HP5 for a year!

cjbecker

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Well I am going to commit to using hp5 in 120 for a year, I hope for longer, but now all I need to do is decide on a developer. I am looking at liquid developers, the ones in running are rodinal, hc 110, Edwal fg7, and any others you might suggest.

I use to use acros 100 and rodinal for a very long time and I really liked the look. I am now moving up to a faster film that will be able to do anything with. Mainly shooting at 200 all the way to 3200.

So out of the liquid developers which one would you use to be the most versatile. I really like the look of rodinal for the sharpness and the grain in the higher dilutions but don’t want to develop for 1-3 hours.

What is your suggestions.

NOW I AM OPENING IT UP TO BOTH LIQUID AND POWDER DEVELOPERS.
 
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Gaga

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I've been shooting HP5 recently, I think I'm going to commit myself to TRI X mainly. Although I don't think I could commit myself solely to one film for an entire year.
 

Thomas Bertilsson

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Pick a developer that responds well to changes in dilution, agitation, and temperature. May I suggest Kodak TMax developer? (Not the RS version). It helps you push really well with truckloads of shadow detail, and it isn't a fine grain developer at all. Wonderful as replenished.

Good on you for picking one single film and running with it. We learn a lot that way.

- Thomas
 
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cjbecker

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I am drawn to tri-x but most people use tri-x and I want to do something different. I also support kodak with all of my color film and I want to support Ilford with all of my b&w needs.
 
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cjbecker

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I have not really looked at the t max developer. I will look into it
 

lns

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I like Ilford's DD-X for HP5+, because it gives me a little more speed. Also X-Tol, but I don't know if that qualifies for you, because it's a powder you have to mix into a liquid. Still, for me, X-Tol gives a lot of options because you can vary the dilution.

-Laura
 
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cjbecker

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Ok the reason that I don’t use powder developers is because I have never used them. I am not worried about shelf life as I will be using it but my main problem is how to get the developer to the correct temperature. For the liquid I just make one shots and pour the developer into the water I get out of the sink. I just make sure that water is 20c. With the powder developer how do I get the temperature to 20c in a timely manner.
 

yeknom02

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Personally, I love HC-110. The first b&w roll I ever shot was HP5+ in HC-110 B, and it turned out fantastic. XTOL is also supposed to be pretty good, but I don't have any personal experience with it.
 

Peter Black

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With the powder developer how do I get the temperature to 20c in a timely manner.
Click to expand...

The idea is that you make the powder into a liquid at some point before you actually need it, then it will be at the same temperature as the place you store it and may even be close to 20c. If not, just sit the container in a basin or bucket of water at 20c and the developer will be up to temperature in only a few minutes.
 

brian steinberger

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cj, for HP5 I recommend HC-110 if you need a liquid developer, DD-X is ok too. But I prefer HP5 in plain old ID-11 (D-76) diluted 1:1 and used one-shot. I prefer powder chems to liquid actually. Bringing up to temp is easy. Just mix up whatever you need then put it into a small container that holds your other chems you need heated up as well (stop, fix, hypo-clear) and put hot water from the tap into the container. Keep track of temp by stirring the developer and measuring with a thermometer, it doesn't take long. Pull all the chems out when they reach the temp you need. I've been doing this for years no problem.
 
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cjbecker

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I knew you had to make the stock mix but I do like that idea. Any other ideas for raising the temperature of stock solution of powder developer.
 

softshock

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You would mix up the one gallon of D76 and then let it sit for a day or two, and it will be at room temparature. The development times can be adjusted for slight temperature changes. Almost every film I've used has times from 65-78 degrees on the tech sheet.
 
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cjbecker

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Ok well this might open up lots of other developers for me to look at.
 

brian steinberger

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cj, if you're sticking with HP5 for a year, which I think is a great idea, you really should pick one developer to use with it for a year too. And if doing so I would recommend a very general purpose developer, and something very readily available. I would go with HC-110, ID-11 (D-76), or Xtol.
 

john_s

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If you limit yourself to one film in 120 as I did (Neopan 400) you might find that you need two developers. I used Pyrocat mainly, but for lower light situations, Microphen or DD-X. I dabbled with Xtol which might be a very good all-round choice, but I don't know if it's especially good for HP5+.

Now that Neopan 400 (120) is no more, I will soon be on the lookout for a replacement. Tri-X is tempting, but I really like the idea of supporting Ilford.
 
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cjbecker

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That is exactly what I am doing, i just have to decide on the developer. I am looking into xtol right now and already know d-76 in the tried and true. I have also used the hc-110 before with hp5 and it was good, more testing with it would have been better.
 

Tom Stanworth

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Do you actually like the HP5 look though? I would not commit to a film for a year without being sure that I liked the film to start with!

For HP5+ I would suggest DDX. I find dilute Xtol works very well when controlling contrast, its not what I'd choose in flatter lighting. I have heard that Tmax is a real sleeper with this film and one pro lab waxed lyrical about the look of pushed HP5 in this developer.
 

jmcd

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I like HP5+ in Rodinal very much, where my most frequently used dilution is 1:25.

HC-110 works great, too.

Xtol comes in powder, of course, but works great. HP5+ is definitely very fast in this developer. I usually favor the harder look I get with Kodak agitation, every 30 seconds. Lately I have been using it replenished with HP5+, and I think this looks very promising, with smooth glowing negs.

Clayton F76+ works well, too, but I am not sure yet that it produces as wide a range of looks as the above.

After reading this thread I would like to try TMax developer.
 

Simplicius

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I've settled on XTOL 1:1 for all my HP5+ and Fuji Neopan 400.... I like the results it gives with both these films. I tried many others.

Might I suggest www.filmdev.org although they are scanned negs it shows results of film/dev combos ..it might send you in right direction for look you want from HP5+

Anthony
 
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cjbecker

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Well I was looking through www.filmdev.org and all I clicked in was combos for hp5. Almost everyone I like ended up using rodinal 1/50, the other developers we kinda hit and miss. I like the very sharp grainy pictures with blacks and whites. I like S curves.
 
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