Needed chemicals

<p>I have Kodak TMax Developer, Kodak Photo fix solution, Photo flo solutions. Is that enough to develop B&W? Some programs call for more chemicals. This is what I was sold at my local camera shop.</p>

<p>Add water and that's it! ;)<br /><br />Seriously my friend that's all. I don't even use flo solutions, just developer and fixer.</p>

<p>I saw some articles that said as much and I should have trusted the old hand at the camera shop to know.</p>

<p>Indeed my friend.<br>

I trust you know the process and it's very easy. From my personal experience I can tell you that I never used flo solutions and I keep my developing as simple as I can. Water is good where I live so I don't have to worry about stains. I just use 2 or 3 drops of dish washer. :)<br>

If you have any questions about the process itself I'm sure you will get detailed answers around here.</p>

<p>Well a stop between the Developer and the fixer. Some use water agitation some use indicator stop bath and some like me use diluted with vinegar or just water. Also a thermometer will be handy... :)</p>

<p>I use Indicator Stop bath; others use water. Either will work, but I think the Stop Bath neutralizes all the developer and extends the life of my Fix solution.</p>

<p>As Larry mentioned, you will need a thermometer; developer is quite sensitive to temperature variations. I would add you will need graduates to measure and mix the developer and fixer.</p>

<p>As for PhotoFlo, any discussion borders on religion. <grin> For a final rinse, I use 3 or 4 drops of PhotoFlo in distilled water in the tank. It seems to reduce the water spots on negatives.</p>

 

<p>Photography is a religion.. (BIG GRIN) the thing is every religion is made of the members.. or is that a church of the same religion.... Enjoy your first developer though it would have not have been the one I would have baptized you with. :) </p>

<p>One of the great things about B&W photography is that almost anything will work. Have fun!</p>

<p>ok, I would like to know your thoughts on a developer Larry. You seem to know the routine quite well. And what was that about vinegar? Do you mean water with vinegar? I do have a stopwatch by the way. I have tried to get every item together to make this work right. I kind of like some of my photos and don't want to lose them by a bad development project!</p>

<p>Well for some films and developers I do use a stop bath.. I dilute White vinegar to 2.5% or so I use it mixed in a 2 liter jug about 15 times putting it back into the jug... Some developers need only Water bath stop... You chose your developer... I used it one time.. I used it for the whole time of the jug and hated it.... Others like it.... It is expensive and not to me a good developer... But you have it use it... I prefer HC-110 or Xtol.. it also depends on the film I use.. Lighting and dilutions I use... Rodinal I love with some films not others.... Fixer is Fixer if you use it long enough... The thing is you asked... </p>

<p> If I was to start someone out from blank I would say HC-110 dilution H or D-76 1-1. :)</p>

<p>One chemical I really try not to skimp on is distilled water for the last rinse. With or without Photo Flo.</p>

<p>Richard I got a cheap Activated filter It is fine... it gives me 100+ gallons of filtered water that I could never get even at 88 cents a gallon... The replacement filters are even cheaper.. depends on your water but I get almost 200 gallons from my filter cartridges.. oh and that is just a little under 4 liters for a gallon ... O-)</p>

<p>Tmax developer is controversial and not everyone's cup of tea. IMNSHO it is "the" developer for the latest version of Tmax 400. I get very impressive results rating the film anywhere from ISO200 (bright sun) to ISO 800 (Murky conditions.) Fine grain and open shadows. I mix 10 oz at 1-4 and use it twice without adjusting times. Using 8 oz to cover 35mm film in a stainless tank leaves 2 oz of fresh developer. Works great and cuts costs.</p>

<p>I often have a hard time finding the grain when enlarging in the darkroom which is usually a characteristic of 100 speed or finer film. Yes it's sharp as well. </p>

<p>I think it dissolves too much .... grain edge even super diluted and even concentrated it dies real fast... Not like HC-110... It was developed as a replenished developer for photo machines and then bottled for amateurs ... The name had nothing to do with T grain films it just came out about the same time and marketing as it is.. well.. As you can see There is still a Tmax developer sold in large concentrations and sizes</p>

<p>Yes I understand the confusion caused by Kodak using the name "Tmax" for a developer that was not necessarily intended for Tmax films but still it's doing wonders for my darkroom work.</p>

<p>This is a scan of a 6x9 print I made yesterday with said combo. Shot handheld at ISO 640 and F 5.6 I was able to get 1/125 for a shutter speed in a river bottom with a bright overcast. No I don't recommend hand holding this type of shot but still it made one of the best wet prints I've ever produced when it comes to tone and glow. The little jpeg does not do it justice.</p><div></div>

<p>And this is Xtol and Polypan ISo 50 film shot at I.E 100 in the shade with the sun behind me.. LOL Hand held also</p>

<p> Full size as the internet can hold it here...<br>

<img src="http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6112/6323379384_e825a89b69_z.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="400" /></p>

<p>But that's so apples and oranges. 50 vs 400, closeup vs landscape, print vs film scan. LOL</p>

<p>Yours is a scan too.. "WHIP" The thing is We can say all we want and show it here but we can't tell the OP what to do until after he does it... LOL</p>

<p>And this is Fomapan 100 (AKA..Arista EDU Ultra..Freestyle) in '99 Cent Store' Developer (instant coffee & baking soda [converted to Sodium Carbonate by baking @ 425 F for 1/2 hour..no vitamin C]) As you can see,you can make due with lots of different developers. Tmax is just fine for a start.</p>

<p>Oh don't get me going on caffinol..... I use it too and many types... even Iodine solution or even Iodized salt as a restrainer... for push processing... Not to mention my Urinol ... :)</p>

<p>waite that's a nice shot and your caffinol workded well. I really like the tonality of Foma anyway, </p>

<p>PS how did you send a link that opened up Photoshop on my computer?</p>

<p>I will second D76 as a "starter" developer. It is very easy to use and gives great results, I use it at 1:1 as a one shot. Very easy to mix as it is half and half. I did try a bottle of Tmax once. It was more expensive and I did not see any better results in my film. I will say this about D76, if buy and mix the 1 gallon, you will need to use it within 6 months or so or it may go bad. I have personally used D76 that was over 14 months old and it was fine, partly to being stored in a consistent temp. One of the developers that Larry mentioned, HC110, is a liquid that you mix at 1:32 (dilution B)or 1:63 (dilution H), it lasts a long time if you just mix what you need. <br>

As far as a stop bath, some people say that a developing time that is short an active stop bath should be used and for longer developing times, plain water can be used satisfactorily. I personally consider 7 minutes and shorter as short time and longer than that as a long developing time.<br>

I live in an area that has hard water so, for me, photoflo is a must have. People that have water softeners or live in an area that does not have hard water may be able to do without Photoflo. It is pretty inexpensive and a bottle lasts a long time.</p>