Developers choices

[TareqPhoto]

hi tareq --

while i don't think there is anything wrong with using a different film developer for different situations
sometimes it is best to use 1 all around basic developer, like xtol, id 11, or d76 or a very basic developer like d23 ( 3 ingredients ) and one film ...
generally speaking, it will give you a better foundation / understanding of shooting and developing.
i wouldn't rely on a lab, the people there don't know what you want your film to look like, and you don't know how consistent their
processing is, or if they batch their films ( put a bunch of different asa's together that are "close enough" ...
most commercial labs batch their processing because they don't want to run the machine 2 or 3 or 4 different times )
... so your film may be over or under developed.

one of the biggest mistakes i always read about
is people using 5 or 6 different films and a handful of different developers
and getting upset because nothing ends up like they were told / it was suggested .

good luck !

john

ps. since it is really hot where you are, you might look into a "tropical developer"
that can withstand heat, and give you developing times longer than 5 minutes.

And where i can find that developer

In all cases, i store all the chemicals in my room cupboard where the temp is not so high, and my room AC is strong enough to keep the temp low even i turn it off most of the time.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Tareq, there's a great range of tones there

Like you I have no option this time of year so process at 24°C, going up to 26°C in the next month or so. The important thing is to keep all steps as close as possible including the washing.

Great image.

Ian

Ian, thank you very much!

Here are the best so far i've got out of one roll i did 3 days ago

I tend to develop at night time where i sometimes can get water temp at 20-25C, at day time i think the lowest is 25C, so i develop at night time when the temp is cooled down everywhere [36-40C at night here]

Tareq

 

[TareqPhoto]

keep a bottle of water in the cooler

i live in portugal and in the summer i get 24-27 ºc in the tap, i ad cool water to keep my developer at 20ºc, i find that negatives developed in higher temperatures tend to be a tad grainier, especially in low dilutions like rodinal 1+25.

I do that sometimes, and it worked, and i agree that higher temp can make the results grainer, but i don't have any choice that using warm water at about 24C sometimes, but i will try to keep some cold water around to use it in dilutions when possible.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Yes, Para Amino Phenol tends to get gainier on higher temperatures hence the best Rodinal temperature is 16-20C. But when doing this you will introduce a temperature gradient which is less consistent.

So the topic of this thread is more: How to make the best choice of developer in a very warm climate.
In the Netherlands we have now a temperature of almost 30C which is already high for our country. But the tap water is around 12C so for a longer development I can cool down easily. Further I have the option to postpone a week when the temperature will certainly drop.

Send me water from your country, it is cold enough for my developing

I am waiting the winter here, even we don't have that cold weather as yours at all, but it will be perfect weather for us to shoot more and develop more, hehe

 

[RobertV]

Well I think you need a Jobo TBE-2+ equipped with cryostat instead for warming up with a PT-100.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Exposure will help me to get better details or tonality, it seems i have problem with metering exposure as well the focus, so i don't know how the development will help to solve those anyway.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Well I think you need a Jobo TBE-2+ equipped with cryostat instead for warming up with a PT-100.

I will buy a JOBO CPE-2 later to do color developing, and i can use it for B&W, it will give me more control for temp than usual developing by hand.

 

[RobertV]

Exposure will help me to get better details or tonality, it seems i have problem with metering exposure as well the focus,

Yes, indeed the point of focus is not real sharp. It's almost macro so your DOF is not much. But on one point it should be sharp which is in your first photo but not in the second: Blurr, to slow shutter speed?

But I am not sure what kind of gear you're using and what metering technique. However your couch is very nice compared with mine

 

[TareqPhoto]

Yes, indeed the point of focus is not real sharp. It's almost macro so your DOF is not much. But on one point it should be sharp which is in your first photo but not in the second: Blurr, to slow shutter speed?

But I am not sure what kind of gear you're using and what metering technique. However your couch is very nice compared with mine

Yes, slow shutter speed, but all those shots i posted where using tripod for better steady shots, but it seems either the tripod was not sturdy enough even i used a cable release as well or my focus and shutter speed still not good enough for sharper details, here is the sharpest close-up shot i've did so far

Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, 180mm, TMAX 100 @TMAX dev for 7 min [at 21 or 22C]

This is another camera i use which is what you saw in the shot, so all above shots were from both of those cameras.

 

[RobertV]

M.U. (Mirror Up) is your solution. Shutter speeds in medium format under 1/60S are prone to this phenominae. Also on tripod.

 

[TareqPhoto]

M.U. (Mirror Up) is your solution. Shutter speeds in medium format under 1/60S are prone to this phenominae. Also on tripod.

How can i use Mirror Up in MF?

I will shoot my daughters with adapted son under studio lighting, i will use Ilford Delta 100 this time with Hasselblad, so what i should do before i shoot, and during shooting, and after shooting with developing?

 

[RobertV]

How can i use Mirror Up in MF?

Most MF SLR cameras have the knob M.U. to prevent the vibration of the mirror on slower shutter speeds. Well at least my Mamiya 645 pro has so the Hassy will have it too.

When doing studio lighting (flash) you're using the higher sync time while the flash light is maybe 1/1000S so no problem with any blurr pictures.

Delta 100 (modern crystal type film) I should suggest DD-X. And for fixer time 3x the clearing time due to the fact the Iodide is blocking the fix process earlier.

