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A newbie to developing needs advice.

djnicepix

Member
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Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Messages
8
Format
35mm
Hi all,
I just processed a roll of film for the first time today. It really worked!! I have a few contrast issues, over blown highkights, but am delighted just to see the pics. What I would like is for all you experts out there to look over my following process and tell me what you think and where I might improve. So here is my process for Tmax 100 film. All chemicals are at 75F.
1. Developer is Tmax developer for 6 1/2 minutes.
2. Kodak Indicator stop bath for 30 seconds.
3. Kodak Kodafixer for 5 minutes.
4 5 minutes of fresh water rinse.
5. Edwal Hypo Eliminator for 2 minutes.
6. Final water wash for 5 minutes.

All chemicals were diluted in the recomended quanties: 1:4 for developer, 1:63 for stop bath, 1:3 for fixer, and 1:31 for Hypo.

So what you all think? Thanks for your time.

Dean
 
Almost i do the same with same developer and film before, but i use Ilford Rapid Fixer and Ilford Stop both with are 1+4 & 1+19, i don't use Edwal Hypo, i wash for 10 minutes, and because the water is hard i think i add PhotoFlo at the end, few drops on the same amount of the tank which is 500ml.
The results came out fine for me, and i can't tell if i have issue with contrast or highlight or exposure, i am just happy to see pics and i scanned most and did some digital workflow and get great results [might not be great for many experts here].
I hope some experts will guide you and help you for your developing process, i am new at this as well and did developed my first time a lone at home about 2 weeks ago i think, and now i am going to develop Delta 100 with TMAX developer now very soon.
 

Great! Maybe we can both get some good advice here!
Dean
 
no need for the hyp clear, why 75 degrees?

you might check out ILford's recommendation for washing .
 
The recipe sounds fine, what really counts is how well the negatives represent what you saw.
One comment, "hypo" is fixer and refers to the primary ingrediant of standard fixers (sodium thiosulfate), and hypo eliminator (aka hypo clearing agent) is for helping the washing process remove it. It's not particularly needed for film, but there is no harm in using it.
 
I have one additional suggestion -- to avoid any deposits from the wash water, I prepare a tray of distilled water with two drops of LFN, and give the film a 30 second soak before hanging to dry. In this case, I'm talking about sheet film, but it applies to roll film too. If you use Kodak PhotoFlo instead of LFN, I recommend *not* using the stated dilution of PhotoFlo (which is too concentrated), but use just a tiny amount of PhotoFlo.

John Clark
www.johndclark.com
 
Thanks to all!

Thanks for the info everyone. To answer a couple of questions, first, it is correct that Kodak recommends 75 degrees as the optimum temp for Tmax developer. Second, I use hypo eliminator as I have read that it aids the drying process by reduicing left over water spots. In this respect, I can say that I don't have spot problems but also do not know if leaving the hypo out of the recipe would make any difference or not. Guess I will just have to play some more. What a shame (HA!).
Dean
 
I hope you mean HCA not hypo that will be omitted, as you need the hypo(fixer) to clear undeveloped silver halides and preserve the film. Hypo eliminator(HCA) is a washing shortcut that really isn't necessary for film, but very helpful for washing fiber base paper.
 
HCA


Hi Rick, Yes it is HCA. So, that is used only for the printing on paper process only? I do not
Print. I only develop then scan the negatives.
Dean
 
You can use it for film, but it provides a bigger benefit for fiber based paper, since you already have it, might as well use it up if you don't plan on doing silver printing.

For reducing water spots you need a wetting agent, Kodak Photo-flo is the traditional standard, but Iford and other photographic chemical vendors have products that work well too. The choice is primarily dependant on what's easy to get where you live, or convienient for mail order.

As for temperature, the traditional standard for B&W is 68 F/ 20 C, you can process at other temperatures however. It's best to pick one and use that consistantly though. Lots of people process at higher temps than 68 especially in the summer months.
 
Ditch the indicator stopbath! Its expensive and a stop bath should only be used once. Better yet just use a 1 minute rinse in plain water before the fixer.
 
Gerald C Koch said:
Ditch the indicator stopbath! Its expensive and a stop bath should only be used once. Better yet just use a 1 minute rinse in plain water before the fixer.
Click to expand...

$5.49 to make 29 liters of working solution is expensive ????

(Kodak Indicator Stop Bath - 16 oz size - at Glazer's in Seattle)
 
Try diluting Tmax Developer 1+7 and developing for 9.5 minutes at 75 degrees. I have not tried Tmax developer for Tmax 100, but I use it a lot for Tmax 400 and the 1+7 dilution has several benefits:

1) Longer dev. time, which reduces chances of uneven developing

2) Diluted developers tend to have slightly softer highlight gradation

3) Cheaper. Tmax Developer is somewhat expensive used at the 1+4 dilution.
 
