[Leica] xtol question

[dlr at dlridings.se (Daniel Ridings)]

G Hopkinson wrote:
> Very interesting detail from Marty.
> But I have to say, given the XTOL reputation of rapid onset and 
> catastrophic failure to soup, don't even mess with the current
> batch.

XTOL's reputation of catastrophic failure is about as exaggerated as the 
reports about Mark Twain's death that he got tired of hearing.

Here is a snippet from a commercial processor from another list:

--------------- snippet begin ------------------
I know I am not about to change anyone's mind on their favorite and 
least favorite
developer but,  in defense of XTOL I will chime in.

I do custom film processing for a handful of people and have done since 
1981.  I switched
to XTOL when it was the hot new developer back somewhere in the early 
90s.  In the early
80s I used FG7 mostly until I got tired of the inconsistancy and 
switched to D76 so I could
replenish.  Then I switched to XTOL because the people I worked with 
wanted me to. I have
processed well over 25,000 rolls of film in XTOL and to this day still 
process 1000 rolls a
year since I cut processing down to one day a week.

I have been buying the 5 liter mixes since the old packaging style and I 
wouldn't know
how to even guess how many packages I have bought.  NEVER a failure.  I 
did try to switch
back to D76 a year an a half ago because I was trying to use Plus X.  I 
got half way through
a batch with replenisher and dumped it as it was way out of control.

What XTOL does is give beautifully glowing tones especially on the 
modern films.  It is
beautiful with ACROS, TMAX 100 and TMAX 400 and Delta 100.  It is very 
sharp and fine
grain and consistent over a long period of time.  I use the extended 
time system for a tank
of developer that I run to 150 rolls.  That is about 3 liters of 
developer stock.  I keep the
developer in the processing tank with a floating lid and don't even 
worry about the length
of time between mixes. Even after a 3 week vacation I take it for 
granted it is still good.

The sudden death syndrome I think was related to a few instances with 
the old packaging
and I wonder how long it has been since anyone had that problem.

Anyway I am not a KODAK rep and I don't care what developer you like but 
I am very happy
with XTOL as is the main pro lab here in town.

Dennis