I would like to add another response to no one in particular.
My initial question was about whether "film contrast" is arbitrary.
The thread initially is about contrast, but later moves to film stocks.
I respond to one of the comments about film stock and say I have Fomapan 400 and plan to develop it with D76.
The response I get is that D76 is fine but I might want to try D23. Then another member agrees that Foma 400 can indeed look great in D23. I reason that these people know far more than I do, so I take the advice seriously. I look into D23 and decide to give it a try.
Then another member says that, with the stuff I have at home, I could make this thing called POTA and says some interesting things about it.
Then another member recommends that I buy what I need to make D-76 and MyTol at home.
Eventually I catch up with the POTA comment. I reason that this person knows far more than I do. I look into POTA. Decide it's too specialized. I politely reply that I looked into it, made some notes, but will not explore it at this time.
Then the guy who recommended that I make MyTol at home urges me to stop getting seduced by exotic developers and at-home photo chemistry.
Looking back, it's actually kinda funny.
One significant difference between our experiences and the experiences of @dcy is that the early learning for many/most of us was mostly hands on, often aided by in person contact with experienced mentors and teachers. It really helped to be able to get one-to-one feedback.
I respond to one of the comments about film stock and say I have Fomapan 400 and plan to develop it with D76.
Looking back, it's actually kinda funny.
I would like to add another response to no one in particular.
My initial question was about whether "film contrast" is arbitrary.
The thread initially is about contrast, but later moves to film stocks.
I respond to one of the comments about film stock and say I have Fomapan 400 and plan to develop it with D76.
The response I get is that D76 is fine but I might want to try D23. Then another member agrees that Foma 400 can indeed look great in D23. I reason that these people know far more than I do, so I take the advice seriously. I look into D23 and decide to give it a try.
Then another member says that, with the stuff I have at home, I could make this thing called POTA and says some interesting things about it.
Then another member recommends that I buy what I need to make D-76 and MyTol at home.
Eventually I catch up with the POTA comment. I reason that this person knows far more than I do. I look into POTA. Decide it's too specialized. I politely reply that I looked into it, made some notes, but will not explore it at this time.
Then the guy who recommended that I make MyTol at home urges me to stop getting seduced by exotic developers and at-home photo chemistry.
Looking back, it's actually kinda funny.
Yes, I think that is a big difference between those of use who learned before the internet and before digital. I learned in highschool yearbook club, we took a lot of photos and developed a lot of film with an experienced teacher to guide us.
Back then, there was also local Kodak (and Ilford) reps who would occasionally take new photographers "under their wing", so to speak and provide tips and guidance. Kodak also published a lot of guidebooks for all skill levels, these contained much useful information and unfortunately seem mostly forgotten now.
Back then, Kodak was interested in providing accurate information to help people use their products successfully and build lifelong relationships with their customers. Unfortunately, that seems to have been replaced by youtube "content creators" who are only interested in clicks.
This is the
This is the famous rabbit hole. there are hundred of developers, all have uses, all have disburses, and the final result is like you said is subjective. At this point stick with D76 as a developer to which all others you can judge against. Balance of grain, contrast, film speed and shelf life. D23 as your fine grain developer, Rodinal as your edge effect developer. Rodnal for low speed films such as Pan F, D76 for general propose such as Foma 100, D 23 for high speed film like Foma 400 or Trix. Then if you shoot a T grain film add a T grain developer such as DDX or Tmax developer. Once you have feet wet and can compare use what you like.
What I meant was that all the Kodak information was good; it was tried and tested and vetted by their scientists and engineers who knew what they were talking about.I think blaming content creators is a bit of a broad brush. Some are really instructive, some are bozos.
Paul, that's one approach...working w 4 developers. But many pro labs as an example doing top notch work for hardworking professionals successfully use one developer....so do many photographers. Be that as it may..... is the OP going down the rabbit hole of comparing developers? How's he going to do that? Or is he simply trying to arrive at acceptable print quality? ....then we arrive at the next rabbit hole... how is he metering, then programmes & scanners or enlargers and variable contrast papers....
The advantage of developing our own film is the choices that are open to us depending on our individual needs. I agree that large labs do excellent work, and most use just one developer, but given a choice and what is acceptable to one is not acceptable to others. I shoot several films, ultra fast, fast, medium and slow and use a couple of different developers that meet my needs. Others shoot just film, use just one developer and get the results that she/he desires. Only by comparing can OP figure out is best for him. But once he finds what he likes he should stick with it.
I shoot several films, ultra fast, fast, medium and slow and use a couple of different developers that meet my needs. Others shoot just film, use just one developer and get the results that she/he desires. Only by comparing can OP figure out is best for him. But once he finds what he likes he should stick with it.
I could never settle on one film + developer. Just don't have the personality for that. For me, experimentation will probably always be at least as important as the final result. I will have to find a balance where I have enough variety to stay engaged, but few enough variables that I can actually learn and improve.
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