MattKing said:
$5.49 to make 29 liters of working solution is expensive ????

(Kodak Indicator Stop Bath - 16 oz size - at Glazer's in Seattle)
Click to expand...

It is if you don't need it. As darkroom enthusuasts we are already putting enough stuff into the environment without adding unneeded chemicals.
 
Gerald:

Used properly, stop bath will extend the life of fixer and improve the repeatability of results.

The impact of highly dilute acetic acid (essentially vinegar) on the environment is likely to be far less than the impact that used fixer has, so extending fixer life is a really good idea.

It also saves water (when compared to using a water wash).

Stop bath can be re-used, although I usually only do so when I am doing multiple batches of film development in a short time.

And fixer is more expensive than stop bath.
 

It's not only the acetic acid but the indicator dye being put into the environment.

By water rinse I mean filling the tank with water and agitating it for 1 minute just like stop bath. The same amount of water is involved as using a stop bath. Osmotic pressure removes the developer from the emulsion. I doubt that using water alone in this manner would have any effect on the fixer life which is really dertermined by age, storage conditions, and silver content.

The only time that a plain acid stop bath is needed is when considering fiber based papers. But we are talking about film here and not paper.

Indicator stop bath has been criticized for decades as just another way for Kodak, Ilford, etc to get a few more bucks from the consumer.
 
Gerald C Koch said:
Indicator stop bath has been criticized for decades as just another way for Kodak, Ilford, etc to get a few more bucks from the consumer.
Click to expand...

$5.49 to make 29 liters of working solution.

(Kodak Indicator Stop Bath - 16 oz size - at Glazer's in Seattle)

Somehow I think they have more efficient tools available for prying extra $ out of our pockets.

Oh and as I understand it, the acidic nature of stop bath helps protect the ph of neutral or acidic fixer, and that helps extend the life of the fixer.
 
There appears to be two arguments for using a stop bath. The first that a stopbath is needed to preserve the acidity of the fixer. Let's do a little mind experiment.

After draining the tank the only developer left is in the emulsion and perhaps a bit trapped in the reel. Let's say that this volume is 0.5 ml, probably a generous estimate. Then 250 ml of water is added to the tank with agitation resulting in a dilution of 1:500. Then the tank is emptied again and filled with fixer. This produces a final developer dilution of 500 x 500 or 1:250000. Does anyone really think this amount of developer will raise the pH of the fixer?

The other argument is that a stopbath is needed to quickly stop the development. The concentration of developer in the emulsion drops precipitously in the first few seconds of the water rinse effectively stopping development. The kinetics of a water rinse and of a stopbath are both diffusion controlled with water molecules diffusing faster than the larger acetic acid molecules. So what really stops development is dilution and not the acidity of the rinse/bath.
 
Stop bath should be used. Just diluting the developer may slow down developer; the goal is to stop the development. Indicator stop bath is a waste. I was told years ago that by the time the stuff changes color, the stuff is useless already. True or not?
Since I use replenished D23, I follow EK's advice (imagine that!?) that with high alkalinity film developers, a fresh stop bath is essential to avoid deposits on the film. Since this has worked well for me for the last two decades, I choose not to alter my regimen.
 
I agree with John 100%. To use a stop bath is definitely an established regimen, and it's known to work. It's even recommended by the guys that make the film to use it.
It seems unnecessary to skip it.

 
The beating of drums has been conclusively proven to bring back the sun after an eclipse.
 
To beat the drum (and gongs): a film right out of the developer feels quite slippery. From the alkalinity most likely. D76, Rodinal 1+50, DK 50 1+1, etc. A minute rinse in water doesn't quite remove this slippery feeling. Make that 2 minutes and it's likely still going to be slippery. Running water, the slippy goo may go quickly.

In an acidified bath, the slippery feeling goes almost instantly. Film neutralised if not acidified. Goes in the acid fixer environment somewhat conditioned.

It takes only a few reels worth of film from the developer, rinsed with water, to make the fixer go bad quickly. Observations like fixer going murky sooner than its 20+ roll/per litre limit (Kodak's estimate is about 25 rolls) is reached. However, when a 2-3% acid stop is used between developer and fixer, the fixer remains quite clear and tart to the day it dies. No drums or gongs beat to drive away the nasty dragon eating the sun here.
 
Are you sure? Modern films contain a wetting agent to prevent air bells from forming during development. A slippery feel is not really very scienfitic. A better test would be to titrate a portion of the rinse water to determine its alkalinity. Measuring the pH of the rinse water will not work since a minute amount of a very strong base will cause a high pH but little total alkalinity.

I have never had any difficulties with fixer life using a plain water rinse. Back in the very early days of photography developers were very alkaline and a acid stop bath was needed. Automated processing also requires a stop bath because of the large amount of carry over unless air squeegees are used. Remember I am speaking about films here and not papers.
 
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