BW Reversal developer suggestion

1
I know nothing about developers, but have heard terms "compensating" used, which could be something I want (?).

2
A couple of years ago I set myself on a mission of sorts - to reverse all BW film I can come across in search for understanding and mastering of the process. With time it got altered somewhat: I have limited myself to stock that gives best results projected: namely emulsions on clear base. Currently I'm going through the last films on my list to reverse and fine-tune in Ilford PQ Universal - a paper developer called for in Ilford Reversal Processing guide, and it got me thinking about taming contrast, extending shadow and highlight detail, and saving some money as PQ Universal now costs a rather ridiculous 15-20EUR per 1 liter which is good for 12 films (24 if reused once).

So the question is - do you have a solid recommendation of a developer that'd allow me to keep highlights and enhance details in shadows? I was thinking on using this on those slow, high-contrast films like Adox HR-50. Sharpness is critical too as I'm dealing with 60x magnification during projection. Is there anything compatible out there that matches these requests?

Hello and thanks for putting smile on my face

Tsubasa said:

because changing the developer (which is the most critical step of the entire process I feel) puts you far from the driver's seat and you're sorta forced to start all the trials from scratch (not really but you get the idea).

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You're right - it is the most critical step in reversal! But I've thought about it somewhat and have come to a conclusion that this just doesn't scare me and is a rather cool challenge:
- I write everything down and can return to a working PQ Universal reversal in an instant;
- Reversal of unknown film in PQ Universal requires the same degree of trial-and-error as using another developer I'd imagine. You just develop 1/4th of the 135/36 film and move on from there: adding silver solvent if highlights didn't clear, adjusting time if under/over developed, altering agitation frequency to have an effect on contrast: constant agitation increases contrast; stand development reduces it to oblivion - just to illustrate the point.
- Mastering another developer would give me a solid ground to stand on. There's a reason many different developers are out there and I'm just curious which one I could try.


Don't worry, I'm not planning on switching, just extending

EDIT:
Didn't know DR5 is not around anymore. Can't say I miss the attitude and hard absurdities he's seemingly put out on the web over the years.
If a "pro" lab cannot do something I as a complete beginner can with no understanding of developers - I call their professionalism smelling a tad of bullshit to be disproved with action and examples. If I've managed to do so, I'm super glad! Although I feel that I have still a LONG way to go.

It'd be super nice to see their bespoken recipe/process published. Although I assume it'll never happen.

@Ivo Stunga from your Flickr feed it seems like you're doing pretty great with the films I see. Do you already know that Scala 50/HR-50, etc don't work well in your current setup?

On my site you can find copies of three earlier protocols for reversal, including the first developers they used.

• Kodak's J-6 Reversal
• Hans Dietrich's T-Max reversal process
• Jens Osbahr's reversal process

Hope it helps

You can save money if you can source the chemicals to mix your own developer. Below is the formula for ID62 from @Ian Grant's website. But you can vary the proportions of the ingredients to get different results. You could lower the contrast of this developer, for instance, by lowering the amount of Sodium carbonate and hydroquinone (will also extend development time). Mixing your own allows you to fine tune something to your needs.

ID-62 Ilford "Universal" PQ Developer

Phenidone	0.5 g
Sodium Sulphite (anh)	50 g
Hydroquinone	12 g
Sodium Carbonate (anh)	60 g
Potassium Bromide	2 g
Benzotriazole 1% soln	20 ml
Water to	1 litre

relistan said:

Do you already know that Scala 50/HR-50, etc don't work well in your current setup?

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Thanks and no, I did not know and could you elaborate? What exactly doesn't work well? I have processed both and have examples for your evaluation - so you tell me
Scala 50 and HR-50

Don Heisz said:

You can save money if you can source the chemicals to mix your own developer. Below is the formula for ID62 from @Ian Grant's website. But you can vary the proportions of the ingredients to get different results. You could lower the contrast of this developer, for instance, by lowering the amount of Sodium carbonate and hydroquinone (will also extend development time). Mixing your own allows you to fine tune something to your needs.

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Oooh, this actually seems like the first thing in order - to make my own PQ Universal and play around with something I'm already familiar with!

Ivo Stunga said:

Thanks and no, I did not know and could you elaborate? What exactly doesn't work well? I have processed both and have examples for your evaluation - so you tell me
Scala 50 and HR-50

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I think you misunderstand, this was actually a question for you. I was asking if you had a theoretical problem or an actual one. It sounds like you don’t have either. So I would just continue using the formula you have.

relistan said:

I think you misunderstand, this was actually a question for you.

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Seemed like a statement to me, my bad in that case.
If the question was: "Is film X known to me as incompatible with Ilford Reversal before I touch it?", then no and I don't even care about what the WEB or even recipe says works well or not. All I care about is experiment and seeing where it leads me. So a blank slate approach.

Hope I got it right this time.