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Developers for Ilford films

TareqPhoto

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Ajman - UAE
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Hey all,

I know this question maybe has been asked many times here or another place, but i will ask it again in my own need/look for.

I would like to know, which Ilford developer do you recommend for Ilford films?

I used Ilfosol 3 only and it was doing good job for Pan F+ and Delta 100, and even Delta 400 & HP5+, but i read that it is recommended for slow films, so i will not use this develop again, and until it run out i will use it with slow film only such as PanF+ and FP4, but what other develop can be good enough for medium and fast Ilford films? i have ID-11 which is same as D-76, i will use it later for sure, but is it the one you will recommend for Ilford films all or you can choose something else?
I wish to afford Rodinal but this is not possible due to some reasons, D-76 and XTOL doing very nice great jobs, but i keep those Kodak Developers for Kodak and non Ilford films only and even those run out and i have to buy them again, so i keep my options open, not always i may afford or order Kodak Developers, so at least i want to see what Ilford offers us with their developers, any recommendation?

I know you will say that any developer can do the job, i agree, many will tell me that it depends on what i want, let's say higher sharpness [grain is not a big issue for me], others will say it is by agitation, ok, if i fixed the agitation for all developers will i get same result for same one film and same number of agitation with different developers? and which will give the sharpest result? in all cases, i just finalize my kodak developer with D-76 and XTOL, Ilford developers i know about Ilfosol 3, it is nice but it is mostly better for slow films so i will dump it and choose something else, say ID-11 is one option, what will be another option? i will use D-76 and XTOL all the time for sure and i like all the results from different developers, and the story about consistency result is not a big dal for me, as long all giving me great results so far, and because i just scan now until i start to print then all developers can be consistent, and still i want to find an option for Ilford films rather than Kodak developers.
 
I have processed film for over 30 years...in that time I have used many different developers and film combinations..

Many years ago my results were inconsistant - some films were great, some not so great....I was totally lost, as I was following manufacturers instructions and using recommended developers....

Then someone who was much older and wiser than I was advised me that for the best results I needed to settle on one developer, and learn to get the best from it...I did, and all my negatives, regardless of film brand, improved.....

It doesn't matter if a developer is "recommended" for slow or fast films - if it gives you the results you want then keep using it!

The man who told me this had been a photographer since the 1950's - he used Microphen (an Ilford speed increasing developer) for all his films - his results from Pan F were stunning - and his grain was no worse than mine (I use Ilford LC29 or DDX)
 
If you really want to use Ilford devs, DD-X is an excellent all round developer. I now use ID-11 more often because it is more economical in Australia.

Ian
 
In fact i was thinking about either DD-X or Microphen as my option of Ilford developer, ordering Microphen is a bit easier because it is coming as a powder pack, DD-X is liquid so it may has some shipping regulations for me.
 
Any b/w developer (and even one that is not designed as a b/w developer, such as coffee or C-41 developer) works with any b/w film. I'd use the one/s that you like best, after considering all of the things that make up your definition of what you like best.
 

I know that, so from Kodak i decided on D-76 and XTOL, i used TMAX and it was great, and i know i can use something else like HC-110, but i better stay with 1 or 2 developer from this manufacturer, so D-76 and XTOL are my choice and they are very nice and doing the job, i just now in the testing level or process before i finalize things, now i tested Ilfosol 3 and i can say it was good, i can't remember but if i was using it for Delta 3200 before then i didn't get what i want so it could be me or the developer, but from what i read and hear here and there, it seems that Ilfosol is not preferable for many and they will go with another Ilford developer, i have ID-11 which i didn't use it yet [soon i will use it when i run out my Ilfosol 3] and i am sure it will be a great one because it is in same class as D-76, so i was thinking for another Ilford developer to be in XTOL class then, after i do that and see the results then i will narrow my options to 4, then after that i have to choose one or 2 out of the 4, i can't say i will use only D-76 only forever even it is the one i can use always, also i like XTOL from what i read about this developer from data sheet and from people here, it will need time as i have to test them to see which one will give me what i want exactly, if i didn't test one i will never know if it is the one i need or not, all of you say that D-76 is a standard, maybe it is doing great job for me, but who knows, maybe XTOL will be greater, so if i will not test XTOL i will never know if it is better than D-76 for what i want or not, and i put this question here to ask about Ilford developers not Kodak as i am already decided which Kodak developers i need and sure will use it all the time [but i keep my door open for more options just in case if i can't afford one and i can find the other].
 
