How many film developers?

grahamp

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These days I mix my own film developers. Thornton's Two bath has been a standby for many years. That's a metol/sodium sulphite part A, and (usually) a sodium metaborate part B.

For the past year I have been trying Karl Mattias' PC-512 Borax (phenidone and vitamin C in propylene glycol, mixed with an aqueous borax solution just before development.

Both do what I want with roll and sheet film.
 

Radost

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Jobo or hand inversions?
 

Sirius Glass

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Radost said:
Jobo or hand inversions?
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Both with replenished XTOL. Maris' comments go to my comment about XTOL is very forgiving.
 

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Andrew O'Neill

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Ones that I can mix from scratch, with the exception of XTol and Adotech IV.
Pyrocat-HD, 510-Pyro, Obsidian Aqua, PC-TEA, PC-512, D-23, FX-55, Caffenol, POTA (for CMS 20)...
 

JerseyDoug

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Just two developers: Rodinal for films slower than ISO 400 and for Tri-X, which I shoot at ISO 320. Ilfosol 3 for all other ISO 400 films. I only use 35mm film and don't use films faster than ISO 400.
 

Andrew O'Neill

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chuckroast said:
Have you ever mixed your own PMK?
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I did, yes. Back in the late 90's. I also used the modified version, Rollo Pyro, for rotary. It was my intro into the world of staining developers (along with Hutching's Book of Pyro). I used it for a couple of years, then switched to Pyrocat-HD. I preferred the look of Pyrocat-HD it was giving me on silver gel. VC over PMK/Rollo, at the time.
 

albireo

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Fomadon Excel
Fomadon LQN
Fomadon R09/Adox Rodinal (depending on what I find)
Ingredients for D23

I have had a brief clandestine relationship with Adox D76 and Adox XT-3, but the Foma chemicals above do all I need and are cheaper.

For the rest there is the peerless D23, which I prefer 1+1 one shot.
 

Andrew O'Neill

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It is pretty hard to beat D23! I think Pan F and D23 1+3 is a heavenly match.
 

chuckroast

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albireo said:
Nice. Never tried Pan F. Thanks for the D23 tip.
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If I didn't have Pyrocat-HD at my disposal, D-23 would probably be my daily driver. It's incredibly versatile.

In ordinary use, it's a compensating developer.

You can comfortably dilute it out to 1+4 or so and use it for extended semistand/EMA development.

You can super dilute it at 1+9 by adding a small amount of lye to it, do extended development and get very high acuity negatives - very nice for larger formats.

You can use divided techniques with it.

Plus, it's dirt cheap to make. 2 chemicals, distilled water, and an old glass beer growler and you're in business.
 

albireo

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Ah yes I had noted down this advice of yours a while ago. Keen to try it. I haven't managed yet. So far I've tried the usual (stock, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3) and with the 120 film I use (mostly 400 ISO stuff) I thought 1:1 ticked all the boxes but you never know.
 

chuckroast

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I would not recommend it for 35mm (unless you like a kind of gritty look) but in 9x12 or 4x5 it's pretty amazing.

Even at 1+4 in semistand/EMA it's pretty great as is.
 

Maris

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Radost said:
Jobo or hand inversions?
Click to expand...

Paterson Super System 4 tanks and reels. Five inversions per minute with development time adjusted for whatever the ambient temperature happens to be. Sub-tropical climate here means I never get 20C or below.
 

dalahorse

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I [re]use stock Perceptol for PanF+, FP4+, and Delta 3200, and ID-11 for HP5+. I find both work great for 8+ 120 or 135 rolls, and last at least six months in full glass bottles with polyseal caps.
 

JensH

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Hi,

how many? Four:

Moersch MZB, a 2-bath dev., great with 120/135 PanF Plus, TriX, TMY2 and Delta 3200.
Not for rotation, so 4x5" sheets get D76 (should test Pyrocat here...)

Pyrocat, the classic Windisch formula (in german "Brenzkatechin-Ausgleich-Entwickler nach Windisch", I call it Pyrocat-W, a pure Pyrocat without Metol etc.), very nice for FP4 Plus, HP5 Plus, TriX in 120.

Kodak D76 for TMX, TMY2, Acros 100, HSIR in 4x5", rotated in a Jobo drum.

Rodinal (Adox) for PanF Plus when more contrast is needed. And for vintage glass plates...
 
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Steven Lee

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JerseyDoug said:
Just two developers: Rodinal for films slower than ISO 400 and for Tri-X, which I shoot at ISO 320. Ilfosol 3 for all other ISO 400 films. I only use 35mm film and don't use films faster than ISO 400.
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Interesting! How do you compare Ilfosol 3 and Rodinal? I have gotten into Ilfosol only maybe a year ago, and after two bottles I concluded that it's basically a modern Rodinal, sans keeping properties. Why not Ilfosol 3 for everything?
 

RalphLambrecht

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I use amost exlusively Kodak D-76 1+!
 

JerseyDoug

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Steven Lee said:
Interesting! How do you compare Ilfosol 3 and Rodinal? I have gotten into Ilfosol only maybe a year ago, and after two bottles I concluded that it's basically a modern Rodinal, sans keeping properties. Why not Ilfosol 3 for everything.
Click to expand...
In my experience, Ilfosol 3 and Rodinal both produce sharper looking prints than the other developers I have used, but the representation of the grain in my prints is different with some films. For example, I prefer the look of Tri-X in Rodinal and the look of HP5 Plus in Ilfosol 3. There are differences in the middle tones too but I can easily deal with them in post processing of the scans.
 

Marcelo Paniagua

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Currently Clayton F76+ (general developer) and either POTA ot Phenidone/Vitamin C developer for Aviphot 40 and 200.

Really like F76+ on most of the films I use. Great developer.
 

mrosenlof

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In the last year: E-76 100% I have a bottle each of HC-110 and Rodinal on the shelf also. In the five years before 2023: Mostly HC-110 1+49, Rodinal for Pan-F, occasional use of PC-glycol variants.

Since I'm mixing E-76 fresh for each use, I have developer components on hand which I also use for E-72 paper developer.
 

abruzzi

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PyrocatHD - for most things
HC-110 - for fast tests (has to be the fastest developer I've used)
Rodinal - I've found it best for Fuji HR-U X-Ray film

I actually really like X-tol and have a half dozen pre-sinopromise packs, but work is killing me so my photography is taking a back seat. I shoot a 120 roll or a couple sheets a month, so I don't want to mix up the Xtol just to have half of it expire on me.
 
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