Tri-X 400 @ 1600 developed with D-76 or R09

I have four rolls of Tri-X shot at 1600 that I want to develop with D-76; alternately with Fomadon R09 (Rodinal clone of some sort). I am sure many of you will suggest other developers, but these are what I have now. These rolls are from a recent trip to italy; I would like not to experiment too much.

On the D-76 I have read that according to Steve Anchell and Bill Troop's The Film developing Cookbook "'D-76 without dilution is recommended for pushing Tri-X to 1600 (13 minutes). D-76 at 1:1 is only recommended for Tri-X at 400'" (156). I also read elsewhere that a very gentle agitation regime is recommended.

So I go to look up the massive development chart and find these numbers that don't match the one in Anchell and Troop's book.

[TABLE="class: mdctable, width: 708"]



[TD="class: left nobr, align: left"]Tri-X 400[/TD]
[TD="class: left, align: left"]D-76[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]stock[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]1600[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]9.5[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]9.5[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]20C[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"][/TD]


[TD="class: left nobr, align: left"]Tri-X 400[/TD]
[TD="class: left, align: left"]D-76[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]1+1[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]1600[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]13.25[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]13.25[/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: center, align: center"]20C
[/TD]

[/TABLE]

Any advice as to whether go use D-76 stock or 1:1 and what times/agitation regime to use?

Rodinal/R09: i mfound suggestion of stand development 1:100 for one hour. That seems a very weak dilution; I have never tried stand development.

The times in the table you posted match the times recommended by Kodak in their data sheet F4017 for the Tri-X films: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4017/f4017.pdf

If you really want to know how to develop the film, shoot another roll at 1600 and develop it before you develop the film from your trip.
Push processing is not ideal, especially if you're not familiar with your materials.

From personal experience: never shoot film you are not familiar with, or use a technique you're unfamiliar with, when you photograph in places you are not likely to revisit.

Thomas Bertilsson said:

If you really want to know how to develop the film, shoot another roll at 1600 and develop it before you develop the film from your trip.

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If you care about these images I don't believe this point can be overstated.

I'm doing the same currently with 3 rolls of Tri-X 320 (220 format!!!) that I shot on a trip to France earlier this summer. I metered there for 200, shot mostly during bright sunny days. First test roll I shot here was too contrasty so I'm going to try another with less agitation and time to see if I can get results I like a bit better.

I would definitely shoot another roll here and try to replicate the lighting situations as much as possible: if it was night time street scenes you shot in Italy, find similar scenario. Personally, I prefer Tri-X in D76 1:1 or even 1:3, over stock. 1:3 for lower ASA ratings and 1:1 for 400 and push. Just seems to suit my eye.

Read the section on push processing in the following Kodak document.

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4017/f4017.pdf

Thanks for the advice. I was shooting inside churches for the most part; it isn't that important, though at Verona in St. Anastasia, my seven year old daughter and I went inside together (while my wife waited) and my daughter told me what paintings and statues to shoot! I would really like for that roll to come out.

traveler_101 said:

Thanks for the advice. I was shooting inside churches for the most part; it isn't that important, though at Verona in St. Anastasia, my seven year old daughter and I went inside together (while my wife waited) and my daughter told me what paintings and statues to shoot! I would really like for that roll to come out.

Click to expand...

It makes sense to do a test roll, then, in similar lighting conditions.

Thomas Bertilsson said:

It makes sense to do a test roll, then, in similar lighting conditions.

Click to expand...

Get to the Massive Development Chart and see what they recommend for times. They are never, well hardly ever wrong about pushh times for TriX. Got with what they say AFTER YOUR TEST ROLL. And do what they say and ai theink you'll be OK>
Logan

whlogan said:

Get to the Massive Development Chart and see what they recommend for times. They are never, well hardly ever wrong about pushh times for TriX. Got with what they say AFTER YOUR TEST ROLL. And do what they say and ai theink you'll be OK>
Logan

Click to expand...

Oh yes they are. You should treat these charts as a guide and not follow them verbatim. Decide from your own tests what works best for you.

whlogan said:

Get to the Massive Development Chart and see what they recommend for times. They are never, well hardly ever wrong about pushh times for TriX. Got with what they say AFTER YOUR TEST ROLL. And do what they say and ai theink you'll be OK>
Logan

Click to expand...

I take the times listed there as a suggestion but I end up modifying it, usually a bit shorter to suit my tastes.

Personally, I never bought into film speed pushing beyond reasonable points. 1200 and 1600 and higher out of Tri-X is just a stretch. And I've always thought it was a job for the Acufine variety of developers, not a job for D-76 and the like. I'm sure at some point I've seen claims of somebody who pushed Tri-X all the way to 3200 or somesuch outlandish speed. I don't click on and read that stuff. (not that I read it here, of course). Film pushing is film pushing. No way to put lipstick on that pig to my satisfaction. To those who do it, then if you've successfully pulled off a salvage job, with my congrats. Pushing is salvage, no other way to look at it.

Neither D-76 nor R09 are the best choices for getting a speed increase. A Phenidone or Dimezone based developer is a better choice, Xtol, Microphen or Acufine would give better results. If you insist on using D-76 or R09 then D-76 is the better developer for pushing.

Apparently I should have started this thread here BEFORE exposing the film. There is a lot of nonsense out there on the internet and it is difficult to know what to believe. On the other hand, I have done o.k. starting up with film developing completely on my own despite having had no prior experience. In this I have relied entirely on advice read over the internet.

What Gerald said : Microphen stock at 21° Celsius did wonders for me 10 years ago...

In fact it was for a female friend who didn't even know if she exposed her TRi-Xs at 1600 or 3200. Never mind the films came out beautifully!

traveler_101 said:

Apparently I should have started this thread here BEFORE exposing the film. There is a lot of nonsense out there on the internet and it is difficult to know what to believe. On the other hand, I have done o.k. starting up with film developing completely on my own despite having had no prior experience. In this I have relied entirely on advice read over the internet.

Click to expand...

There is an enormous amount of BS out there, and as you say, sifting through it can be a daunting task.

Here is a link to possibly the best resource for beginners on the web:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

All the best.
Shawn

I've been using D76 full strength at 70 degrees for 7-8 min, but my water & thermometer are not yours. You're just shooting it 2 stops faster than box speed, so you could use this & adjust the times. My agitation is 30 sec, then 2 gentle, swirley inversions every 30 sec except for last min. Enthusiastic agitation can/will give you grain issues.