What BW Developer to start with

[arbib]

😱 Been out of the darkroom loop for a few decades. And I want to start developing BW film again... Ilford 125, 400, Tri-x 400 for pushing to 800.

Back in my day, Micodol-X was used. But I did push any film.

I want a fine grain developer that produces a good DR and moderate contrast. (Don't we all)

This will be done in my well lit kitchen, so a changing bag is in order and a good daylight tank, Jobo I guess.

Some my chooses are:

😕 Acufine
😕 Edwal FG7 (With or W/O Sodium Sulfur additive ??)
😕 Ethol TEC
😕 Ethol UFG
😕 Fotospeed FD 10
😕 Ilford 1D 11 (Stock, 1:1, 1:3)
😕 Ilford S
😕 microfine (this is a "Push Only" developer ? -- Is so, best film for 800-1600 ISO?)

I don't mind using different developer's if needed. Maybe two kinds. One for generally well exposed negatives, and one for over/under exposure. Like I may need to underexpose a frame just to get something on film, usually by one stop--let's say, for example.

I know there are a lot if variables here. but, lets keep this for general info right now. And I will try not to add a frame that is underexposed frame for now.

Temps will be out of the tap, with some control. maybe in low 70's Fahrenheit

Thanks for the education needed to get back up to speed in advance.

 

[Todd.Hanz]

I've settled on Xtol and D76, both 1:1 for Tri-X and Acros, it's easier to get fine grain from a fine grain film so I use Acros for those shots.

Tri-X is great for pushing or pulling way beyond 400, for pushing beyond 1600 I would use Rodinal and semi-stand developing like this: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4441&highlight=pushing+tri-x

Most people here will go for Diafine as a developer for a Tri-X push.

I've pulled Tri-X to 100 in D76 1:1 with good results:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=50628&ppuser=489

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=50627&ppuser=489

Tri-X is probably the most versatile film you can still get, D76 is a good all around developer.

YMMV, good luck.
Todd

 

[back alley]

you will be getting answers that i bet will cover most the developers you mentioned...it can be a very personal choice.

from your list i would pick ilfosol, it's hard to mess up a film in it, it's not too fussy to work with and it's relatively cheap.

my favourite is ddx from ilford. if i had to choose one film/dev it would be delta 400 and ddx.

but tri-x will look good in ilfosol too.

 

[wlewisiii]

I'm one of those who likes Diafine, but I've not found anything that's as utterly flexable as D-76. I tend to either use it at stock or 1:1 but there as many ways of using it as there are emulsions 🙂 IIUC, ID-11 is the same chemically so that may be what you'd find best to use.

Good luck & have fun!

William

 

[Bryce]

I use Rodinal for everything, but that's another story. In short, getting the best from Rodinal involves a ton of experimention. If you insist on super sharp grain its the way to go, otherwise probably not.
In getting here I experimented with Ilfosol S, HC110, and Acufine.
I can't say I was too impressed with HC110, similar to Rodinal but with mushy grain.
Ilfosol S gives relatively smooth grain (also softish...) and seems to give relatively more speed than Rodinal. I never tried pushing with it, though.
Acufine is kind of different; adjusting speed via development is not recommended, though it definitely gives a speed increase. I was getting a native speed of about 640 from HP5, compared with about 200 for Rodinal- though pushing to 800-1600 with rodinal works well. Grain is noticeably smaller than Rodinal and quite sharp, but not the same shape. Image sharpness is also exceptional.
My experience with FP4 (my favorite) is that it has a native speed of about 64 or 80, and becomes unuseably contrasty if pushed. It has other characteristics that redeem it for me.
I hope this is useful to you.

 

[arbib]

I've settled on Xtol and D76, both 1:1 for Tri-X and Acros, it's easier to get fine grain from a fine grain film so I use Acros for those shots.

Tri-X is great for pushing or pulling way beyond 400, for pushing beyond 1600 I would use Rodinal and semi-stand developing like this: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4441&highlight=pushing+tri-x

Most people here will go for Diafine as a developer for a Tri-X push.

I've pulled Tri-X to 100 in D76 1:1 with good results:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=50628&ppuser=489

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=50627&ppuser=489

Tri-X is probably the most versatile film you can still get, D76 is a good all around developer.

YMMV, good luck.
Todd

Thanks for the links.. I am going through them like a kid in a candy store...🙂

 

[arbib]

you will be getting answers that i bet will cover most the developers you mentioned...it can be a very personal choice.

from your list i would pick ilfosol, it's hard to mess up a film in it, it's not too fussy to work with and it's relatively cheap.

my favourite is ddx from ilford. if i had to choose one film/dev it would be delta 400 and ddx.

but tri-x will look good in ilfosol too.

I shot a roll of D-400, I liked it. I'll look up Ilford ddx too.

 

[arbib]

I use Rodinal for everything, but that's another story. In short, getting the best from Rodinal involves a ton of experimention. If you insist on super sharp grain its the way to go, otherwise probably not.
In getting here I experimented with Ilfosol S, HC110, and Acufine.
I can't say I was too impressed with HC110, similar to Rodinal but with mushy grain.
Ilfosol S gives relatively smooth grain (also softish...) and seems to give relatively more speed than Rodinal. I never tried pushing with it, though.
Acufine is kind of different; adjusting speed via development is not recommended, though it definitely gives a speed increase. I was getting a native speed of about 640 from HP5, compared with about 200 for Rodinal- though pushing to 800-1600 with rodinal works well. Grain is noticeably smaller than Rodinal and quite sharp, but not the same shape. Image sharpness is also exceptional.
My experience with FP4 (my favorite) is that it has a native speed of about 64 or 80, and becomes unuseably contrasty if pushed. It has other characteristics that redeem it for me.
I hope this is useful to you.

I have shot FP4 too, but I used a RF with a no meter, and used the sunny-16 rule as my base exosure. so I have no idea of the ISO. It was Lab developed. So I don't know what developer was used either. But I liked the results. So if I do my own, I should REALY like the better results. Next roll is going in my Nikkormat Ftn with my 35/2 Nikkor-O for the whole roll.

 

[Trius]

Nearly all the developers you have listed have at least some sodium sulfite, which gives finer grain but at some expense to accutance. That is not categorically a bad thing, just something to consider.

From your list, I have used D76/ID-11 and FG-7. I preferred the FG-7, didn't add the sufite and I never did any pushing. My "go-to" developer was HC-110. At higher dilutions it gives nice tight grain and pretty good accutance. Today my "standard" developer is Rodinal. I haven't nailed down the "big push" techniques with Rodinal yet, but I'm working on it.

I do have some DD-X and have used it with Pan F+, with good results. The "knock" on DD-X is that it develops a higher fog level than other developers. I'm not sure how important that is in printing or scanning.

Whatever you do, my recommendation is to be less aggressive with agitation than the "conventional wisdom". Naturally, you might have to adjust developing time to tune in your results, but over-agitating is the enemy of grain and accutance.