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Delta 400 xtol

weasel

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Im getting ready to try some delta 400 in repleneshed xtol. Any particular advice?
 
Well, Delta 400 can be a little flat in its inherent tonality, and Xtol is also best in situations of high contrast where light hits the subject directly. I would say your combination will be best in normal to high contrast situations. In low contrast situations I would shoot at EI 400 and develop longer.
 
Personally I have found XTOL at 1+1 dilution to give full speed (400) with Delta 400 and with HP5+. I haven't tried replenishment and probably won't since 1+1 gives me good results and I don't have to keep up with the replenishment routine.
 
You will be very happy that you used replenished XTOL. The more that you use replenished XTOL, the better it will get. I have kept a batch running for over two years.
 
read the kodak XTol data sheet thoroughly before you begin. And then read it again.
 
I love it too

Sirius Glass said:
You will be very happy that you used replenished XTOL. The more that you use replenished XTOL, the better it will get. I have kept a batch running for over two years.
Click to expand...

Do you use 70ml per 80sq" of material? Also, since the developer is also the replenisher, you theoretically can't over replenish right?
 
Mainecoonmaniac said:
Do you use 70ml per 80sq" of material? Also, since the developer is also the replenisher, you theoretically can't over replenish right?
Click to expand...

I think the name of the game is to keep the level of "seasoning" as constant as possible. That means using the test strips to see if it is high or low and replenishing with only as much as needed to get it back to normal. Theory is you will soon learn that 1 roll of film requires x amount of replenshing and that 2 rolls requires x amount etc. If you don't do that, there will be a variation in development activity from replenishemnt to replenishment.
 
Mainecoonmaniac said:
Do you use 70ml per 80sq" of material? Also, since the developer is also the replenisher, you theoretically can't over replenish right?
Click to expand...

True but you would be just wasting the stock solution and reducing the level of "seasoning".
 
Sirius Glass said:
You will be very happy that you used replenished XTOL. The more that you use replenished XTOL, the better it will get. I have kept a batch running for over two years.
Click to expand...

hi Sirius
Im also on Delta 400 and Xtol, diluted 1+1 or stock, the result is fine IMO. Could you explain what is better when using it replenished? I would consider changing my procedure if there is really something to gain
thanks
peter
 
Replenished XTOL has finer grain and smoother tonality than either stock or diluted XTOL. It is also the most cost effective use of XTOL, not that cost is high for XTOL.
 
I actually prefer the workflow that using a replenishment system permits.

No concerns about tank size, and always working at ambient room temperature are really attractive features.
 
MattKing said:
I actually prefer the workflow that using a replenishment system permits.

No concerns about tank size, and always working at ambient room temperature are really attractive features.
Click to expand...

I'm getting interested and thanks for your posts.
does that mean you don't measure temperature? Do you use same dev time whether 20 or 24 degres (celcius)?
peter
 
phelger said:
I'm getting interested and thanks for your posts.
does that mean you don't measure temperature? Do you use same dev time whether 20 or 24 degres (celcius)?
peter
Click to expand...

With replenished XTOL you use the Kodak tables for replenished XTOL, film and temperature.
 
What Sirius said.

Although in my case, I use a Kodak Darkroom Dataguide turned to the Development Computer dial page.

I measure the temperature of the developer - which will be at the ambient temperature. My fixer will already be at that temperature. All I need to do is match my mixing water temperature for the stop bath and washaid, as well as my wash water temperature to that ambient temperature. If I have time, I can do that by just filling a largish container and have that come to room temperature.

I set the development number I've arrived at opposite that temperature on the dial, and read out the necessary development time.

The development number is the one I have arrived at through experience with the film and developer combination. It is close to the recommended number (as extrapolated from published instructions) but isn't necessarily the exact same one.

This is much harder to explain than to do.
 
Thomas Bertilsson said:
The Xtol data sheet has time/temp compensation.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j109/j109.pdf
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B+W photographers will do anything except follow the manufacturers instructions. They think there is a magic formula for doing things which is different from what the manufacturer says. Eventually they sucumb and do it properly.

As Churchill said about the Americans, "You can rely on the Americans to do the right thing, but not until they have exhausted all the other possibilities".
 

Oh yeah
 
FWIW, the Development Computer Dial in the Kodak Dataguide does use the manufacturer's instructions - once you set it to the right starting point (using the published tables).

In fact, when the Dataguides were each first published, they included the then current manufacturer's instructions. Best now to rely on the Kodak website for the starting point, because films have changed (and some have disappeared).

And for clarity, use the XTol stock numbers, not the XTol diluted 1:1 numbers.
 

They will also go on line and cry mouth that product X does not work when they ignore the instructions.

Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.H. L. Mencken
US editor (1880 - 1956)
Click to expand...
 
I discovered yesterday how robust a working solution of replenished Xtol is. I currently have a half gallon of working solution that was was started in February 2014. It is stored in a glass bottle and was filled to the top leaving no air space. The last time it had film run through it was September 2014. Since that time it sat unused and it received no "top up" replenishment during its dormant period.

Not wanting to lose any of the 7 rolls of TMY-2 I was going to develop yesterday I ran a test roll. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the test roll was perfect. I was also quite pleased to see that the development times for the test roll and the TMY-2 still matched the my established development times indicating no loss in activity of the working solution.
 
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