But maybe time to minimize your type of films about 2. And find a practical B&W developer with it.
In case you want to exercise, you're welcome in Holland. Developing 120 roll film: A piece of cake.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[TareqPhoto]

Most MF SLR cameras have the knob M.U. to prevent the vibration of the mirror on slower shutter speeds. Well at least my Mamiya 645 pro has so the Hassy will have it too.

When doing studio lighting (flash) you're using the higher sync time while the flash light is maybe 1/1000S so no problem with any blurr pictures.

Delta 100 (modern crystal type film) I should suggest DD-X. And for fixer time 3x the clearing time due to the fact the Iodide is blocking the fix process earlier.

But maybe time to minimize your type of films about 2. And find a practical B&W developer with it.
In case you want to exercise, you're welcome in Holland. Developing 120 roll film: A piece of cake.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Aha, i will check that, i don't have a printed manual for my MF film cameras except the Holga, but i downloaded PDF manuals for those cameras, i will read it and see how i can use the M.U.

Yes, minimum SS i use with studio speed is 1/100, but i was shooting all the shots at 1/125, most at f8 but few last frames i think at f11, i did test with my digital camera first and they came amazing, not sure how it will be with B&W.

The problem is that i did use Delta 100 now, exposed already, and i can't wait until i can get DD-X, either i have to use TMAX which is ready now and no much remain for it so i want to finish it, or i have to open one packet of powder with what i have [XTOL, D-76, ID-11, Diafine], but it seems i will try with TMAX now as this is what i use now and it is opened already, and i can shoot with studio lights again later, and it will be a good idea if i shoot Delta 100 now and develop with TMAX, and shoot with Delta 100 and use another developer later in the future under same lighting and then compare both rolls to see what did different developers gave me for same film.

 

[RobertV]

Tmax developer will be fine for Delta too.

I think you have to make a selection of less films and less developers to keep everything on track. Also good to make some notes so that you have a record what you've done.

Sucess!

 

[TareqPhoto]

Tmax developer will be fine for Delta too.

I think you have to make a selection of less films and less developers to keep everything on track. Also good to make some notes so that you have a record what you've done.

Sucess!

Sure, in fact i don't want to use many different films as well, i will limit myself to 2 or 3 so far such us Tri-X, Delta 100, Acros or HP5+, those are my favorite film even i didn't shoot with all of them yet, did with Delta and HP5+ once each.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Developed the Delta 100, now just waiting until the wash is finished and apply Photo Flo then see how it is after drying.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Ah, the anticipation of waiting for film to dry... Have fun!

Developed the Delta 100, now just waiting until the wash is finished and apply Photo Flo then see how it is after drying.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Ah, the anticipation of waiting for film to dry... Have fun!

The waiting is over, and i wish if i didn't develop the film, did a big mistake in my developing life!!!

 

[TareqPhoto]

Good to learn, Delta 100 with TMAX dev is not match fine, didn't like the results, so contrasty, and the worse is that i did manipulate digitally and it became wonderful, so now i know that Delta film with TMAX developer don't match as combo for better results.
Thanks again!

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Technique is important. You can not judge from one roll if Delta 100 and TMax developer is a good combination or not.
If you have too much contrast in your negatives, you need to develop the film for a shorter period of time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalak/4439443114/
A photo with Delta 100 developed in TMAX developer that looks like a combination of perfect exposure and development.

Good to learn, Delta 100 with TMAX dev is not match fine, didn't like the results, so contrasty, and the worse is that i did manipulate digitally and it became wonderful, so now i know that Delta film with TMAX developer don't match as combo for better results.
Thanks again!

 

[TareqPhoto]

Technique is important. You can not judge from one roll if Delta 100 and TMax developer is a good combination or not.
If you have too much contrast in your negatives, you need to develop the film for a shorter period of time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalak/4439443114/
A photo with Delta 100 developed in TMAX developer that looks like a combination of perfect exposure and development.

I can't open that flickr website.
I know, but i developed to the desire time with the temp checked, so it means i have something wrong there.

 

[TareqPhoto]

Well, i think i must get a tool to do prints, without that i can never tell if my negs are good enough or not, and it seems scanning here is not a good idea to know about it for you, so can someone send me something to do printing? Or i have to wait i dunno how long until i can get something to print, so i should stop developing film now?

 

[Richard Jepsen]

"i can never tell if my negs are good enough or not,"

A good negative prints (scans) easily. Quote from David Vestal.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

1. Don't stop developing film. Just don't draw conclusions that are based on too little fact.
2. Desired time = something you have to figure out. Manufacturers will tell you a certain development time that works according to how they expose film - in a laboratory, a highly controlled environment.
You are in the real world with a light meter that is different from theirs, a camera that is different from theirs, and lighting conditions that is different from theirs. So it is not likely that your desired development time is the same as theirs. It is meant to be a starting point.
3. It is a fact that if you have too much contrast in your negative, you developed it for too long. Just develop it less time next roll you shoot. This is a mechanism you will learn to judge as you gain more experience.

Don't be discouraged by a failure. Learn from it.

I can't open that flickr website.
I know, but i developed to the desire time with the temp checked, so it means i have something wrong there.

 

[TareqPhoto]

"i can never tell if my negs are good enough or not,"

A good negative prints (scans) easily. Quote from David Vestal.

And how that is supposed to help me?!!!