Best Developer for New TMAX 400

jeroldharter · Oct 19, 2009

peberg said:
Other than X-tol, which I can't use because it only comes in 1 gallon packets...

Not to be difficult, but what is problematic about that? I mix Xtol and then store it in multiple small bottles and it keeps well. Reasonably priced. Xtol is hard to beat as a single developer for expansion and contraction with TMY2.

ajuk · Oct 19, 2009

Does XTOL increase a films true speed like Microphen supposedly does?

fschifano · Oct 19, 2009

ajuk said:
Does XTOL increase a films true speed like Microphen supposedly does?

Maybe, sometimes, and then only slightly. Figure maybe 1/3 stop more speed in the deepest shadow areas, and not more. It's not enough to cause any concern, and sometimes just enough to open the shadows a bit.

Carter john · Oct 20, 2009

tom_bw said:
Just out of curiosity - what is the function of Borax?
Thanks!

I let the Borax stand for 3 minutes. I guess that it allows continued development but exhausts the highlights to tame them. I was having a problem with no shoulder highlights and TMY-2. I tried this recommended by Barry Thornton and I like the results so I keep doing it.

Peter Schrager · Oct 20, 2009

everyone keeps posting the combos but NOT the times or temps....let's share! and save me some time!
Best, Peter

mono · Oct 20, 2009

SPUR HRX III
http://www.aphog.de/downloads/Spur/Presse-HRX-3-engl.pdf
Very good combination!
I like it!

Venchka · Oct 20, 2009

I wonder why?

peberg said:
Other than X-tol, which I can't use because it only comes in 1 gallon packets, what do people think is the best developer and time and temperature combinations for new TMAX 400? I have been using TMAX developer 1+4 and find the results ok, but nothing great. Anbody had good results with Rodinal? Any other suggestions?

Strange. The bags actually make 5 liters. I suppose that would be even more difficult.

I like Xtol 1:3, continuous agitation, 12:30 at 21C.

A friend likes Diafine 1:1, continuous agititaion, room temperature.

Stay tuned for my opinion of Rodinal and Xtol+Rodinal.

Venchka · Oct 20, 2009

Peter Schrager said:
everyone keeps posting the combos but NOT the times or temps....let's share! and save me some time!
Best, Peter

Personal experimentation yields the most satisfying personal results.

I go by what Kodak says to start. Vary to taste. Works for me.

MikeSeb · Oct 20, 2009

Peter Schrager said:
everyone keeps posting the combos but NOT the times or temps....let's share! and save me some time!
Best, Peter

Peter, there's little point in posting times or temps, because, as has been pointed out here many times:

any time other than the one you come up with, via testing, for your "system" of exposure, development, and printing is simply a point of departure;

suggested times can be looked up from various sources online, starting with the film and developer manufacturers;

no time anyone here could suggest to you will be any more useful as a starting point for experimentation than anything already out there on the web, so why reinvent the wheel?

fschifano · Oct 20, 2009

Go with what Kodak recommends. Read the datasheet here and use that as a starting point. If that doesn't work, it's almost a lead pipe cinch that something else is wrong. Kodak's recommendations for their products are usually spot on for me.

Ronald Moravec · Oct 20, 2009

D76 1:1 is superb. T Max will probably give a neg with more punch, but that is not what I look for. I want a neg that reproduces a grey scale that looks like the original. D76 does it for me and normal subjects are as my eye sees them. Nice fine grain, sharp, best 400 speed film yet.

tkamiya · Oct 20, 2009

Just a thought....

Yes, XTOL does come in 5 liter packet, but we are only talking about 10 dollars and the solution does last 6 months. I'm using it fully knowing I will never use up all of it before they expire. To compare, D76 1 liter package costs 4 dollars and 1 gallon package costs 6 dollars. Even IF 1 liter packet of XTOL existed, the saving wouldn't have been that great.

Perhaps, if you like what it does, you should use it anyway?

erikg · Oct 21, 2009

If you like xtol and you want to be thrifty, mix up some PC-TEA. Keeps very well.

Tom Kershaw · Oct 21, 2009

I'm not sure about the situation in the US, but here in the UK a 5 litre packing of Kodak XTOL is cheaper than the raw compounds to make 5 litres of Mytol stock solution.

Tom

fschifano · Oct 21, 2009

You're right about that. Cheaper to buy a 5L package of XTOL than it is to buy the individual components and make it yourself in the US too. Add the convenience of having everything in one place, and the consistency you get from modern manufacturing processes, and it's a no-brainer.

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 21, 2009

With Xtol, in replenished fashion, I can process 50 to 70 rolls of film with one 5L packet. That's about 20 cents per roll in chemistry if you pay $10 for it at Freestyle like I normally do.

It's cheap, gives fantastic results, and hasn't failed me once in eight months. So far I've probably processed somewhere around 120 rolls with that particular developer.

- Thomas

Scott Murphy · Mar 17, 2020

I have had great success with T-Max 100 using D-76 1:1 @ 68º F. It retains the details in the deepest shadows and does not block the highest highlights. The grain is more than tight enough for up to 20x24 without really even being noticeable.

Christiaan Phleger · Mar 17, 2020

Yes way back when Tmax first was introduced many photographers including myself had issues with highlights blocking up and too much localized contrast. I switched to using D-76 1:1 and I found it to work very well and it allowed me to figure out how Tmax films were different that what we were using at the time. Although I mostly use other combinations I recentlymixed up a batch of D-76 to process some well expired Panatomic-X in and I did a few rolls of the newer TMY-400-2 at 1:1 and again I marveled at how well this combination is.

Best Developer for New TMAX 400

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