Diafine Question

[Guillaume Zuili]

I have never used Diafine yet but I am in need of a push-compensating dev.
My question is why do you need to immerse the film ?
I don't have a real darkroom right now and it makes it difficult for me to do it. Is it possible to simply pour the dev in the tank and maybe compensate with a slow agitation ?
Thanks.

 

[DBP]

If you fill the tank with developer, you are immersing the film. Diafine is pretty foolproof.

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

I mean pouring the dev with film already in the tank...

 

[DBP]

That's how I do it. Put the film on a reel, put in the tank, fill the tank with solution A, wait 3 or more minutes, while agitating occasionally, pour A back into the bottle, pour in B, wait at least 3 minutes, pour B back into the bottle, pour in water, wait at least one minute, pour out water, pour in fixer...

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Ok, thanks DBP. My paranoia is over now !

 

[glennfromwy]

To prevent streaks, be sure you get as much of the A solution out of the tank as possible before pouring in the B. Shake it a little to get the last little bit out, but don't lose the top doing it.

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Thank you Glen. Chemical is just done, will test it tomorrow.

 

[P C Headland]

Do keep the agitation to a minimum. I pour in part A, invert once, then one inversion each minute for 5 minutes. Pour out part A (back into the part A container!) then pour in part B. Agitate in exactly the same way, for the same amount of time. Water stop bath then fix & rinse as usual.

I tend to use 5" + 5" as this works well for me. As long as you do at least 3" + 3" you should be fine.

Post some results. Remember not to contaminate part A with part B!!

 

[Soeren]

HMM Forgive me but isn't the idea with twobath devs that the film absorb, whats possible of, the developing agent (part A) which is first activated when the activator (part B) is poured into the tank. as I understand its the limeted amount of developing agent that make it compensating, right? So whats the fuss about limited agitation?
Cheers
Søren

 

[George Papantoniou]

I have never used Diafine, but frequently use Emofin, its European alternative. I pour the solutions in the tank and agitate as usual (4 inversions every minute). Never had streaks or uneven development.

 

[P C Headland]

HMM Forgive me but isn't the idea with twobath devs that the film absorb, whats possible of, the developing agent (part A) which is first activated when the activator (part B) is poured into the tank. as I understand its the limeted amount of developing agent that make it compensating, right? So whats the fuss about limited agitation?
Cheers
Søren

Well, that's what they write on the packaging, that's what I do, and it works as they say on the box. Every time.

I've seen numerous posts where people agitate too much (significantly more than stated in the instructions) and end up with problems, so....

 

[Soeren]

Well, that's what they write on the packaging, that's what I do, and it works as they say on the box. Every time.

I've seen numerous posts where people agitate too much (significantly more than stated in the instructions) and end up with problems, so....

Yes sorry well thats what I meant with my post. I don't have any experience with diafine so my point was as you said "Use the box recomendations".
No we're at it, how does diafine do compared to rodinal. Are the results different, similar or "same same but different"
Cheers
Søren

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Hi,

PC Headland : It seems that too much agitation is an issue as expected. 5+5 seems a good balance, I find 3 minutes really short.
The question posed with Rodinal as a comparaison is very interesting. I use WD2D+ and Rodinal.
I have never pushed my film with Rodinal and do minimum agitation. The less the best !
I always shoot tri-X at 200. With this new project I will be shooting with an iso speed between 800 and 1600. Grain is not an issue, Rodinal grain is amazing but I'm afraid of burning the highlights. This is why I want to try Diafine.
If you have an option with Rodinal I'm open to try Soeren.

Best,
G.

 

[Soeren]

Guillaume
I use Rodinal as my standard developer @1/50 and agitating once every 3 min, not as compensating dev although it is possible with more diluted developer. I was merely asking the question because Diafine has become available here in DK recently and I was thinking about another dev for a different look.
Cheers
Søren

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Soren,
In term of apparent sharpness, Rodinal is unique and I guess Diafine will be on the other side. I did some semi stand with Rodinal but it's a long process time and the speed was still at 200.
I'm sure Diafine can get some interesting stuff in difficult light. I will post some test asap.
Best,
Guillaume

 

[P C Headland]

Soeren:

Rodinal 1+100 with similar agitation to you is my standard developer for most films. I use Diafine for TriX and Neopan 400, especially in wintertime. Until recently these were the only two developers I used, with Rodinal being the one I began with. Since I shoot mainly 120, grain is not really an issue.

They give quite different results. I've got good results from TriX in Rodinal at 400, 800 and more than acceptable results at 1600 (grainy, contrasty, but still nice). Diafine is a nice addition, giving great results at EI1000 - a nice combination in the Iskra!

I think they (Rodinal + Diafine) make a nice "family", and both are famed for their longevity.

(Check out my galleries for some examples. Some Diafine examples: 1 - TriX, 2 - TriX, 3 - Neopan )

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Hi PC,
Could you give me your time for tri-x at 1600 ?
Thanks.
If you have examples to show...
Very nice church with neopan.

Guillaume

 

[P C Headland]

I can't remember for sure, but it was something like 30 minutes at 1+50 dilution. I used the times found in a thread over on the Rangefinder forum.

Sorry, but I don't have any results that I can show, but there are some in the RFF threads.

 

[Foto Ludens]

Guillaume and all,

I'm jumping in mid-thread, so sorry if I'm not on subject (also just got off a long shift at work, so my mind is a bit off).

I've used Diafine with tri-x quite a bit, and I highly recommend rating at 1250 rather than 1600. I usually did 4 minutes each bath, with 3 very gentle agitations every minute. Also, I used a water stop bath and use tf-3 or tf-4 as the fixer.

here are a couple of examples:

All were scanned from fiber prints...

I really hope that this helps,

André

 

[Soeren]

Hi all
Nice pics André and P C. As Im using Neopan 400 already in both 35mm and 120 format it looks like it could be worth a try. What's the shelflife of Diafine,
Open?
Cheers
Søren

 

[PhotoPete]

Hi all
Nice pics André and P C. As Im using Neopan 400 already in both 35mm and 120 format it looks like it could be worth a try. What's the shelflife of Diafine,
Open?
Cheers
Søren

It will probably evaporate before it stops working. Seriously, the stuff just goes on and on. I have been using the same batch for two years now, storing it in plastic containers with lots of air in them. I replenish A from time to time to top the fluid level off, but that is all. I have run color film though it as well. The chemistry is very resilient.

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Hi,
Processed one roll at 4+4 (tri-X 1250) and it came out really good. Need to print it now.

Thank you all,
Guillaume

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Hi,
This is a double test. First with Diafine and second with Olympus Pen (Half Frame).
I really like Diafine !