I have just experienced the strangest thing ever in my quest for the perfect DD 
. Long story short, this DD makes the most stunning negatives with Foma 100 and Efke 25, with other films.......NOTHING!
In a stroke of genius, ha ha, I decided to try a high contrast Bath A and a long soak in a low pH Bath B. Sort of the opposite of what most DD’s do. I shot my last roll of Arista/Foma 100 in bright sunlight, part of it with EI’s from 25 to 400. I soaked it in my newest concoction, having gotten the Metol and Hydroquinone amounts from D-11: 1 gram Metol, 8 g. HQ, then 80 g. sodium sulfite and 1 g potassium bromide. I agitated once per minute at 75 degrees for 5 minutes. Bath B consisted of 30 grams of borax for a pH of only 9.5. Another 5 minutes with a gentle 180 only inversion every 30 seconds.......
Water bath for stop, a few minutes in my fixer, and the check. Ohmigod! Stunning negatives. That night I printed one to 5x7. Then I put the 8X loupe onto it. Did I say ohmigod already? Well say it again. At what was now the equivalent of a 40 x 60 print from 35mm, the grain was almost non-existent and very smooth. And this was from not-so-fine grain Foma! The next day I noticed the silver stain on the developer jug after only one roll, so I’m presuming there was a lot of physical development going on.
I made a developer test roll of some old TMX, just shooting a daylight scene with the motor drive until all used. Taking a snip, I did the same 5 and 5, fixed...........NOTHING! Not even partial development, no edge markings, NOTHING!
So I made a test roll of Forte 400, developed the same. NOTHING!
Now I was in a panic. The Holy Grail yanked right out of my hands! I remade both A and B baths. Still nothing with the TMX or Forte! I increased the time in Bath A, nothing. I increased the time in Bath A and used a pH 10.5 Bath B. Some thin images appeared with the TMX and Forte.
What was different? Aaaaaaaargh!
Oh, the film. Nah, that couldn't possibly be the critical element, could it? So I swapped the films in the bulk loader and rolled up a few more Foma’s. Did the snip test 5 and 5 and.....there they were, beautiful negs! Again, nothing with Forte or TMX.
I made a test roll with Efke 25. Did the 5 and 5 again........and very nice negs from EI 12 to 100.
I have a roll of Tri-X and some TMY-2 that I will make test shots on if the weather clears up or I get so anxious I’ll do with overcast. I’ll let you know later on how these went.
I am presenting this thread with the perspective of a question, “How can a developer do so well with certain films and nothing with others?” Not worse, not a matter of degree, but nothing.
. Long story short, this DD makes the most stunning negatives with Foma 100 and Efke 25, with other films.......NOTHING! In a stroke of genius, ha ha, I decided to try a high contrast Bath A and a long soak in a low pH Bath B. Sort of the opposite of what most DD’s do. I shot my last roll of Arista/Foma 100 in bright sunlight, part of it with EI’s from 25 to 400. I soaked it in my newest concoction, having gotten the Metol and Hydroquinone amounts from D-11: 1 gram Metol, 8 g. HQ, then 80 g. sodium sulfite and 1 g potassium bromide. I agitated once per minute at 75 degrees for 5 minutes. Bath B consisted of 30 grams of borax for a pH of only 9.5. Another 5 minutes with a gentle 180 only inversion every 30 seconds.......
Water bath for stop, a few minutes in my fixer, and the check. Ohmigod! Stunning negatives. That night I printed one to 5x7. Then I put the 8X loupe onto it. Did I say ohmigod already? Well say it again. At what was now the equivalent of a 40 x 60 print from 35mm, the grain was almost non-existent and very smooth. And this was from not-so-fine grain Foma! The next day I noticed the silver stain on the developer jug after only one roll, so I’m presuming there was a lot of physical development going on.
I made a developer test roll of some old TMX, just shooting a daylight scene with the motor drive until all used. Taking a snip, I did the same 5 and 5, fixed...........NOTHING! Not even partial development, no edge markings, NOTHING!
So I made a test roll of Forte 400, developed the same. NOTHING!
Now I was in a panic. The Holy Grail yanked right out of my hands! I remade both A and B baths. Still nothing with the TMX or Forte! I increased the time in Bath A, nothing. I increased the time in Bath A and used a pH 10.5 Bath B. Some thin images appeared with the TMX and Forte.
What was different? Aaaaaaaargh!
Oh, the film. Nah, that couldn't possibly be the critical element, could it? So I swapped the films in the bulk loader and rolled up a few more Foma’s. Did the snip test 5 and 5 and.....there they were, beautiful negs! Again, nothing with Forte or TMX.
I made a test roll with Efke 25. Did the 5 and 5 again........and very nice negs from EI 12 to 100.
I have a roll of Tri-X and some TMY-2 that I will make test shots on if the weather clears up or I get so anxious I’ll do with overcast. I’ll let you know later on how these went.
I am presenting this thread with the perspective of a question, “How can a developer do so well with certain films and nothing with others?” Not worse, not a matter of degree, but nothing.
