Diafine 2 bath BW film developer

[ksmattfish]

I've now shot 8 rolls of Tri-X 35mm, and developed it in Accufine's Diafine 2 bath developer. I think I like this stuff a lot!

It gives a 1 stop push in film speed to most regular BW films (it only gives a 1/3 to 2/3 push to tabular grain films), but it gives a 1.5 to 2 stop push to Tri-X (ISO 1250 to 1600) without really looking like it was pushed.

It deals with contrasty lighting very well. 2 bath developers sort of develop to the proper contrast automatically.

And it's super easy to use. You don't have to worry about temp too much; just make sure all the chems are about the same, but it doesn't have to be at 68 degrees (F). No pre-wet. Pour in solution A. Invert your tank twice every minute for 3 min. Pour solution A back into it's jug. Pour in solution B. Invert your tank twice every minute for 3 min. Pour solution B back into it's jug. Rinse with water for 30 sec, and then fix and wash as usual.

The capacity is near infinite. It doesn't wear out. Eventually you have to buy more because you are slowly losing a bit of chemistry every time you use it, but it can sit on your shelf in a sealed jug for years and still be good. In fact, some people claim it gets better 6 months after it was mixed.

The only disadvantage that I can see with it is that it doesn't allow for development changes such as increased agitation, temp, concentration etc... There is only one film speed/contrast/tonal range (depending on film type) available.

I'll scan some of the negs and post them tonight in the 'Photo Gallery'.

 

[terri]

Great! I want to see!!

I'm still trying to accept that you can let this stuff sit and sit like you just described, and not have it deteriorate in a matter of months....sounds fantastic!

 

[Soulreaver]

That is really interesting.A developper that doesn't push film based on temp/time/... but varies instead on film type.never heard of that.
Can be a time saver for a N+1,N+2 dev.
Yesterday and a bit of today I did a N+1 dev that took 13min for each roll (I only got 1 reel/tank )
And developing is boring ... as opposed to printing.

 

[oriecat]

I'm still trying to accept that you can let this stuff sit and sit like you just described, and not have it deteriorate in a matter of months....sounds fantastic!

Yeah, based on my previous disaster with developer dying, that sounds like something I could really get into!

 

[ksmattfish]

One bath developers contain the developer and the activator in one liquid, and both are used at the same time. So the film/paper is constantly developing; as some of it exhausts, fresher stuff replaces it (assuming a bit of agitation).

With a two bath developer, the first bath is the developer, and it soaks into the emulsion. Then you remove most of the excess developer that hasn't soaked in to the emulsion. When you put it in the activator, the developer starts doing it's thing, but it can't go past the point in which it has been exhausted. This is also why the contrast is low. The places on the film that use up the developer faster just stop developing, or at least slow down significantly.