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Arista developer


rossb

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I just ordered some Arista liquid developer from Freestyle. I have been using D76 and like it perfectly well but feel like trying out something else and also mixing the D76 powder is not great.

 

 

Anyone have information to share on Arista developer. They have Arista liquid and Arista Premium and checking development times I wonder if it is the same developer.

 

 

I bulk load and thought I would roll up a couple of very short rolls and shoot the same shots with both rolls and then develop in D76 and Arista liquid and see what the difference may be. I will develop the D76 as a stock solution as it gives nearly the same development time as the Arista liquid at 1:9 mix.

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Here is what I have learned about Arista B/W film developer. Arista liquid is a re-badged developer for Freestyle photo from Clayton F60. Arista Premium is a re-badged Clayton F76. They are both fine grain film developers and they are actually made in LA, Calif. I am not sure what to expect in the way of a difference in what you would see but the F76/Arista Premium is a liquid developer that is supposed to be similar to D76.

 

Anyway I will have the Arista Liquid developer tomorrow (F60) and I will start using it. I will probably also try the Arista Premium next see if I can determine any difference in what I can actually see. Contrast/sharpness/grain or whatever. Both developers are suggested to be used at a 1:9 dilution.

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Well part of my reason for trying the developer was to give a liquid developer a try. I have been using D76 for a long time and have always been pleased with it. However BHPhoto would not ship HC110 which I wanted to try. Last time there I could not even get D76 shipped so I started buying from Freestyle. . Anyway Freestyle will ship anything I order so I figured I would give Arista a try since my son uses it and likes the results. Actually I have film drying now from the Arista Liquid and the negatives look fine hanging there but after scanning I will see if the grain and contrast pass muster for my eyes. <BR><BR>

 

We shall see how it goes in about an hour when I start scanning.

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The test roll went well. I like the photos and I would say my first impression is that it looks just like D76 except maybe just a touch sharper. Anyway I am happy and will use it for a while and probably try the Arista Premium also.. The liquid is nice as I do not have to heat water and pour the powder which gets in the air a little. It's a bit simpler overall.

 

With HP5 the data says 7 min at 1:9 dilution but I mixed it 1:10 as it's easy to measure out. I just added 10 seconds for the change and as far as I can tell it was just right. I will just keep doing that unless something seems a bit off later on. One shot developer which is my favorite.

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F76 does sound like it is supposed to be similar to D76.

 

In Kodak's "Processing Chemicals and Formulas" there is no D60.

 

There are DK60a and DS60aTR, the latter seems to be the replenisher.

If F60 is similar, it should also be a fine film developer.

-- glen

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Arista liquid/Clayton F60 is just advertised as a fine grain developer and suitable for push processing. Not much about it on the net that I have found. But after a test roll it seems to be very nice and I will be happy to use it. The next time I order from Freestyle I will get some Arista Premium/Clayton F76 and try it out also. I will probably just go with which ever one looks the best to me over the next couple months and just use it for a while or maybe long term.

<BR><BR>

 

I have been buying from BHPhoto and do not remember them carrying Arista or Clayton chemicals so it's the first I have seen of them. However I buy from Freestyle now and apparently Arista is their store brand. Anyway it's fun to try different things out there and I think it helps to be a bit flexible and able to work with a few different products.

<BR><BR>

 

Whatever I do going forward I think I want to stick with liquid chemicals as preparing and mixing is easier. I use Illford rapid fixer which I am very happy with.

Edited by rossb
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I'm working on a roll of HP5 at 800 and plan to use the Arista liquid to develop it. The massive development chart had the information I needed. Shooting at 800 is a big thing to me as it is a versatile speed to use. Indoors with good light, a 3 stop filter without tripod and things like that. HP5 with D76 looks real nice to me so this is a big moment for the Arista to equal it.
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After 3 rolls I think I do like the developer. However there is very little information out there on development times and I shoot a number of different films and do not really want to work out the correct times for each one. I am just going to stick to D76 which I have always liked. I think if a company wants to be serious about selling a developer then they need to make available a full range of processing times for the different films and for push processing. Anyway back to D76 for a few years and then we will see.
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Just to clarify that on the bottle of Arista developer it states to mix at a 1:9 ratio and develop for 8 minutes with any 400 speed B/W film. Agitate 10 seconds every 1 minute. I did that with HP5 and the results were excellent. However I am going to just keep using D76 as I already know what to do to push to 800 or 1600.
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Just about anytime someone asks "Should I do X instead of Y?" I pretty much always say, that if you have to ask, then no.<BR><BR>

 

The recommendation, such as developers, times, temperatures and EI values, are mostly well studied for reasonably ordinary conditions.<BR><BR>

 

I suspect, though don't know for sure, the F-76 is close enough to D-76 that you might as well use it. The D-76 formula is available, and as far as I know, no restrictions on its use. It might be that "D-76" itself is trademarked, though. (Kodak names fixers with F, so that might not have been the best choice.)<BR><BR>

 

If you follow the zone system (I don't) or even if you don't, but are interested in other film/developer combinations, then you should shoot and develop enough film, under enough different conditions and development times to know how it will behave. One part of zone system is to adjust exposure and development to get an appropriate contrast for each scene. Recommended times are based on average scenes. Most often, our scenes are close enough to average.<BR>

Many film developers will give well exposed, average contrast, negatives with average scenes and suggested times. With times a little more or less, they are usually close enough, within the latitude of the film.<BR><BR>

 

When you have an unusual situation, especially available light with lighting position in less than optimal places, then you have to work harder.<BR>

How much to push? Which developer will get the most out of underexposed film? Should you risk camera movement at slow shutter speeds, or underexposure at higher speeds? After some years, I usually know how slow I can go, take a few shots if I really want it to work out. Often you are stretching the underexposure latitude of the film. <BR><BR>

 

If you are unsure of the development time, and the film is not so likely overexposed, round up to the longer time. Films usually have more latitude for overexposure, and so also for a little overdevelopment.

-- glen

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