Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/07/07

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Subject: Re: [Leica] XTOL Again (slightly off-topic)
From: DonjR43198@aol.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 1999 22:20:17 EDT

In a message dated 7/7/99 9:04:34 PM Central Daylight Time, 
gachenba@prodigy.net writes:

<< I'll join those who praise the qualities of XTOL. It truly is a remarkable
 developer with fine grain and consistent results.
  >>
Then why all of the problems using it as you have described?  Besides "fine 
grain" and "consistent results" which Kodak's Microdol has provided for 
decades, what does this "remarkable developer" really provide?

What techniques does the developer use to arrive at "fine grain" and 
"consistent results?"  Is it faster than Phenidone based developers and 
sharper than Metol based developers?  

Has anyone really done some definitive tests to determine how it stacks up 
against the standard developers?

Is the developer used in the old Nikor type tanks that allow the developing 
agent to exhaust in the highlights and keep working in the shadows or is it 
just being used in the Jobo type constant agitation equipment?

Is the developer used as a one-shot for consistency or used over and over 
again with time compensation guessed at as the developer wears out?

Is the developer used with the slow films such as Tech Pan and Agfa 25 or 
does it work best with the high-speed, huge-grain films?

This XTOL discussion my be "slightly off-topic" but it has been drawing some 
interest from the Leica family.