tri X at 400 and 800

[nobbylon]

Can someone please tell me which developer will give me the finest grain with tri x at 400 and 800 asa, pref powder form and also which fixer to use. I'm out of touch with all this as the last time I dev'd my own films was nearly 30 years ago. Can I add that the resultant images will be scanned using an epson 4990. Any help and or advice is appreciated, thanks j

 

[martin-f5]

I prefere Adox A49 1+2,
very good to control the "ugly" triX

 

[40oz]

here is a link to Kodak's chart: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/prof...wFilmProcessing/selecting.jhtml?pq-path=14053

FWIW, I use D-76 generally (and HC-110 when I'm out of D-76) and find the grain is very fine. It's not a 50 speed film, but grain really isn't an issue for me. I don't find Tri-X ugly at all. Rather the opposite. I wouldn't sorry about the grain until you've actually shot and developed a few rolls of your own.

It doesn't matter much which fixer you use. I use Ilford Rapid Fixer because it's convenient.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I use D-76 1:1. Supposedly D-76 straight gives you a bit finer grain but I feel safer using it 1:1 and discarding it. Ilford ID-11 is pretty much the same stuff and the times are the same. Fixer pretty much doesn't matter. Sometimes I use Rapid Fixer, sometimes the regular Kodak fixer. On occasion I use HC-110 but prefer the look of the D-76 negatives. When HC-110 first hit the market it was most popular with newspaper photographers. No laborious mixing of difficult to disolve powder or cooling down heated developer before you could soup your film, and the developing times were shorter as well.

Silver based film won't give you great scans as easily as a chromagenic (C-41) B&W film. Try making a really good print the old fashioned way with an enlarger and chemicals, then scanning the print.

 

[varjag]

Try Ilford Microphen. In stock solution it gives about 2/3rd a stop over box speed of tri-x, so 800 doesn't really feels like a push.

Diafine also gives it about 800 ISO, but with rougher grain and strange tones.

 

[Ronald_H]

Diafine works great to push TriX to about 1250.

If it gives strange tones I have yet to find them. Besides, curves are easily corrected in Photoshop after scanning.

Only other developer I have tried is HC-110. Works nice for box speed, but Tri-X will do great in just about anything.

 

[varjag]

Diafine works great to push TriX to about 1250.

I'm talking about more-or-less ISO sensitivity, with normal contrast and acceptable shadow detail. Rated 1250 it is indeed a push, and pretty feeble at that. But in fact I got Diafine because of its forum rep of "true 1250 for Tri-X", and found it false. It works just like any other two-bath developer in this respect.

If it gives strange tones I have yet to find them. Besides, curves are easily corrected in Photoshop after scanning.

In the eye of beholder I guess. Plenty people I know think that Kodak Gold 200 colors are fine too 🙂

 

[totifoto]

I´ve been using xtol 1:1 and Ilford rapid fixer. The grain isn´t so fine but it is not more then at 400.

This one was shot at 800.

 

[nobbylon]

thx for all the replies, i've decided that when I've got some time free i'm going to give either d76 or xtol a try. j

 

[Marsopa]

I've tried rodinal 1:50 for 17-18 minutes (trix rated 800ASA), I've just received the scans and it looks nice, as soon as I'm at home I'll try to post a sample