing negatives.

Hi x-ray,

I've used HC-110 with HP5 and I think it's a beautiful combination. I also loved it with Verichrome Pan, using it diluted 1+15 with water.

I always thought that Dilution B (1+7) was too hot for most films, so I tend to use Dilution H (1+15, which, is NOT an official Kodak recommendation) to keep the highlights from blowing out.

I still have a bunch of Arista LegacyPro 400 (Neopan 400) left in my fridge, so I'll have to try it in HC-110. I usually developed Neopan and the Arista film in PMK pyro or D-76, never got around to trying it with HC-110.

Like you, I prefer to work with a stock solution rather than diluting directly from the concentrate. Unfortunately I've had stock solutions go bad because I haven't been able to shoot film or get into the darkroom as often as I'd like, so I'm thinking of decanting my next bottle of HC-110 into four 8 ounce amber glass bottles and then mixing up one liter of stock at a time, since even a liter of stock goes a long long way for me.

I't too bad that the Freestlyle developer concentrate oxidizes so quickly after opening. I had heard that its lower viscosity made it easier to measure when diluting it directly from the bottle.

 

[jamin-b]

Another vote for HC-110 as a one shot developer. The syrup last forever and I have never had a bad result (unlike Rodinal). I use it almost exclusively at a 100:1 dilution (i.e. 4-5ml for a normal roll) at box speed for a variety of films (or one step under for Fomapan films since their box speeds are aspirational at best), semi stand development (30 seconds or so vigorous shaking at the onset - 5 or so inversions every 12-15 minutes after). It's dummy proof, easy and doesn't require exact measurements or timing. I even use it with color ECN-2 films like Kodak Visions 250D with very pleasing results!

 

[BernardL]

Just stay with D-76. Only use it 1+1. Mix the required volume, put safely away te stock solution. At the end of dev time, dump into sink. No pouring back (whatever) into dev bottle, no risk of confusion. D-76 1+1; FP4, Tri-X: dream team.

Oh, and when I do need to pour back (stop, fix) here's what I do: pre-measure the required volume in a measuring cylinder, and immediately place the funnel on the bottle, as an indicator: this bottle, not any other!

 

[Steve Ruddy]

There you have it. There are many good developers, and others will suggest their favorites.
Regardless of their claims otherwise none besides Rodinal and HC-110 offer the simplicity,
convenience and keeping properties suitable for those of us who develop film sporadically.

Chris

Looks like a lot of folks agree with you. I’ll think I’ll try both. I mostly use FP4+ and occasionally Tri-X. It would be nice if I could use one for both but not a big deal of not.

Thanks for all the replies!

Steve

 

[Deleted member 65559]

Steve, I use a lot of FP4+ in 35,120 & 5x7." That & Tri-X are my favourites. I can't even remember what I used as a developer 'back in the day,' but I used PMK & now Pyrocat HD (now in glycol )since Sandy King came up with it in 1999 or 2000. I've never had any issues with it. It's very inexpensive & easy to use & keeps a long time. Never ever have issues of blown highlights. Great for expansion/contraction times with good results. Also used it for processing sheet film for contact printing on Azo. I buy the 2 bottle 50 litre liquid kits from Photo Formulary. Painless & great results....from one Rollei user to another.

 

[presspass]

Two quick notes: Kodak formulated D-23 to replace D-76. It never did, but D-23 remains a simple developer to mix at home and it does not go off easily. I store mine in brown glass lab bottles and it lasts for months. On a separate issue, you can use glass marbles - buy them at a craft store and wash thoroughly before using them the first time - and put them in the developer bottle to take up any space. You can use them over and over and not have to worry about gassing your developer.