Dektol in a hurry: A trial of express film processing

New trial done, this time using Dektol 1+1 during 60 seconds. There are some changes: First, HP5+ was exposed to ISO 400 instead to ISO 800; second, "Chocolate" Dektol was dump and I bought a new bag with the normal apperance just for my peace of mind.

Seeing again a fully developed negative was not the surprise of the first time but still something remarkable. The base fog has decreased considerably, it is not only lower than with Dektol stock but also lower than with D76 stock. A pretty a good start.





Now some random fruits of my work during a brief visit to Madrid. Again with Nikon Super Coolscan 8000 ED and Vuescan at 4000 dpi rescaled to web. Click on the image to go for higher resolution (1500 pixels wide side). Somehow I can't insert a bigger picture in the first two so follow the link.

The grain is much finer compared to Dektol stock, also tonality and gradation is nicer and not so contrasty. It is still not a compensating developer and neither good for pushing, so not to best choice for high contrast situations or underexposure. It does a pretty good job with medium contrast situations to the point that I really like this combination.

Next stop: Foma 400 and Dektol 1+1 for 60 seconds.

@halfaman Looks pretty decent, at least on my phone's screen...

Here I go again in my quest of express processing, this time with Fomapan 400 as promised. At ISO 400 seems a bit underdeveloped but perfectly usable, at ISO 200 it looks simply splendid with vey fine grain (finer than HP5+), good overall contrast and very nice tones.

Some examples with same parameters. Dektol 1+1 for 60 seconds, scanned with Nikon Super Coolscan 8000 ED and Vuescan at 4000 dpi rescaled to web. Click on the image to go for higher resolution (1200-1500 pixels wide side). Just one curious remark: I used C41RA fixer on ISO 400 roll for 1.5 minutes, so total processing time of this roll was 4 minutes (1 minute of prewashing, 1 minute of development, 15 seconds of stop, 15 seconds of washing, 1.5 minutes of fixing).

At ISO 400:

At ISO 200:

Next stop: Kentmere 400

Looks like we can delete about a million gigs of stuff here from past threads on all these crazy developer dilutions, formulations, etc. Just grab the Dektol for the film and then head to the darkroom, provided you would put your enlarging paper in that brown soup. I wouldn't.

Now the op is ready to try D76 as one shot using a tablespoon for each 300ml to get a stock solution deal. I've read the posts here and on flickr and it looks definitely doable. Naysayers say it won't work but it sure looks like it will.

I happen to have an unopened package of D76 (which essentially should have a Use-Before-Date of year 3000) and a roll of Delta 100 that's been sitting around for a few months. The one roll I developed in F76 Plus was just gorgeous, so hoping for the same outcome w/ the New D76 One Shot®©™, etc, etc.

halfaman said:

Here I go again in my quest of express processing, this time with Fomapan 400 as promised. At ISO 400 seems a bit underdeveloped but perfectly usable, at ISO 200 it looks simply splendid with vey fine grain (finer than HP5+), good overall contrast and very nice tones.

Some examples with same parameters. Dektol 1+1 for 60 seconds, scanned with Nikon Super Coolscan 8000 ED and Vuescan at 4000 dpi rescaled to web. Click on the image to go for higher resolution (1200-1500 pixels wide side). Just one curious remark: I used C41RA fixer on ISO 400 roll for 1.5 minutes, so total processing time of this roll was 4 minutes (1 minute of prewashing, 1 minute of development, 15 seconds of stop, 15 seconds of washing, 1.5 minutes of fixing).

At ISO 400:

At ISO 200:

Next stop: Kentmere 400

Click to expand...

Thanks this very interesting thread! I’ve used print developer as the basis for a first developer in reversal processing but had not thought to use it as an express developer. Results look pretty ok for the latest tests.