arista(foma, forte?) in microdol-x (1:3) or D76?

Hi, I have the dev time for arista edu 100 and edu untra 100 in D76, d76(1:1). Also I have the dev time for foma 100 and forte 100 in microdol-x stock. I am wondering if anyone has tried those films in microdol-x (1:3). I know it will be grainier, but how much it will be?

Besides, is microdol-x safer to the environment compare to D76?
Many Thanks.

-D

I have been developing the old arista 125 in Microdol-X straight for years (I replenish), with fine grain results. I don't think either is safer, or more dangerous for that matter.

dxphoto said:

Hi, I have the dev time for arista edu 100 and edu untra 100 in D76, d76(1:1). Also I have the dev time for foma 100 and forte 100 in microdol-x stock. I am wondering if anyone has tried those films in microdol-x (1:3).

I know it will be grainier, but how much it will be?

Remember that the basic grain size and shape is manufactured into the film. The effect on the appearance of grain due to use of either of these two developers will be small.



Besides, is microdol-x safer to the environment compare to D76?
Many Thanks. -D

Click to expand...

These two developers are chemically very similar; environmentally, both are pretty safe and their safety increases with amount of dilution - download and read the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for both these developers - you can find them on the internet with GOOGLE.

pnance said:

I have been developing the old arista 125 in Microdol-X straight for years (I replenish), with fine grain results. I don't think either is safer, or more dangerous for that matter.

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Arista Pro 125 was Ilford FP4+. Arista.EDU 100 is Forte, and Arista.EDU Ultra is Foma. Thus, the Arista Pro 125 results you report really have no bearing on what dxphoto is using.

As to the original question, I can't answer directly. I can say that I've done a couple of rolls of Arista.EDU (Foma) 100 in DS-10 2+1 and I liked the results. Note that DS-10 is a mix-it-yourself developer; AFAIK, you can't buy it pre-mixed anywhere, although you might be able to use Art Craft's "Name that Kit" service if you don't want to buy a stock of chemicals and measure everything yourself.

As to environmental impact, I don't know much about the chemical composition of Microdol-X, but DS-10 is a metol/ascorbic acid (MC) developer, while D-76 is a metol/hydroquinone (MQ) developer. Ascorbic acid is reputed to be more environmentally friendly than hydroquinone, but I doubt if the difference is really very significant, particularly on the scale of home darkroom use. I also don't know enough about the other differences in the formulas to comment on them. If you're interested in a commercial ascorbate developer, look into Kodak's XTOL or Paterson's FX-50, both of which are phenidone/ascorbic acid (PC) developers. (Technically, I believe XTOL, at least, uses Dimezone S and sodium ascorbate, but the effect is similar.)

Hi,

Many thanks, guys. I just developed one ultra100 in D76(1+1). To take that roll, and to avoid a bike, my Yashica 124mg fell on the floor and the hood is bent and something is broken under the focus screen (showing underneath). I still can take pictures and they are still sharp, but I need find a repair manuel to fix it.

Anyway, the first time to use the ultra (or foma). Thin film base, and also very curly. Hardly to put it on the scanner's holder. The film base is green. Not pink or clear. anyone knows why?

I still presoaked the film, is it necessary? Under what condition the presoak is a must? Thanks.

-D

dxphoto said:

Hi,

Many thanks, guys. I just developed one ultra100 in D76(1+1). To take that roll, and to avoid a bike, my Yashica 124mg fell on the floor and the hood is bent and something is broken under the focus screen (showing underneath). I still can take pictures and they are still sharp, but I need find a repair manuel to fix it.

Anyway, the first time to use the ultra (or foma). Thin film base, and also very curly. Hardly to put it on the scanner's holder. The film base is green. Not pink or clear. anyone knows why?

I still presoaked the film, is it necessary? Under what condition the presoak is a must? Thanks.

-D

Click to expand...

"The film base is green. Not pink or clear." I don't know why, the Foma 200 Classic I am using has a blue film base.

"I still presoaked the film, is it necessary? Under what condition the presoak is a must? Thanks."

What does the film manufacturer recommend? If the film manufacturer makes no presoak recommendation, I would not presoak when developing With D-76 and Microdol-X (this is from my own experience with these two developers developing Kodak, Ilford and Agfa films).

With some developers, a water presoak is recommended. For example, a presoak is always recommend when developing in Pyrocat- HD. Pyrocat-HD is a staining developer - D-76 and Microdol-X are not.

Hello,

I have been using Arista Ultra 100 in strait D76 for a while now and getting really good tones, very tight grain. I develope film in the old dip and dunk deep tanks. (68 Degrees 10 min.) One raise and lower of film reels every minute. I believe Arista Ultra 100 is Fomapan 100 film. Just my experience with it.


Jamie

Hydroquinone has a bad reputation so Microdol would probably be considered safer for the environment. Xtol would be even safer.

That is true, DS-10 is not buyable at this point (unless you want to bring me a bottle of high quality bourbon), but I anticipate that this picture will change in a few months.

I have a NEW reason to recommend presoaking with at least some of current films, processed in spiral reel tanks. Check out:

http://www.silvergrain.org/wiki/index.php/Presoak