Unaccurate info on developers

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X-tol, D-76, or T-Max? I'm unable to tell from what Kodak says, which of these developers will give the best shadow detatail, contrast range, grainness, sharpness, emulsion speed, etc. In fact, I've long been searching for an objective comparison of D-76, X-Tol and T-Max developers. Since all you can ever find are things like "good tonality" of "enhanced shadow detail", it's dificult to tell which developer will give you the best of any of these caractheristics. What I'd like to know is the difference between rolls of the same film developed in different developers.

-- Martín Crovetto (mcrove@yahoo.com.ar), June 18, 2001

Answers

You're essentially asking a question that's impossible to answer; I'll break it down into pieces...

Shadow detail...depends entirely on how much exposure you give the film. Nothing else. You must give an exposure suitable for the developer you're using and how long you develop the film, and you can't develop what hasn't been exposed onto the film.

Contrast range...all three developers provide virtually identical gradation characteristics and a density range that extends far wider than what can be printed.

Graininess...the three are essentially equal in graininess for film developed to the same level of contrast. More or less development will have a greater effect than which you choose. Dilution will have a minor effect.

Sharpness...the three can provide equal sharpness, or acutance, which can be enhanced by by dilution, but the penalty is increased graininess.

Speed...for negs developed to the same contrast, speed varies no more than 1/3 stop.

That's about as objective as can be. I can be _subjective_, but my results may not be applicable at all because I may be using a different film, different development methods etc

If you really want to know, the only answer is to try them for yourself, developing and printing imho at least 10 rolls in each developer at varying dilutions etc. Your preference will become obvious.

Film and developers have sort of a performance triangle, with speed at one point, graininess at another point and sharpness (RP) at the other point. A gain in performance in one or two areas will exact a penalty in the opposite one or two areas. Most of the characteristics are built into the film and can only be significantly changed by developers that are grossly different than "normal" developers.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), June 18, 2001.


The curves for most Kodak films in D-76 and Tmax can be found on Kodak's website.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), June 19, 2001.

John, I know that shadow detail depends on how much exposure you give the film. However, certain developers are said to give more shadow detail than others with equaly exposed film. I already knew about Kodak's tech data. The developoement times, dilutions, temperatures and adjustments for re-use are realy fine. If you follow their guideline, it can't turn out too bad. The curves are not very precise and they don't tell you anithing about shadow detail, grainess and sharpness. Also, they are not available for X- tol or other developers.

-- Martin Crovetto (mcrove@yahoo.com.ar), June 19, 2001.

I think you might want to try Diafine... (except for T-grained films). It is a compensating developer that isn't really temperature dependent (within reason). It is a 2 bath developer that boosts shadow detail but does not burn out your highlights... but as John states, you need exposure in the shadows to render detail. No matter what negative film your using, the old saying still stands true... "meter for the shadows and develop for the for the highlights". Diafine does make things easier as far as developing is concerned. It is a fine grain, high acutance (edge sharpness), compensating developer that works great. As to "good tonality" of "enhanced shadow detail" statements that manufacturers place on their products... they all want to say the same thing!

-- Scott Walton (f64sw@hotmail.com), June 20, 2001.

Scott;

I keep hearing that Diafine is not recommended for T-grain films. I develop T-max 100 in Diafine and I love the results. What's your experience?

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@att.net), June 20, 2001.



Gene, As much as I love Diafine... I don't care for the tones of Tmax. I do HAVE to use it (TMX & TMY) and prefer the easy of Diafine so to answer your question, yes I have pretty good results with it but I still prefer it with 4x5 TXP for my own personal stuff! Cheers

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), June 21, 2001.

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