Whats your combo?

Karalee · Feb 7, 2006

I have a 5 reel patterson tank that Im finally going to put to work, Im just trying to decide what kind of chemicals I want to go with first.

So it begs the question, what kind of film/chemical combinations are you using? What goes over well, and what would you NOT try again. I have a few rolls from the holga starting to pile up, so I might just use them as a test run to get back into the swing of home developing, then stock up on some hp5 or tri-x.

So let me know all your secrets :sexywink:

terri · Feb 7, 2006

Same old boring me....(and cause I get it cheap)....I use D-76 for virtually ALL my film, with the exception of HIE - then it's TMax, all the way. :thumbup:

I keep telling myself I'm gonna try Matt Needham's Diafine method, but haven't bought any yet.

nealjpage · Feb 7, 2006

I also use D76, but am going to set up a new darkroom at home and am receptive to using new chem combos.

KevinR · Feb 7, 2006

I use the Arista film developer from Freestyle and Tri-X or the Arista brand B&W film.

Alexandra · Feb 7, 2006

i'm setting my darkroom back this spring too :boogie:

so i'm gonna keep track of this thread as well.

Fate · Feb 7, 2006

My combo ususally involves walking down to Jessops after school.... paying a stupid amount of money for b & w processing and then having to wait 2 weeks because they send it somewhere lol. I would love a dark room.... but, unfortunatly, my parents dont agree..... although this puts me in good stead for asking for a DSLR

Torus34 · Feb 8, 2006

I use Plus-X and Tri-X in 35mm and 120 roll. Developer is Microdol at 20C for the recommended time and agitation schedule. I've adjusted the other factors [camera/meter calibration] to fit the development. This can and does result in adjustments in print contrast settings for specific negatives.

photoboy15 · Feb 8, 2006

HP5 in Perceptol is one of my favorites. It also work well for Tri-X and FP4. DD-X is a nice developer for HP5

santino · Feb 9, 2006

terri said:
Same old boring me....(and cause I get it cheap)....I use D-76 for virtually ALL my film, with the exception of HIE - then it's TMax, all the way. :thumbup:

I keep telling myself I'm gonna try Matt Needham's Diafine method, but haven't bought any yet.

I've got some diafine lately and well.. it's easy to use and stuff but I prefer the results of D-76 (sure, Tri-X won't be 1600 but I can live with that

)

Karalee · Feb 9, 2006

Well, I bit the bullet and went with HC-110 & HP5. Hopefully it will get here this weekend so I can go play in the basement!

theinvisiblecity · Feb 22, 2006

almost always D-76 dilluted 1:1, when I want fast film I often use Fomapan 400 and rate it iso 320.....for slow film I use the Arista iso 50 bulk rolled stuff and rate it iso 32 or 40...

ksmattfish · Feb 22, 2006

For film I use Ilford Pan F, FP4, and HP5, and Kodak Tri-X 400.

I use Arista brand phenidone liquid developer. It's mixed 1:9, and gives similar results as D-76 or ID-11.

I also use Diafine developer for some situations. It deals with high contrast scenes nicely, usually gives a 1 stop ISO boost, isn't affected much by time or temp changes so you can develop different films in the same batch, it's cheap as dirt, and lasts a long, long time. I developed 400+ rolls with my first batch of Diafine. It can be handy stuff, and it sits on the shelf without complaining. I get pretty good results with Tri-X at ISO 1250 in Diafine.

I use TF-4 fixer. This guy explains it better than I can:

http://www.jackspcs.com/tf4.htm

The Diafine and TF-4 instructions reccomend using a water bath instead of an acid stop. Also TF-4 doesn't need Hypo-clear.

Follow the wash with Photo Flo.

Karalee · Feb 23, 2006

I see both adorama and bhphoto wont ship diafine, I ordered some from freestyle, just for a play. I saw some great results from arista.edu ultra (Formapan) souped in diafine.