Am I being too cheap?

[Nicholas Lindan]

There is nothing 'cheap' about using M-X 1:3; it isn't any sort of brinkmanship. 1:3 is the standard dilution for using Microdol-X as a one-shot developer. It has been used reliably at 1:3 for 50+ years, I have never heard tales of the diluted form failing.

The perception that M-X is a 'high solvent' developer is tosh. It has just as much sulfite in it as D-76 or D-23. At 1:3 it is one of the lowest sulfite developers around.

With T-Grain films - TMax and Delta - the grain is just as fine at 1:3 as it is at full-strength.

And certainly using it 1:3, if one doesn't have the film volume to run a replenished line, is the economical and ecological way to go.

It is possible to save even more money making it up oneself, however the home-brew version is subject to dichroic fogging.

Home made HCA is the way to go, IMO. S. Sulfite, the major component of both HCA and M-X, is very cheap stuff if you are willing to buy a large bucket of it. HCA is useful with TMax films as it gets the purple out quickly.

 

[VincentM]

I decided to try Microdol-X last night (I know it has just been discontinued).

F*** is that true? Microdol-X is discontinued? I just stated to use it and I actually love it Stock with 320TXP

 

[DLawson]

F*** is that true? Microdol-X is discontinued? I just stated to use it and I actually love it Stock with 320TXP

Sadly, it is true. There is a thread elsewhere about Kodak product discontinuations. Mostly, they are dropping just a certain size. But for a few things (Microdol-X, D-76R), the size they are dropping is the only one they make.

 

[BetterSense]

I'm not sure how rare this stuff is yet, but there is a lot of microdol-x available at The Film Depot in Dallas. It doesn't seem to move fast, but it's in the foil 1-gallon packages. I was surprised to hear that it was discontinued considering how much of it they have there.