Which developer for fast films?

f/16 · May 24, 2015

I've been using DD-X but with faster films such as HP5 at ISO 400 it's kinda grainy. Is there a developer that's better for fast films that will offer finer grain? What about Microphen?

removed account4 · May 24, 2015

i use caffenol D ( formerly used caffenol 130 )
the grain isnt' too bad works great with high speed and low speed

YMMV
john

gone · May 24, 2015

I went to Mic-X full strength because I was getting too much grain in my skies w/ D76 and Tri-X. That certainly took care of that problem! You have to wonder why Kodak ever stopped making that developer? I also use it w/ Shanghai GP3 100 in 120, and Arista EDU Ultra 100 in 35mm. Smooooth.

pentaxuser · May 24, 2015

I take it that you are you gauging the grain from a print, if so at what size? In a 135 film I used to use DDX with HP5+ at 8x10 without seeing appreciable grain but that was 8x10 and that was my, not your, perception. It is of course your perception that counts

You might want to try HP5+ at 320 in Perceptol 1+3. A small speed loss with reduced grain in the neg in my perception.

Best of luck

pentaxuser

Rick A · May 24, 2015

momus said:
I went to Mic-X full strength because I was getting too much grain in my skies w/ D76 and Tri-X. That certainly took care of that problem! You have to wonder why Kodak ever stopped making that developer? I also use it w/ Shanghai GP3 100 in 120, and Arista EDU Ultra 100 in 35mm. Smooooth.

You lose one full stop of speed with Microdol-X, as per Kodak literature. There's no reason not to use D-76 or other developers with high speed film, grain perception is subjective at best. Apparent grain is worse in scanned negatives than actual grain in wet prints (here comes the fire storm).

Sirius Glass · May 24, 2015

Replenished XTOL will give finer grain and smooth tonality with ISO 400 35mm film [and larger formats].

f/16 · May 24, 2015

momus said:
I went to Mic-X full strength because I was getting too much grain in my skies w/ D76 and Tri-X. That certainly took care of that problem! You have to wonder why Kodak ever stopped making that developer? I also use it w/ Shanghai GP3 100 in 120, and Arista EDU Ultra 100 in 35mm. Smooooth.

Are you talking about the Legacy Pro Mic-X that you can get at Freestyle? I've never used powder. Can you mix just what you need or are you supposed to mix it all at once?

f/16 · May 24, 2015

pentaxuser said:
I take it that you are you gauging the grain from a print, if so at what size? In a 135 film I used to use DDX with HP5+ at 8x10 without seeing appreciable grain but that was 8x10 and that was my, not your, perception. It is of course your perception that counts

You might want to try HP5+ at 320 in Perceptol 1+3. A small speed loss with reduced grain in the neg in my perception.

Best of luck

pentaxuser

I haven't printed anything I've developed. I'm judging grain looking at the 35mm neg with a 5.5X loupe vs FP4 at ISO 125.

Sirius Glass · May 24, 2015

Sirius Glass said:
Replenished XTOL will give finer grain and smooth tonality with ISO 400 35mm film [and larger formats].

For more information see:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/prof...wFilmProcessing/selecting.jhtml?pq-path=14053

Colin Corneau · May 24, 2015

HP5, and other 400 and above films, are going to have grain. Some developers will smooth it out a bit, but it won't go away. Debate away if you like, but HP5 isn't going to have the grain of FP4.

Try Perceptol. Any developer giving fine grain will lose you some speed...maybe even getting you down to FP4 territory

MattKing · May 25, 2015

Switch to T-Max 400

Or Delta 400.

X-Tol full strength will give you full speed, and reasonable grain: http://wwwtr.kodak.com/global/en/pr...wFilmProcessing/selecting.jhtml?pq-path=14053

f/16 · May 25, 2015

What is the meaning of "lose speed"? I thought you shoot a film at a certain ISO and develop it for the time for that ISO.

MattKing · May 25, 2015

f/16 said:
What is the meaning of "lose speed"? I thought you shoot a film at a certain ISO and develop it for the time for that ISO.

You can approach the situation that way, and almost always get perfectly acceptable results.

However, the ISO speed of a film is somewhat developer dependent.

If you review manufacturers' data sheets, you will note that, for certain developers, they recommend that you meter certain films at a different setting - a different EI.

Microdol-X is a now discontinued fine grain developer that usually involved a speed penalty. Kodak recommends that T-Max 100 (as an example) be used at an EI of 50 if you are using Microdol-X, whereas Kodak recommends an EI of 100 for most other developers.

Microphen is an Ilford developer that enhances speed.

In some circumstances, and for some dilutions, both HC-110 and Rodinal can cost you some small speed loss for certain films.

Film speed characteristics are most closely related to how film handles shadows. Films and developers do, however, differ in their treatment of shadow detail. It is possible to have two different developer and film combinations that respond identically to the ISO film speed test, but still have different responses to shadows.

f/16 · May 25, 2015

OK Matt I get it now. Thanks.

Xmas · May 25, 2015

D76 and its near clones like Microphen are all fine grain developers which are cheap and retain ISO speed.

Neal · May 25, 2015

Dear Bill,

I find Xtol stock with HP5+ is quite smooth.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

f/16 · May 25, 2015

When you mix a powder such as Microphen, how long is it good for?

Paul Howell · May 26, 2015

f/16 said:
When you mix a powder such as Microphen, how long is it good for?

6 months is a good ball park figure. If you don't process a lot of film buy a developer that is available in quarts or liters such as D76. HC 110 TMax and DDS are liquid concentrates and have a very long shelf life. Tmax provides full speed with Tmax 400 and it is possible to shoot at 800 to 1600 without losing much shadow detail.

ColColt · May 26, 2015

Many moons ago I used ID-11 Plus and HC-110 for Tri-X and HP-5 and even tried Rodinal...sharp, but a bit grainy. I haven't checked but most likely none of those products are available anymore with perhaps the exception of HC-110. All gave very good results. I found Ilford's ID-11 Plus a bit better than D-76.

Dali · May 26, 2015

f/16 said:
I haven't printed anything I've developed. I'm judging grain looking at the 35mm neg with a 5.5X loupe vs FP4 at ISO 125.

If I were you, I would first make some prints and them decide if the grain you get is obtrusive or not. Without such experiment, we all speak in the vacuum.

Which developer for fast films?

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