One does not exclude the other. Xtol is very consistent when replenished. Using it as replenished does not automatically make it inconsistent.
As with some many things in photography it eventually comes down to preference. I personally like the consistency of one-shots. There is nothing more annoying than a bunch of negatives that are more or less contrasty than usual. If that means sacrificing finer grain then that is fine with me. Embrace the grain.
I agreeOne does not exclude the other. Xtol is very consistent when replenished. Using it as replenished does not automatically make it inconsistent.
No need to embrace grain with XTOL. Undiluted, 1+1, even 1+3, I've found no general purpose developer that results in finer grain than one-shot XTOL....If that means sacrificing finer grain then that is fine with me. Embrace the grain.
No need to be bashful. Just mix, store and handle XTOL properly; scalding can be completely avoided.Once burned, twice shy. So no to Xtol.
Once burned, twice shy. So no to Xtol.
Ahhh! Now we know why it failed on Gerald. Probably boiled the piss out of it? Ha! Ha! Just kidding Gerald!I thought room temperature mixing was one of its attributes?
I suggest you actually try it before knocking it, the complaints you have will most likely go away.I've always been interested in this idea but only for reasons of economy. I read through all of this thread and another even longer thread. If the replenished Xtol working solution has "similar" activity to 1+1 then I can't see what advantage that has over one-shot 1+1 other than economy. I also find it a bit strange that it is suggested to develop say 7-8 rolls of film using Xtol from the working bottle and only then start replenishing. Not only will the activity of the developer change over those 7-8 rolls but it will continue to change until it reaches steady-state with replenishment. Surely this will lead to inconsistent results? The one thing I particularly dislike about the idea of replenishment is putting used developer back into the working solution which could contaminate it with any dust or dirt that may have been present on the film. A 5 litre pack of Xtol lasts me about 10 months at 1+1 one-shot (33x35mm films at 150ml stock a time or 20x120 films at 250 ml stock per time) which is cheap anyway compared to the cost of film.
I suggest you actually try it before knocking it, the complaints you have will most likely go away.
As to the dust, a funnel with a screen works well plus, on occasion, the use of a coffee filter.
One thing that most people don't understand is that for many developers, Xtol included IIRC, replenishment was the design standard; one shot use was secondary.I probably would try it if I was a high-volume user but seeing as I am only spending about £15 a year on Xtol (which is the only developer I use at the moment) it really doesn't seem worth the hassle or possible drawbacks.
August 2017 was the tenth anniversary of my 1.6 litre working stock of replenished Xtol. That batch that I started back in August 2007 has done hundreds of films, both sheet films in open trays and roll films in tanks, and it has never failed to deliver gratifying results. I doubt if any of the original molecules are still in the stock bottle.
Because of all the open tray development I do my Xtol stock encounters extra oxidation and I replenish at the rate of 90ml per film. Developer activity is less than fresh but has remained constant since September 2007. For example Tmax400 comes out beautifully in 11minutes at 20C. The Xtol stock gets filtered a couple of times a year to remove a tiny trace of sediment that I suspect is calcium ascorbate cast down from the tap water I use for all processing solutions.
Xtol is getting more expensive and my developer cost has now risen to 30 cents per film.
There you go!Well if you can keep a replenishment regime going as long as that maybe I'll try it!
Pretty close.Interesting read. I just use a little plastic tub as a bain-marie but it's certainly appealing to just adjust to room temperature, especially as we go >20C into summer here.
And using 1:1 one-shot, I do burn through a pack in pretty quick time.
To start me off.
Can I start with 2L of straight-up fresh XTOL to develop, keep it after first use, and just keep adding 70ml fresh XTOL for every roll (135/120) I develop subsequently.
Maintain times as per undiluted XTOL?
Simple as that?
Thanks.
When you use replenishment, you no longer need worry about minimum amounts. I fill my 1 litre Paterson tank with one litre of developer, no matter how many or how few rolls I'm developing. As almost all of the developer goes back into the bottle for re-use, there is no concern about wasting developer, and I never have to worry about not covering the reels.When you are developing, pour X ml out of A where X is the minimum amount for your tank and rolls of film
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