Delta 100 in DDX 1+4 Tray Method Film Test

Following on from my 2012-2013 film tests of Delta 100 using the CombiPlan tank, I would like to share my newest results for which I have developed the film using the manual agitation method in metal trays, which I have learned from Alan Ross. I like this method, because it allows me to do 10–12 sheets at a time, and I can mix different dev times in one batch. It is also much less hassle than I expected, and I do not mind working in total darkness.

At 68F/20C using 4x5" Delta 100 and Ilford Ilfotec DDX 1+4 I have found the following times to be appropriate for my workflow: N=6.5 min, N-1=5 min, N+1=9 min, N+2=12.5 min. I still rate the film at EI 100, but I am going to retest that at some stage, although I feel I know this film well now, as I have been using it 99% of the time for some 5 years. These times are about 1 min shorter than the intermittent agitation times I calculated in the past, which a few of you seemed to have concurred with. However, they are still miles off the "official" dev time of 12 min suggested by Ilford and Massive Dev Chart—12 min is almost N+2 in my experience...

I attach the HD curves for this test and the development time chart, as well as the PDF showing the procedure (also available here as HTML) and the code in R that you can run on your own if you would like to plug your data into it (everything is free, including R). For that reason, I have also uploaded all the code to GitHub, including my sample data, and a walk-through in the form of an R Markdown document. These plots have been generated by this code for this film test:





I have already thanked a few of you, in the code and online, but once again, many thanks to @Bill Burk @ic-racer @dpgoldenberg @Rudeofus and @Stephen Benskin for assistance, not to mention @RalphLambrecht whose "Way Beyond Monochrome" 2nd ed inspired it a few years ago. If anyone wishes to amend my script, you are very welcome to do that on GitHub, just fork me and PR.

PS. If anyone wants to get rid of their (working) EG&G sensitometer, I would be glad to take it off your hands.

Michael, I have asked Alan if he would be willing to share a short video of his technique, I hope he writes something more detailed. I can try to describe my interpretation of his technique in the meantime. It is easy if you happen to have trays that are well-sized for the size of the film, as that prevents the sheets from hitting each other by forcing them to stay aligned. I use "chafing table" commercial stainless steel trays, like the ones you can find in food court buffets, but smaller, taking 1 litre of solution. The are about 13.5 x 24cm, which is 5.25 x 9.5" with a gentle slope that reduces these dimensions by about 1.5 cm towards the bottom. This means 4x5" sheets go best lengthwise. They keep temperature stable when placed in a tempering water bath. Best of all, they cost about €3 each, and were recommended by Alan.

Hold the film sheets, fanned out, in your dry hand. With your other, wet hand, one at a time, place sheets emulsion down into a pre-soak water bath. Then you slide out the bottom sheet with your fingertips and you place it on top of the stack, and gently press down with your thumb, submerging it. The shape of the tray helps prevent the corners from digging into the bottom sheet, while keeping them all aligned. When I tried this in the past using traditional 8x10 paper trays the sheets would all twist and swirl and I caused more damage than good. Risk was not worth it while CombiPlan worked. However, these steel trays are much better than the regular trays, and I can agitate the sheets at approx 7 sheets per 10 seconds, which is pretty rapid—hence the evenness of development.

Agitation is constant, so film keeps moving all the time. This is very similar to the way I have learned to agitate my prints in the developer, a technique I picked up from John Sexton back in 2011.

Following the 2 minute agitation in the pre-soak sheets are moved, one-at-a-time, into the developer, where the procedure repeats. If you want to have different development times, you can stack the sheets in the pre-soak so that the ones requiring longest time are at the bottom. You transfer them first, start the process and countdown clock, then you add the further ones from the bottom of the pre-soak. This will cut down on tiny and inefficient "stack end-runs" I used to have to do with CombiPlan. Having said that, I have been using my CombiPlans for some 17 years, so I am sure I will miss it a bit while this method becomes my new second nature.

I will try to get a photo of the trays and the technique, and if Alan posts anything I will link to it.