Neutrino
Dear forum members,
I only discovered analogue photography about three years ago. It all started with two old SLR cameras (a Yashica J5 and a Minolta SRT 101b) that my grandmother had given me to sell on eBay. However, they were never sold because I ‘fell in love’ with these cameras in no time at all, and that’s how I discovered the world of (analogue) photography. I’ve only been developing my own film for about two years, though I must admit that, unfortunately, I haven’t had as much exposure to film as I’d like to have had so far. So I can certainly still be described as a beginner. I’m still on the lookout for the films and developers that suit my needs. For this reason, I’m still in an experimental phase.
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In principle, I prefer films and developers that deliver high resolution and a very fine grain (exceptions prove the rule). That’s why I’m also trying to get to grips with the T-Max 100. I developed my first roll of T-Max 100 in Tetenal Ultrafin Plus. I wasn’t really satisfied with the result. Relatively coarse grain (compared to Fuji Acros 100) and a lot of dust ‘embedded’ in the film. The developer is probably not to blame for the dust, but I haven’t had this problem with other films.
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Anyway, I never really warmed to Ultrafin Plus (not even with other films). Apart from that, I’ve now run out of it and there’s no point in testing this developer any further as Tetenal has discontinued it and replaced it with Ultrafin T-Plus, although I do think it’s commendable in principle that even larger companies like Tetenal are still bringing new products to market.
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So, to cut a long story short, I’d like to carry out the development of the T-Max 100 soon and would be interested to know which developer you’d recommend. The options are Adox ADX and Kodak X-Tol. I’ve been very happy with the ADX so far in medium format (6x7). Very good sharpness and still reasonably fine grain. I’ve never tried the X-Tol before; I’d have to mix it up first. With the ADX, I’m a bit worried that it might turn out too grainy on 35mm and not fully utilise the ISO sensitivity. I’ve had the impression so far that the rated sensitivity isn’t really achieved, and I’ve been performing the exposure on the T-Max 100 at ISO 100.
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I have absolutely no experience with X-Tol yet. That raises the question of stock, 1:1, 1:2, or even a 1:3 dilution. Many people online swear by 1:2 or higher and say the granularity doesn’t increase dramatically, but the sharpness improves significantly. Others, however, believe that X-Tol has the same level of sharpness at 1:1, with even finer grain. What do you think?
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Is there anyone here who has experience with both developers, perhaps even with this film? I realise that I might get completely different subjective opinions. But that’s fine; I’d like to form my own opinion based on them.
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TiMo
Hi Neutrino,
I’m not sure there’s much point in asking what others think of a particular film and developer combination.
You’ve got the ADX lying around. Why not just snap a few test shots (you don’t have to use up a whole roll) and pop them in the ADX? If you like the results, your search is already over.
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Personally, I like the T-Max 100 in Moersch Eco.
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Cheers, Tim
sputnik
I haven’t had any experience with X-Tol at all yet. That raises the question of whether to use it undiluted, at a 1:1 ratio, 1:2, or even a 1:3 dilution. Many people online swear by 1:2 or higher, saying that the granularity doesn’t increase dramatically, but the sharpness increases significantly. Others, however, believe that X-Tol is just as sharp at 1:1, with even finer grain. What do you think?
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I realise that I might get completely different subjective opinions. But that’s fine; I want to form my own opinion based on them.
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Sorry, but I don’t quite understand your approach.
You’ve read pretty much every possible conflicting statement from users online.
Now you want to hear the same thing again here so you can form your own opinion.
Why don’t you save yourself and others the trouble of repeating these subjective opinions and form your own opinion RIGHT AWAY based on the information you’ve already found online?
Otto
TMax100 produces excellent results with Xtol. After preheating for 2 minutes (to 24°C), I use a 1+3 dilution of Xtol at 24°C (500 ml per film). Development time: 11 minutes; agitation: tilt for 15 seconds, then tilt vigorously three times every 30 seconds. This achieves 100 ASA. A two-bath fixing process is highly recommended. Double the clearing time in the fixer 1, then a single clearing time in the fixer 2.
Good luck and best regards,
Otto!
ThomasPauly
I processed T-Max 100 using the X-Tol clone Foma Excel (1+2). Based on a visual assessment of a 30×40 cm enlargement from a 35mm negative, this combination produced the most sharpest and fine-grained result I have achieved to date with a film in the 100 ASA class. I am unable to make a comparison with ADX. It is worth noting, however, that this film-developer combination is apparently extremely good value (whereas I found another flat-crystal film, Foma 200, to be rather mediocre when processed with Excel in the aforementioned evaluation criteria). In terms of tonal reproduction, however, T-Max 100 is not my favourite; here, Delta 100 seems to me to have the edge among the flat-crystal films.
Regards
tepe
Neutrino
@sputnik: I’ve actually read a great deal about X-Tol and have come across plenty of opinions and reviews. That’s why I decided to buy this developer in the first place – because what I’ve read about it really appeals to me. However, it’s becoming more difficult to find opinions and reviews that refer to a specific film-developer combination. For example, regarding T-Max 100 with ADX, I’ve so far found just one post where this combination is mentioned. It gets even trickier when it comes to the image characteristics I’m looking for (fine grain, high resolution, etc.). Besides, I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to ask a question again, even if it’s already been answered somewhere in the vastness of the internet. If everyone just searches and nobody posts, eventually you won’t find anything at all. That’s putting it rather bluntly, of course. ;-)
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@Tepeand Otto: Thank you very much for your experiences, they’ve been very helpful! :-) I’ve often heard that you have to fix T-Max films for a long time; I haven’t come across the two-bath method before. What advantage does that offer compared to simply leaving the film in the fixer for longer?
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I wish everyone a lovely weekend!
TiMo
What is the advantage of this, as opposed to simply leaving the film in the fixer for longer?
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The second fixer is as good as fresh. The first does the bulk of the work. The second then acts as a safeguard to ensure that everything is properly fixed, in case the first was no longer potent enough.
Once the first is used up, the second becomes the first and a fresh second is prepared.
ultra8
I develop the TMax 100 in XTOL 1+3, for 16 minutes using the Kodak agitation method at 20°C, and I’m quite happy with the results. You can find out more about XTOL in my practical report:
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http://www.joerg-bergs.de/kodak-xtol-praxisbericht-in-dritter-auflage/
Bonderer
Practice makes perfect. Give things a go, then decide what you like and what you don’t, and don’t get bogged down. As for me – and this is just my personal preference – I now use almost exclusively TriX, with the occasional roll of HP5 or FP4, and just one developer. And for someone whose films I get to develop (a photojournalist), I only use pushed TriX and Rodinal/Adonal – he loves it more than anything. Then try out all sorts of developers and stick with the one that suits you best. Bear in mind that there will be some disastrous results where you’ll want to bin the developer straight away, so use the smallest possible pack for testing. It’s happened to me quite often, but if you don’t like it, why keep developing films with it? Better to get rid of the stuff. See if that particular developer combination suits your own style of photography, and if so, great. But you have to figure that out for yourself, and not every developer suits every film. All you can do is try, try and try again.
