Question on Developers

[Commonman]

Two questions on developers:

Is there any developer that one can use for both the film processing (in the tank) and in the tray for RC paper?

Also, I'm trying to find a good developer (for film processing in the tank)that comes in a liquid concentrate. I am working on trying to get the best negatives possible.

I am using both 35mm and 120 B &W film. I usually use T-Max 100 or 400, Kodak Tri-Pan or Ilford Delta pro 100 or 400 (I suppose I should settle down with one type of film),

 

[Helen B]

By and large any developer designed for paper processing will be rather energetic as a general purpose pictorial film developer. It will be very fast working, contrasty and grainy - like instant push processing. The opposite would be true. I've used Dektol for Tri-X for gritty stuff. Photographer's Formulary Universal and Ilford PQ Universal are less contrasty and grainy than Dektol, hence the names. I used PQ Universal quite a lot once upon a time.

There are quite a few good liquid concentrate developers. Of the general purpose ones, Ilford DD-X is one of may favourites. It isn't cheap to use though. Some others:

Clayton F60 and F76;
Kodak HC-110;
PyroCat-HD, PyroCat-MC, Prescysol EF, DiXactol Ultra - all sold by Photographer's Formulary in the USA;
Edwal FG-7

There's also Rodinal, which many people have a fanatical devotion to.

Best,
Helen

 

[Commonman]

Helen,

Thanks for the info. I've been using HC-110 and will probably stick with it since it seems to work fine and is easy to mix up.

Checked out your photos - FANTASTIC!

 

[Commonman]

I started out using Dektol and was very happy with the result. However, I hate dealing with powders.

 

[sabbath999]

There's also Rodinal, which many people have a fanatical devotion to.

Amen.

 

[Commonman]

Sabbath, will check out your photos.

Are you a Black Sabbath fan?

 

[sabbath999]

Sabbath, will check out your photos.

Are you a Black Sabbath fan?

They are OK, but that is not where the name comes from.

 

[Alpha]

Don't waste Rodinal by developing prints in it.

 

[Commonman]

Helen,

I noticed you shot some of your photos with a Nikkormat. I just acquired one of these and used it for the first time yesterday. I know...who cares but I was unfamiliar with these cameras until last week.

It has a 28 mm lens. The processed the film last night and the negatives look good, I must say.

 

[Commonman]

Sabbath, I dig your photos.

 

[Helen B]

Helen,

I noticed you shot some of your photos with a Nikkormat. I just acquired one of these and used it for the first time yesterday. I know...who cares but I was unfamiliar with these cameras until last week.

It has a 28 mm lens. The processed the film last night and the negatives look good, I must say.

They are excellent cameras. In some ways they are even more robust than the F. I bought three of them in the seventies and kept them until earlier this year. Good luck with yours.

Best,
Helen

 

[Commonman]

Helen,

Yes, this is an Nikkormat "FT" and it's working out well.