HP-5 Developer

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I am starting to shoot more HP-5 135 film and would like suggestions on type of developer, time, temp, and IE combos to start with. I like the speed of 400 or close, with minimal grain for the speed, and want to keep good latitude. Developers I currently have on hand Xtol, PMK, and D-76. I don't mind getting something else and experimenting with a combination that you all feel is working with HP-5 though. I am trying to come up with a standard that I will use for this film.

Thanks for the help, Harry J. Vrobel

-- Harry J Vrobel (hvrobel@penn.com), March 01, 2000

Answers

Why don't you pick your favorite of the 3 developers you say you work with and do your personal exposure test and then the zone VIII printing test and then you can work with a system that is calibrated to your equipment? It will save you a lot of time and hassle. Regards, Pat

-- pat j. krentz (krentz@cci-29palms.com), March 01, 2000.

I have been using the ID-11 Ilford developer with the HP5 and have had very good results.I use Ilford Microphen when i push the film. Grain is not bad when pushed to 800, but gets decidedly worse when pushed to 1200. My daughter is using D-76 in her college photo classes with HP-5 and also having good results. I use 7.5 minutes when using it at 400 with the ID-11. Hope this might help some.

-- mike hahn (mwh52@hotmail.com), March 01, 2000.

Best overall imho is D-76 1:1.

Xtol 1:1 will give 1/3 stop more speed and a little higher acutance at the cost of somewhat higher graininess. My only pyro experience was with Leban/PMK+ and that was a non-starter.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), March 02, 2000.


For normal or contrasty subjects (N or N- development) I use Ilford Ilfosol 1+14 at 20 degrees C , 8 to 12 minutes.

-- Thies Meincke (meincke@uni-hamburg.de), March 02, 2000.

The first answer you got, from Pat, was the one I'd agree with. You have to do your own tests because each system is REALLY different. My development times are so far off the published info that I ignore the recommendations entirely.

-- Don Karon (dkaron@socal.rr.com), March 03, 2000.


I shoot alot of news and I have been using microphen straight. I get about 40 rolls of 36 exp. per gallon before I have to dump it. I've used Delta 3200, and T-Max 3200, and I have been getting much better negs with the HP5 and Microphen. I have used ID-11 and it works very good too.

-- William A. Hickstein (whickstein@msn.com), April 11, 2000.

HP-5+ has a speed of 200 in PMK (15M@68F) and produces excellent results. Some other developers, like Xtol, may produce a bit more speed (about 1/3 stop) but at the expense of increased fog. If you need a speed close to 400, you may want to use TMY which has a speed of 320 in PMK and works well. ID-11 and D-76 are the same developer. When used undiluted, both will result in a soft, 'fine grain' negative with poor acutance.

-- Michael D Fraser (mdfraser@earthlink.net), April 16, 2000.

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