developer .. liquid or powder?

[Dew]

just went to get a new bottle of developer .. we use the Ilford line (liquid) ... the guy tried to sell me the powder .. what's the real difference between the two (other than the obvious)? :scratch: ... how would i benefit from one or the other? ... what do u use? .. why?

 

[havoc]

At school we use powder. At home i use liquid. We also use Kodak so its alittle different. But with the powder (D76) we have to heat the water to 120 degrees before we dump in the powder and stir it with a magnetic stirring plate. Its a real pain in the ass especally since the water dispenser only goes to 80 degrees. We end up haveing to run water thru a coffee maker, then add and subract until we get to 120 degrees.

This is definetly a pain in the ass. I use the liquid at home because it is alot easier to use.

 

[ksmattfish]

I've used both. Other than the fact that some developers only come in powdered or liquid, my main interest is in which one costs me less in the long run.

For me the advantages of powder are less shipping charges and it lasts a very long time stored in it's powdered form. Liquid is fast and easy to mix up, and it seems to me that dev bought in concentrated liquid form has a longer shelf life than mixed up stock solution from powder. Although I had some Tmax liquid developer go bad on me really quick once....

I go through it pretty fast, so if I have a choice between powder and liquid in the developer I want, it always comes back to which form is cheaper per 80 square inches of film.

 

[ceno2000]

i use the liquid only b/c it is easier to use --- and ther is less of a chance to screw it up

 

[schussey]

liquid

 

[voodoocat]

Usually liquid (Rodinal) but sometimes Microphen which is powdered.