I use XTOL now for all my Ilford film (I shoot predominantly HP5, but some FP4). Fine grain, good tonal range. Pushes exceptionally well with HP5 to at least 1600 ASA. It's really cheap (£5.49 for 5L or 30+ films at 1:1 dilution). I much prefer it to Ilfosol or the old Paterson devs. DD-X I also excellent, but much more expensive.

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk
 

Why you prefer XTOL over Ilfosol? How did you know that DD-X is excellent [regardless the price]?
 
iandavid said:
I now use ID-11 more often because it is more economical in Australia.
Click to expand...
After too many years of matching all sorts of developers to all sorts of films, I have finally seen the light and settled on just two : Rodinal and D76. I use D76 because it's more economical in the UK than ID11. I can get D76 for £0.99 a litre versus ID11 for £4.60 a litre.

Rodinal is handy to have because it has the shelf life of uranium, and D76 has been around longer than I have for a good reason. Being a one-pack formula powder it's a piece of cake to make up, a matter of minutes and no mess, and it too has an excellent shelf life at stock concentration.
 

I couldn't afford Rodinal at all online, and locally, only Ilfosol3 is available from Ilford, and TMAX or D-76, i went to that Kodak distributor before about 5 months ago, they had only TMAX and Dektol[for paper], i went to them about 2 weeks ago and they said they have only D-76 and Dektol, so if they have changing film developers then how can i use one developer for consistency? And i can't always afford to get chemicals or developers online, silly i order D-76 even 2 packs for 1G each and the shipping is 5 times of the price of the items? So that i was having more options so whenever i can find or afford a developer i can go for it and i know it will do the job and i am happy with it, from Kodak side i decided on D-76 and XTOL, from Ilford side still i didn't decide anything yet even i put ID-11 as first almost option, sometimes XTOL or D-76 is out of stock online, i don't use many online stores always to buy things, you are lucky because you get the developers and films you need in your country even it is expensive, here we are forced to buy it from online so we don't have opportunity to fix one or 2 developers forever.
 
D-76 and ID-11 are so similar that you can generally use them interchangeably, so I would suggest you concentrate on them (and essentially double the chance that a developer of choice is actually in stock).

Also, being powders, they ship easily, store compactly and will last a long time, in case you have the opportunity to stock up.
 

All of this, and there is an ungodly number of photographers who have experience with them, and an ungodly amount of published information about them. This can really be handy to be able to easily find information about the developer.
 
Cool, still i am using D-76(little amount remained), and Ilfosol 3 [until it is running out] then i will give that ID-11 which i have a try. Almost for FP4, Deltas, HP5, even Pan F i did get great results with TMAX dev and D-76 and Ilfosol, but i tested Delta 3200 once only and the result was not so good for me [i used Ilfosol i think], so i will see which of the developers i used rather than Ilfosol will be a good one for it, D-76 as recommended or XTOL or something else.
 
Liquid developers have the advantage of quick work, simple for getting your whole liquid on the right temperature and when using types of HC-110 or Rodinal you won't have a failed liquid developer too, due to the long life of these developers.

But if shipping is a problem you have to live with the powders: D-76/ID 11 are very reliable developers which can be used with a lot of different type of films. Xtol will give you a little extra speed and a tick finer grain. It's also more environmental friendly but sensitive for metal ions so your tap water is going to be an important factor. When using demi- or destilled water you can be sure it will live over 6 months stock.

With over 40 years experiences in film development I am using the easy go liquid developers. I have them always directly from the factories so with me they are always fresh.
Further for HC-110 or Rodinal it doesn't matter if they are a few years old or not.
 

Good, thank you very much for this information, will keep that in mind!
 
