[ChristopherCoy]

1. Seeing I will probably be printing more mistakes than keepers, would I be better of starting with a 5"x7" VC RC paper instead of 8"x10"? I can get 100 sheets for half the money. Or will the smaller size mask mistakes I may be making?

2. I know there's as many developers as there are flavors of ice cream, so would Kodak Dektol be a good choice for a "newbie" or something else? I plan to mix up the stop and fix from what I have. I know I need to mix it in different ratios than film.

Yes, to both.

Its been 15 years since I did any darkroom work, and like you, I just set up my own darkroom.

I opted for the developer that I knew and used in high school, Dektol. I'll venture into other developers later.

And I also went with the Arista Private Reserve RC VC 5x7 100 sheets for $25 from Freestyle. I thought along the lines that you did, and I'm glad I did. I've ruined a few sheets thus far, and couldn't bare the thought of ruining that much money and 8x10 paper. And I've dodged/burned a little just find with 5x7 paper. I'll buy some 8x10 and larger stuff after a few months of practice.