Again the question of the best developer

Gast · 2005-11-24T18:12:56+00:00

Moin, ist ja nicht so, da die Frage, "welcher Entwickler für die besten Bilder" nicht schon x-mal diskutiert worden wäre, trotzdem bitte mal ein paar Tip...

Gast

Hi, It’s not as if the question of ‘which developer produces the best images’ hasn’t been discussed a million times already, but could you still give me a few tips? Now that my Minox has been joined by a big Swiss TLR sister model with a 14×21 mm negative size, I’m once again on the hunt for the ideal combination for the smallest negatives. Goal: no F(K)einstkorn-Ausgleich-Zauberwasser; I want sharpness (but as fine as possible) in the grain and no fuzziness. So A49, ID11 and the like are out. For the same reason, the T-Crystals are out of the running, so really only the Effkes 25 and possibly the 50 remain (Copex and the like would have the same problem). So, a developer that achieves at least the nominal sensitivity, or even slightly more with the Effkes. Tanol is out (what a shame, what a shame, what a shame). How logical to suggest Rodinal, but it’s not exactly a star performer when it comes to boosting sensitivity – at least not enough to justify putting up with the major drawbacks. So, is it back to Dr Beutler’s wonder weapon, Neofin Blaue? It worked quite acceptably with more modern films, but from Plus-X onwards things got a bit tight. Any other ideas? I haven’t tried everything in the world yet. Regards, Martin

Wolf_XL

...give Fuji's 100 Acros a go. Develop it in HRX-2. The result: razor-sharp, almost grain-free negatives with lovely grey tones. However, you lose some of the 100 ISO sensitivity – you won't get more than 64 ISO with this combination. But there’s one thing I’d really love to know – how do you get the film loaded into your Tessina – does standard 35mm film really fit in there?!?

PhilippReichmuth

Neofin Blaue isn’t bad at all. I get the impression that with Efke 50, I wouldn’t quite reach 50 ISO with it either, but I can’t test that precisely – others are better placed to do so. Perhaps you should give Adox ADX A+B a try as well. I’ve come to quite like that developer for certain films. Fine grain, good sharpness, lovely detail, and straightforward processing. It doesn’t quite reach the rated speeds most of the time; with the films I use, it stays about a third of a stop below. But the speeds are a bit on the high side anyway with most black-and-white film/developer combinations. I think the +/- 100 ISO that an FP4 achieves in ADX A+B is perfectly fine. Wolf: Page on the Tessina. Yes, it takes 35 mm film. Philipp

Kiste

Hi Martin, I’d recommend the Pan F. I don’t think it reaches 50 ASA in any developer, but that’s really the only drawback. Why not try the Tannol with a neutral fixer and no stop bath – just rinse it? It has the finest grain and the masking will help you when using the enlarger. The only downside might be that the masking makes the exposure times in the darkroom very long?! Regards, Stephan

Gast

Hi Wolf, Regarding the preparation: Just like Minox, but without the blue part that’s cut into streaks. Seriously, 35mm film, cut into pieces of about 40cm and stored in special tins. Best regards Martin