Need B&W Developing Advice

[ddimaria]

So I took the plunge and set myself to develope my own film. It's been a few years since I've done this. I shoot with Kodak Tri-X 99% of the time, and usually push it to ASA-800. Can anyone suggust a good developer for this film at this speed. Also, does anyone have a good temp/time chart for Tri-X and D-76.

Also, Is there a "better" B&W film to push to 800 besides Tri-X. Something with better tones and smaller grain?

I thank you all in advance.
DD

[Roman]

Hi,

TriX is one of the best films for pushing, better than HP5+, definitely better than APX400 (which can't be pushed at all), and since 'new' TriX just as fine-grained as Neopan 400 (which tends to show blocked highlights when pushed, thouh it is fine up to 800 ASA); I don't have a lot of experience with Delta 400 (none with pushing it), and none at all with TMax 400 at all, can't comment on those...
My favorite developer for pushing is Calbe A49 (now also sold as Adox ATM49 - a very old formula, based on Agfa Atomal formulas); in the US it should be available from JandCPhotography; A49 gives very good film speed, fine grain, allows good contrast control, so it is ideal for pushing; apparent sharpness/accutance is not great, but acceptable (which makes it a good portrait developer).
I used to use Ilford Microphen for pushing, and with TriX at 800 it should be OK, but it generally yields larger grain and higher (read: more difficult to print or scan) contrast than A49. XTOL should also be OK, but I don't have a lot of experience with it; and since you are located in the US, you might just use Diafine, with gives a true speed of 1250 ASA with TriX (but I have not tried it, since it is really hard to get in Europe).

Roman

[Stu :)]

http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

Tri-X and D-76 where made for each other, if you ask me. Pushing Tri-X in D-76 one stop shouldn't be an issue, but pushing it two stops or further might be lethal. That's when you need to use Speed/Push developer like FD-30.

If you're looking for another film, try either Fuji Neopan 400 pushed to 800 or Neopan 1600 pulled to 800. Develop these films in either Agfa's Rodinal at 1:50 ratio or Kodak's XTOL at 1:1. Tonality is magic and grain is good. I pushed Neopan 400 to 800 two years ago for uni assignment and where printed on 12x16s. On the technical score sheet I got great marks and note asking me how I used FP4+ inside without a flash.

Stu

[Russ]

Originally posted by ddimaria
So I took the plunge and set myself to develope my own film. It's been a few years since I've done this. I shoot with Kodak Tri-X 99% of the time, and usually push it to ASA-800. Can anyone suggust a good developer for this film at this speed. Also, does anyone have a good temp/time chart for Tri-X and D-76.

Also, Is there a "better" B&W film to push to 800 besides Tri-X. Something with better tones and smaller grain?

I thank you all in advance.
DD

I haven't pushed Neopan 400 (my favorite 400 B/W film), but I've heard from many users that Neopan 400 and Delta 400, push very well with great results. I've burned Neopan 1600 @ 1600, with very good results. Better than pushing a 400 speed film. I've also gotten great results with Delta 3200 @ 1600 & 3200.

Russ

[Todd.Hanz]

Go to the digitaltruth.com, great site!
Xtol gives true speeds and better for pushing (see massive dev. chart at digitaltruth.com)
Rodinal will push well but grain is abundant.
I would try D76 stock at 68 deg for 8 1/2 min to start with.

Good luck!
Todd

[Doug]

Roman mentioned Diafine at EI 1250, and that'd be my choice for higher-than-box speeds. Diafine is so easy to use, it can spoil you for more conventional soups!

[Solinar]

A second vote for X-TOL at 1:1.

[ddimaria]

Originally posted by Doug
Roman mentioned Diafine at EI 1250, and that'd be my choice for higher-than-box speeds. Diafine is so easy to use, it can spoil you for more conventional soups!

Thanks Doug, but could you explain why Diafine is so easy. I've only ever used D-76 and Rodinal.

[digitalox]

Ilford DDX also works well, at 1+8. Nice tones.

[back alley]

Also, Is there a "better" B&W film to push to 800 besides Tri-X. Something with better tones and smaller grain?

try delta 3200 at 1000 in ddx.

you just might like it.

joe

[Russ]

Originally posted by Solinar
A second vote for X-TOL at 1:1.

Solinar

My custom lab soups my B/W in X-Tol, and I've always gotten very good and consistent results.

