Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/09/24
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Adam Bridge wrote: >Could those of you who do a lot of darkroom work talk to me about this >dilute developer thing? I was sort of under the impression that longer >developer times resulted in a general increase in the size of film grain. >Generally I'm looking to push grain size down as much as possible. Here are my opinions: No, you should not see an increase in grain from the longer times. the dilution is lower and that takes care of grain. > >I tend to be using Delta 100 and Delta 400 (shot at 200) and Delta 3200 >(shot at 1600) and processing in XTOL. Over the weekend I shot TMAX for the >first time and I'll be interested to see what happens with it. I figure >using its own developer is the best trick for it, right? Delta 100 is 100 for me, new Delta 400 is 400 to 800 depending on developer and my needs. I can't imagine why you'd go to 200 with D400. Since D400 is so nice at 800 I probably won't use D3200 anymore, but its nice at 1600. Simplfy your shooting by dropping D3200 unless you really need it. So now youhave D100 at 100 and D400 at 400-800. 2 films that cover pretty much all I'd need. Minimal exposure and minimal development is the answer. That means just enough to get shadow detail you like. > >I know these are probably pretty basic and old questions but I'm trying to >grapple with the science that's involved here. > >Best regards, > >Adam Bridge > >PS: This is probably my own cheapness at work but it bugs me to have to do >tests on 24 exposure rolls. I know that I should be processing test shots in >the same way that I'll be doing my real rolls - but everything screams: >wasting money wasting money at me. Sigh. It costs a lot more to get poor results because you have not tested throughly! Pick one chemistry. Use distilled water to mix it. For the films you mention I'd go with Ilford DDX or Xtol. My suggestions are DDX 1+4 at Ilfords times (or 10% less)for D100 (rated 100), dilute it 1+9 for the D400(rated 400) and give it about 10 mins at 72 degrees. I get good results with this, YMMV but its a starting point. Others people will give different ideas. Pick one and work it to a satisfactory solution. Doesn't matter which, just pick ONE and stay with it. > >I assume to do my own tests I should buy a brick of film (which I assume >will all be from the same production run - is this assumption correct?) and >then create a standard test scene that has a generous dynamic range to it, >shoot it the same way every time, and then process the film in a variety of >different ways (making careful notes along the way.) Good thinking. > >What I'm not sure about is how to then evaluate what I'm seeing in the >negatives. Make prints and/or scans. Thats the only answer. After you do that you will learn what a good negative looks like. Then start messing with adjusting your development techniques to further refine the quality of your negatives. Henry - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html