One Shot Developers

[Silverpixels5]

OK I have a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. When I developer is supposed to be one shot, does that mean that you can only use it once i.e. one run, or you can only use it for one developing session. The reason I ask is because I'm developing 5x7 sheets in Rodinal 1:50 by brush inspection. Since I'm using a brush, I can only develop one sheet at a time. So I'm wondering if after I develop that one sheet, can I develop another one w/o any problems? I use about 500mL of developer in the tray for the one sheet. With this amount in a tank I can do two sheets....but if I'm using it in a tray, with the developer be too oxidized to handle two sheets in series? I just don't want to put another sheet in the used developer, only to have it develop halfway or something. Any help on the mattter will be greatly appreciated!

 

[juan]

It's not a dumb question at all. I've asked much the same question in private email to other people. I think it's a combination of how many sheets a given developer will develop, and how long the developer will remain active in the tray.

ABC Pyro, for instance, exhausts in the tray fairly quickly. I was developing only a couple of sheets of 8x10 in a quart of developer - I didn't feel comfortable shuffling more. The amount of developer should handle more, but ABC exhausts in the tray before another set of negatives could be done. Obviously it wouldn't work for doing more than one negative by brush.

I'm told Pyrocat HD lasts in the tray a good deal longer and several negatives can be brush developed sequentially.

I believe HC-110 would work for several negatives, too. I plan to try tonight.

I'm not sure about Rodinal, but the 1:50 dilution seems strong enough to handle several negatives if it doesn't exhaust.

Sorry I don't have a more definitive answer.
j

 

[Jim Chinn]

I am not sure about the oxidation aspect, but every developer has a certain minimal stock required to develop 80sq inches of film. D-76, Xtol ID 11 it is 100-150ml. With Rodinal I have seen varying amounts from using 10ml of stock all the way down to 3ml.

You could expose some sheets on an 18% grey card, number the exposures and then process with your method. After completion, check the densities by printing some contacts and see if there is any visual differences. If you have access to a densitiometer you wouldn't have to print to get results. This should give some idea at what point the devloper starts to go bad. I know that it may sound like a waste of film, but it is probably the only way to know the answer.

Keep track of time and temp film is in developer, and how long the developer is out and how long each sheet is developed for. Since your hands are busy, a small tape recorder is handy for making notations during the process.

 

[Silverpixels5]

Thanks for the insight! I'm going to go ahead and try it by doing 2 sheets in series. I have 2 negs of the same scene, so if the second one doesnt' come out due to exhaustion, then I'll still have the first one. I'll have answers to my question in about an hour....lol

 

[Ole]

If done "blindly", there's usually a time-correction to the second run with the same developer. Developing by inspection avoids having to know the exact correction, all you need to know is that it will be longer depending on the exhaustion state of the developer.

A flat 18% grey film is not a good indication of developer changes with DBI, since the tonalities will change even when development is kept constant by inspection.

 

[Silverpixels5]

Well i'm out of the darkroom and here are my results. The second sheet of 5x7 took about a minute or so longer to get to the same 'look' as the first one. I developed the first sheet for around 8 minutes, with my first look being at 6. The temperature was 75 when i started adn i'm sure it went up with my hands in the tray, but the really doesn't matter with inspection. There was a 20 minute time span from finishing the first sheet till starting the second one. So I'd say thats pretty good. I doubt I'd try to get more than 2 sheets through it though...I'm just glad I dont' have to worry about mixing up a new batch for each sheet.