U.A.E. seems to me very hot. Maybe your tap water in the Summer is 30C or even more. So you're running in all types of practical problems.
If I was you, I would standarize on 24C development which you can maybe do with A.C. on, put water in the fridge (4-5C) to mix and for washing according the Ilford method. In this way you will have more consistency save water and can have a perfect result. If you can keep the whole process on 24C incl. the film wash you're also preventing a risk of reticulation.
With HC-110 in B (1+31 or maybe more) you can easily mix the volume of tempered water with a small amount of developer. When having Xtol (1+1) with your room temperature you need a lot of cold water to get in range.

Maybe time for a simple Jobo processor to make the temperature problem easier for you. A CPP-2 with solonoid is worthless for you with 30C tap water. So I would go for a CPE-2 or CPA-2 (with elevator). The last one is also more precise in temperature control and it can do the Expert drums also in case you would go to sheet film in the future.

Here is mine:



Price: A bottle of French wine + a new up to date Jobo elevator.
But I am living in Holland were some people just dump their darkroom equipment in favor of D.

In case you would like to do C-41: 37,8C and just run 3:15 minutes developer. A standard process, the easiest thing to do!

Just do not use high acutance (B&W) developers because due to a faster agitation the parameter is killed. So less suitable in Jobo rotation.
 

I was putting that JOBO Processing machine in my list as i found one website to sell it new [not sure if it is still available as i checked that 2 months ago], i was planning to do color processing as well, and this machine can help for temp control for all B&W and color film processing.

The tap water in summer is hot, but it can go down sometimes depends on the time, at night it can be minimum 20-25C, day time it can be minimum 28-32C, but i have some bottles of water i kept in the fridge to mix with tap water for cooling down the water for processing, it always works fine, and i don't worry about the film processing, i remember during a workshop i've took in last May that we developed film with tap water at temp around 28C and it came out not bad, can't be sure if we can have it better if we used cooler water in 20-24C, but in all cases at home i always making the water to be maximum 22C for my film process, and it is not difficult as i process my film at night time or in the morning before the tap water temp going up, i will develop one film today soon after few hours as it is night here in UAE.

I may think about getting this JOBO Processor next year and start to develop color film even not much as we have a lab which is doing very great job for all films, and i use them for colors always, but i will lower the price of going to lab if i do develop color by myself sometimes, this processor is definitely in my mind.
 
I checked the website, they don't have those JOBO processors anymore, but they have one machine processor which is very very expensive, but from the description it seems it will be the best machine i can get for processing all kind of film up to 4x5 color and B&W, the price is really crazy so i don't know if it will be worthy really, i better go with a used processor then.
 
Well, a CPA-2 is in fact a simple machine. Sometimes you have to refurbish the circulation pumps. Also it's important that the first "rollers" are easy rollers (Leicht Rollers) so that the motor is not used on a high current.
The PT-100 temperature measurement should be free of Calcium and working properly. The most delicate part is the elevator but you can change it for the latest model which is very good. Also the "gear box" has been changed to low friction now.
Also do not start with worn out/bad 2502 spirals. They will load normally very easily. In the smallest tank you can use 270ml in rotation for 2x 135-36 / 2x 120 roll films or 1x 220 roll film. So development is economically. I am using normally 300ml liquid. You also have to take care of the minimum amount of concentrate, depending on each developer. So sometimes I go to 400ml.
Washing the film is very easily in rotation. You need much less water and it's done effectivly using the Ilford washing method.

It's a clean method for film development, especially with the elevator, a simple but important acessoiry. Further you need a simple clock or process timer. In this way you will not make any mistakes in the processing of films. And always mark your bottles, if possible work with a color code. Use always the same color for a particular chemical. In this way you will never mix up chemicals in the wrong sequence. A simple and effective method. Just put color plastic tape on the wide Jobo bottles and mark them.
 
TareqPhoto said:
Why you prefer XTOL over Ilfosol? How did you know that DD-X is excellent [regardless the price]?
Click to expand...

Tareq,

I've used quite a lot of developers over 30 years. Ilfosol is fine, but comes in small bottles; the developer oxidises quite quickly. DD-X is excellent (very similar to XTOL), but is much more expensive and this also oxidises quicker. XTOL stock solution keeps for at least 6 months (significantly longer than any of the Ilford liquids). Does that help?

Best wishes,

Charlie
www.charlie-chan.co.uk

Charlie
 
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