Gabriel M.A.
My Red Dot Glows For You
I don't have any scans of my Tri-X rolls rated at 1600 developed in Diafine. It is really one of the best ways to go if you're going to use this film at this speed. Why punish it by pushing?? I very much dislike pushing unless what I'm going for is getting the grain and loss of resolution.
I must say though, that Neil's samples are absolutely fine. But 33 minutes! That's dedication.
Since rating at 1600 is usually for low-light situations, the conditions are usually ripe for high-contrast situations; this is where Diafine shines. For flat lighting conditions, developing in Diafine is very disappointing (muted highlights), but the beauty is that you can rate different frames in the same roll at different speeds depending on the conditions (do at own risk, though...expensive learning curve).
I'm lucky enough to live where a camera dealer stocks Diafine at very reasonable prices ($12 ea.); I've bought three extra kits, just in case.
I've heard of people rating T-Max 400 at 800 and even at 1200 too for developing in Diafine with pleasing results; I've never done it, for I'm not a big fan of T-Max; I have read somewhere that a soup of Xtol and Rodinal 1+50 (yes, you read right) can be used to push TMY to 1200 too with pleasing grain. I'm tempted to do that sometime in the near future.
Now, regarding scanning negatives developed in Rodinal, I have developed both 120 and 35mm TMY in Rodinal 1+50 (about 13 minutes @ 68 F ... I haven't done it in almost a year, I'm out of practice but will very soon) with excellent results, very smooth and sharp. Haven't had the courage to try it with HP5+, though; D76 stock for that only.
I must say though, that Neil's samples are absolutely fine. But 33 minutes! That's dedication.
Since rating at 1600 is usually for low-light situations, the conditions are usually ripe for high-contrast situations; this is where Diafine shines. For flat lighting conditions, developing in Diafine is very disappointing (muted highlights), but the beauty is that you can rate different frames in the same roll at different speeds depending on the conditions (do at own risk, though...expensive learning curve).
I'm lucky enough to live where a camera dealer stocks Diafine at very reasonable prices ($12 ea.); I've bought three extra kits, just in case.
I've heard of people rating T-Max 400 at 800 and even at 1200 too for developing in Diafine with pleasing results; I've never done it, for I'm not a big fan of T-Max; I have read somewhere that a soup of Xtol and Rodinal 1+50 (yes, you read right) can be used to push TMY to 1200 too with pleasing grain. I'm tempted to do that sometime in the near future.
Now, regarding scanning negatives developed in Rodinal, I have developed both 120 and 35mm TMY in Rodinal 1+50 (about 13 minutes @ 68 F ... I haven't done it in almost a year, I'm out of practice but will very soon) with excellent results, very smooth and sharp. Haven't had the courage to try it with HP5+, though; D76 stock for that only.
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