Russ

[GeneW]

I stock Rodinal and HC-110 because of their long shelf life and dependable results. For Tri-X at 800, I like HC-110 dil. B. Very D76-like in terms of grain and tonality, but more convenient to store, IMO. HC-110 is a good push developer -- 800 and 1600 are typical Tri-X pushes.

When I shoot Tri-X at 200 or 400 I soup in Rodinal 1:50

Gene

[taffer]

Originally posted by ddimaria
Thanks Doug, but could you explain why Diafine is so easy. I've only ever used D-76 and Rodinal.

One good thing about Diafine is that it's pretty independent of time and temperature (even though it's still important to keep all baths at the same temp). Fill the tank with Diafine A, 3 minutes, couple inversions each minute. Pour it back in bottle. Then fill tank with B, 3 minutes again and inversions again. Pour back in bottle. Stop bath with running water for 30 secs. Fix, wash and dry.

The A part is the developer, which is absorved by the emulsion, and then activated by part B. No danger of under/over developement as long as you keep the film souped on each bath for at least 3+3 minutes, but that also means you have to keep in mind the recommended speeds for the film you're using, with Tri-X that's 1250 but you may try 800 and 1600 and see how it looks.

I usually burn Neopan 400 @ 640 on it but tried this Tri-X and liked the results

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...hen=&whenterm=

Oscar

[Russ]

Originally posted by taffer


I usually burn Neopan 400 @ 640 on it but tried this Tri-X and liked the results

Oscar [/b]

Oscar

Are you pushing your Neopan 1 stop, @ 640? How do you like the results? I haven't pushed the Neopan 400 yet, but I hear that it pushes very well.

Russ

[Russ]

X-Tol, D-76 & ID-11


http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...?msg_id=00An5b

Russ

[taffer]

Originally posted by Russ
Oscar

Are you pushing your Neopan 1 stop, @ 640? How do you like the results? I haven't pushed the Neopan 400 yet, but I hear that it pushes very well.

Russ

It does Russ, I think all of my Neopan 400 shots in the gallery are with it souped in Diafine. Exposed it at 640 when I had a meter around (or in camera) but also just guessed exposure many times so I'm not probably the most methodic person out there Anyway I like Neopan results a lot, and is very scanner-friendly, but I admit I'm still very far from the point of mastering it...

[Doug]

DD, Oscar answered your question well. I'll just emphasize Diafine's insensitivity to time and temperature as extraordinarily convenient. Of course this means you can't tweak the development by additional pushing or pulling... All the developer that soaks into the emulsion is locally used to exhaustion, or until there's no more exposed silver in that spot to work on, whichever comes first.

This also makes it a super-compensating developer; the highlights develop to completion relatively quickly, while the shadow densities continue to build. Of course this longer work on the shadows is what raises the effective speed of the film. The one main control the user has is to pick the EI to fit his equipment and metering style.

Also, Diafine has an extremely long useful life, with some people using the same batch for a year or more. The volume of Part A keeps dropping due to being soaked up in all those rolls of film, but is otherwise unaffected. Part B gets some carryover of Part A, and also collects chemical byproducts of the developing process. But it doesn't seem to matter much! All in all, it's very different from the usual 1-bath developers like D76; it works very well, fits Tri-X like a glove, and the release from close attention to time and temperature is a real pleasure!

[Doug]

Ah, I might also caution against over-agitation in Diafine. The gentlest agitation should be used, only enough to let the development byproducts drift away from the film surface. Over-agitation washes away the developer in the emulsion, resulting in thin negatives.

And while Diafine works particularly well with Tri-X, with probably the most speed boost of any film, it is entirely satisfactory with other films as well. I like it with FP-4 and Pan-F for instance.

[ddimaria]

Thanks everyone, I've been developing all day with D76. I think I will pick up some Diafine for my next batch, sound interesting. I've never used a two bath solution before, from what I've heard, it can give you greater controll over your negatives.

I appreciate all the responses.

DD

[Russ]

Originally posted by ddimaria
Thanks everyone, I've been developing all day with D76. I think I will pick up some Diafine for my next batch, sound interesting. I've never used a two bath solution before, from what I've heard, it can give you greater controll over your negatives.

I appreciate all the responses.

DD

They're certainly isn't anything wrong with D-76.

Russ

[Doug]

Originally posted by Russ
They're certainly isn't anything wrong with D-76.

No doubt about that! Tri-X with D-76 is a classic combination that can produce lovely negatives. But when wanting a speed boost, I'd look to other choices.