Which developer to try next.

[Joseph]

PMK Pyro

I have just tried a roll of 35mm in PMK Pyro. Ten times enlargement showed little grain and was vey sharp. I had to print with a low contrast filter, the film was pretty contrasty but the scene was also very contrasty. The highlights appear to have an interesting luminois quality. I would suggest PMK Pyro is worth a try and I plan to soup some more film.

 

[jim appleyard]

Try ALL devs.; premixed or home brew. Just make sure you try them in alphabetical order.

 

[Mark Layne]

XTOL is about to enter my darkroom and I will, of course, try to mix it with Rodinal as I have been told is a great thing to do...

Morten

Morten
Xtol is prone to sudden death syndrome. Your church may become busy with funerals
Mark

 

[gainer]

Try the following:

1 liter propylene glycol
90 grams ascorbic or erythorbic acid
2.25 grams phenidone

Heat to about 100 C in a Pyrex container until dissolved. Cool before use. This is solution A.

Solution B1 is 10% Kodalk in water (same as for PMK).
Solution B2 is 10% sodium carbonate in water.
Solution B3 is undiluted triethanolamine (TEA for short).

Use A:B:water in ratios 1:1:50 for first trials.

You can mix A and B3 in equal amounts to form a single solution concentrated stock with very long storage life. In that case, start with 1+25 dilution.

When testing a new developer I recommend shooting a whole bunch of negatives of the same scene or of a step density wedge. I use 35 mm 36 exposures. I develop a few frames at 6 minutes and a few more at 12. The best will probably be somewhere between.

Notice that there is no sulfite in these developers. If you think you can get better results by adding sulfite, by all means do so, but try them without it first. You can always add whatever you want to the working solution or to solution B1 or B2.

A good place to get propylene glycol and TEA is www.chemistrystore.com. Erythorbic acid, AKA isoascorbic acid, is available from www.kicgroup.com.

Don't try to dissolve sodium ascorbate in propylene glycol or TEA. When you mix A with B1 or B2, sodium ascorbate is formed in the working solution. I'm not sure what forms when A and B3 are mixed, but it develops film and paper very nicely.

 

[Todd Barlow]

Expansion and contraction developer - where to start

I have started with T-Max 400 film. Is the T-Max developer something that is capable of expansion and contraction development?

Suggestions on other developers for that purpose?

Comments on T-max film use when using expansion and contraction development?

Thanks

Todd