What b & w developers to you prefer, and why?

[airfrogusmc]

I always liked Rodiinal 1:50 with t-max 400. The toe would straighten out some so there would be a lot of info in the toe (shadows) because it didn't behave like a traditional film curve. With the right paper like a Kodak Elite (silver heavy and no longer made) you could really pull out shadow detail.

With tri-x I always liked HC 110.

I would say find the right dev film combo for the way you want your final prints to look like. A film dev like Rodinal is a true acutance developer. The means it doesn't have softeners like fine grain dev have so the silver halide crystals have complete and sharp edges. That means you will have a lot of grain. If you are shooting large format it's not an issue. If you like grainy images with 35mm, which I do, it will surely give you that look. Not every dev is the right choice for a specific film. I never liked t max dev with t max films. Never cared for fine grain dev with tri x but that is personal. many like the combos that I don't.

 

[steveyork]

Rodinal and HC-110 because of long shelf life with good results. I mostly only shoot iso 125 or slower.

 

[FujiLove]

I use replenished XTOL, mostly for it's convenience and fast prep time. I have a 2l PET bottle in the cupboard always full of working strength developer. When I want to process a roll of film, I just take the temperature of the XTOL, alter the dev time based on Ilford's compensation chart (https://www.ilfordphoto.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Temperature-compensation-chart.pdf) and away I go.

When I'm finished, I add 70ml of stock XTOL per film to the working solution, put the top on the bottle and it's ready to go again for next time. Very low-cost, very convenient and the results are great.

There's a replenished XTOL thread over on Photrio if anyone's interested: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/using-and-replenishing-xtol.144796/

 

[FujiLove]

Mainly Xtol, because it's septic tank friendly (and a full speed developer). Sometimes Rodinal, and D-76, for when I shoot Ferrania P30.

Jim B.

I forgot about the speed benefit. That's initially what turned me onto XTOL. It's nice to be able to shoot Tmax-400 at EI400 when I'm using relatively slow lenses on things like the Xpan.

 

[randy stewart]

B&W Developer

B&W Developer

I use FX-37, 1:9, dosed with Sodium Ascorbate, to develop HP-5 and FP-4. My results are the best I've ever gotten in 55 years of trying nearly everything except pyro.

 

[GoodOldNorm]

I use FX-37, 1:9, dosed with Sodium Ascorbate, to develop HP-5 and FP-4. My results are the best I've ever gotten in 55 years of trying nearly everything except pyro.

Hello Randy, could you expand on "dosed with sodium ascorbate" please?

 

[presspass]

D-23 in its various dilutions, etc., for the past five years. When I was shooting a lot more film - eight to 12 rolls a week - I used Xtol replenished in one-gallon tanks. When we went to digital at work, I cut my film use to a couple of rolls a week and that wasn't really enough to keep the deep tank system operating properly. I decided to try Thornton's divided developer and from there went to just D-23, usually diluted 1:3, for 400 speed 35mm film. D-23 is easy to mix, stores well, gives full film speed, limits grain, and, diluted, controls the highlights. Right now, I'm adding sodium chloride - canning salt - to the standard mix and liking the results.