No run away now!

[Cleber Figueiredo]

hello everybody... I'm so happy I've found this place!

well, I decided the next step would be go back to film photography, and though I'm not a rangefinder owner yet, I've decided to exercise souping my own film while i save for a Bessa R and some lenses.

so today I bought (found only one place here...) the D-76 and some general brand fixer.

in the picture you can see the reel (guess what: couldn't find the tank either! it's coming from abroad), the fixer, the d-76 and a tri-X 400 to burn easy quickly in my dear Canon FTb (can i say these names over here?).

still some questions: how do I store these itens? normal shelf, or in a dark and somber place? in everywhere i've heard of d-76, i heard the word 'powder', but the guy said here they only sell it liquid, ready for use. is this the "full strength" solution, or is it mixed and somewhat less effective (maybe you experts can see it from the colour...). the fixer has a label where it says that you mix it 3 parts to 7 parts of water in order to use. but since the d-76 has a label telling me it is some colour chemical, I though it better to ask you! the d-76 is not something you use twice, is it? and what about the fixer?

I'm sorry for so many questions, but I've been using the search function for days, maybe weeks, and could not find these particular answers...

here something I though very useful: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/profe.../j78/j78.jhtml

thank you all!!!

[mrb]

Welcome Cleber. I don't know the anwers to all of your questions but I'll bet someone here does. I use the powdered D-76 because it's not available locally and I must have it shipped in. No reason to pay for shipping water. Once mixed, I store it (and all of my chemicals) in the dark. I use D76 (and all of my chemicals) just once, mostly because I don't process all that much film -- maybe half a dozen rolls a month. I sure can't tell from the picture whether your D76 looks like mine. Maybe you should do a test roll and try it out. In fact, a test roll (or 2 or 3) is a good idea anyway. As for the Bessa R: good choice. And that Canon's not a bad picture-taker, either. Good luck, Cleber.

[Tom A]

Cleber, that is a bit of detective work here. Do you have any idea of how old the D76 and the fixer is?
The D76 is most likely a stock solution and you dilute it either 1:1 (1part d76 and 1: part water and throw it out after use.
The Fixer is probably OK, though It is impossible to say without testing.
I suggest you try one roll of "unimportant shots" with the Canon and rate the Tri X at 400, but shoot every scene at 200/400/800 (open and close 1 stop either side of meter reading). Develop the film and just to get an idea of the activity of the D76, do it for 10min with a 1:1 dilution and agitate every 30 sec (turn the tank upside down twice) for 5-6 sec total.
The fixing time can be somewhat determined by cutting off and save the "leader" in the dark, before you roll it up on the reel. Dip this film in the fix and swizzle it around slowly. Time how long it takes the film to clear (the greyish color disappearing and the strip becoming transperant). If the fix is fine, it might take 3-4 minutes to do this. Take this time and double it (probably 6 to 8 min). Use same agitation as for developing. Once this is done, wash for 20 min undr running water.
If everything is OK, you should have clean negative, the 200 asa will be a bit darker, the 400 will show details across the negative and the 800 will look a bit "thin". If this is the case, you chemicals are OK, if there is a greyish cast across the film or very "thin" negatives, it is exhausted.
Good luck;

[ItsReallyDarren]

D-76 is normally sold as a powder to be mixed by the user. They come in 1 liter, 1 gallor, and 5 gallon mixtures. I belive they come in powder form because of the limited shelf life of the developer when mixed with water and comes in contact with air.

It would be best to ask the store where you bought the chemicals what strenght the D-76 was. It can be used straight or as a 1:1 dilution, development times will vary.
This website will be useful in finding development times needed for Tri-X and D-76;
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

Its also possible to resuse D-76 when used straight, you must re-adjust developing times after each use. On that note, its easier to mix a 1:1 batch and discard after use.

The 3 parts to 7 parts dilution on the fixer usually refers to the intended use. For film development: 1 parts(fixer) + 3 parts(water) is common. For paper printing: 1 parts(fixer) + 7 parts(water). Fixer can be reused multiple times, as mentioned earlier an easy way to test is to drop a small piece of film into the fixer noting how long it takes to clear, then double that time just to be safe.

As to storage, Its perfectly fine the way they are, as seen in your picture. Its best to minimize the chemicals contact with light, air, and too much heat. This is to help prolong its active life. So a dark place would be better than next to a window.

When mixed D-76 has a shelf life ranging from weeks to months depending on how its stored, the less air it comes in contact with the better. The pdf from Kodak should have all the information. For fixer, Ive had a bottle where I mix working strenght fixer (1+3) from for about 3 months now and its worked fine, not much more I can tell you from that.

These websites are useful and contain a lot of information.

http://www.thephotoforum.com/node/41

http://www3.telus.net/drkrm/index.html