Choosing developer(s)

[John Bragg]

Another vote for HC-110 here, also you could mix your own D76. It is versatile and keeps well.

Regards, John.

[Tom Hoskinson]

I'll stick with the Pyrocats, the Stock A solution of which I mix in Propylene Glycol. I use the working developer as a 1 shot and the stock concentrates last for years.

D-19 is easy to mix from scratch. It is my developer of choice with Tech Pan for high resolution and high contrast work (electron microscopy and astronomical photography).

[Joshua_G]

Thanks for all the replies.

My quest was not stated clearly enough by me.

I'm looking for neither a cheap developer, nor for a long lasting one.

I'm looking for a developer, or developers, I can mix. Developer(s) with the best balance between "film speed/grain/sharpness (acutance)/gradation" and pushing ability.

Recommending a developer like PC-TEA without a link to its formula is unusable for me. So are any developers sold in the USA, whether sold at Photographer's Formulary, or elsewhere. I live in Israel, and shipping chemicals from abroad will cost me a fortune.

Mytol seems to me to be a good choice.

So, my specific questions are:

1. My view about Mytol being a good choice – is it correct?

2. Are there any other developers I can mix which may have any benefit over Mytol in "film speed/grain/sharpness (acutance)/gradation"?

Note:
It is okay with me to have one general purpose developer and one or two special use developer(s).

[Ian Grant]

Joshua, I'll have to add to Tom and others suggestion of Pyrocat HD.

I really like Xtol, so Mytol's a good substitute, Xtol is probably the best developer of the D76/ID11, Microphen variety good in deep tanks and replenishable. I use it replenished.

But Pyrocat has a quality which lifts the negatives and prints, acutance and tonality are outstanding and still excellent fine-grain. So I'm switching, even for 35mm which I just started using again. It really is an outstanding developer, and all credit to Sandy King.

Ian

[Keith Tapscott.]

Dear Keith,

Yup. Probably a nightmare with Tech Pan. Surprisingly good with most general application films, though. Personally I'd prefer to pay for DD-X. Ain't gonna bankrupt even me.

Cheers,

R.

Technical Pan was a good choice for making copy negatives of old, faded B&W prints with the film rated at EI/ISO 100 and processed in D-19. I much preferred the look of conventional slow films like Agfa APX 25 and Ilford Pan F Plus for `normal` photography where high resolution of detail was required.
DD-X is a very suitable general use developer.

[jim appleyard]

If you can, grab copies of Anchell's "The Darkroom Cookbook" and Anchell/Troop's "Film Developing Cookbook". Lots of recipes in their, cheap too!

Also try the chemistry section here on APUG.

[jim appleyard]

also:http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/De.../formulas.html

[Ian Grant]

As Jim says UnblinkingEye is a great resource.

You'll find plenty about Pyrocat there . . . . . . too.

[Tom Hoskinson]

Thanks for all the replies.

My quest was not stated clearly enough by me.

I'm looking for neither a cheap developer, nor for a long lasting one.

I'm looking for a developer, or developers, I can mix. Developer(s) with the best balance between "film speed/grain/sharpness (acutance)/gradation" and pushing ability.

Recommending a developer like PC-TEA without a link to its formula is unusable for me. So are any developers sold in the USA, whether sold at Photographer's Formulary, or elsewhere. I live in Israel, and shipping chemicals from abroad will cost me a fortune.

Mytol seems to me to be a good choice.

So, my specific questions are:

1. My view about Mytol being a good choice – is it correct?

2. Are there any other developers I can mix which may have any benefit over Mytol in "film speed/grain/sharpness (acutance)/gradation"?

Note:
It is okay with me to have one general purpose developer and one or two special use developer(s).

Pyrocat:
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/2...-hd-notes.html

Instant Mytol:
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum223/...ant-mytol.html

Vitamin C Developers on Unblinking Eye:
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/VitC/vitc.html

Lots of Developer Recipes:

http://www.digitaltruth.com/data.html

[aldevo]

Coming back to developing B&W negative after many years, availability of developers in professional photography shops in my country (2 of them) is meager: -- Kodak D-76, Kodak HC-110 and Tetenal Ultrafin Liquid. However, chemicals for mixing developers are available at chemicals stores. So, reluctantly, I will mix my own developer(s) out of individual chemicals.

Though I shoot with various films, since I don't shoot very much and I intend to mix 1 liter of developer at a time, I should constrain myself to 2 or 3 developers to work with.

My first choice is Mytol (Xtol substitute), for general use. Second developer will probably be FX37, for better acutance, at the price of coarser grain (for slow and medium speed films).

Any recommendations for 1, 2 or at most 3 developers to mix?
Please mention benefits of each recommended developer over D-76 or Xtol (Mytol).

I would recommend Gainer's PC-TEA over Mytol. Far superior shelf life and, essentially, the same resutls. Also, it's MUCH easier to mix than Mytol.

Similarly, I would recommend King/Gainer Pyrocat-MC over FX37. Although the formula for Pyrocat-MC has been published, this developer is readily available through the Photographer's Formulary.

In your case, the ultimate in convenience is probably Kodak HC-110.