keith_merrill Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Howdy all,I would like to get some chemicals from Photographers' Formulary and would like to know from users what a good developer for pan f and hp 5 would be. I am shooting 35mm and 645. I would like to use only one developer for both, but if you have found better results from two, I am all ears. I know its a fairly broad question, but I would like a starting point with this company. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted February 3, 2004 Share Posted February 3, 2004 Slow films and fast films are generally not at their optimum in the same developers. Slow films require very gentle, soft developers (dilute, compensating developers usually based on Metol, such as Neofin Blue or Acutol, or highly diluted Rodinal), while fast films require solvent, fine-grain, somewhat more active developers based on phenidone (Microphen, UFG, Acufine, etc.). I am not sure why you are confining yourself to what is available from Photographers' Formulary, as their primary offerings are raw chemicals. My choice for a single developer for these films would be D76 1:1, or Acutol. HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholas_t. Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 You can pretty much make up whatever takes your fancy when ordering from 'Formulary...<p> If you are considering making up an order, think hard about what you might want to do. I have an article from Darkroom mag (alas, now defunct) which gives the quantities needed to put together a kit to make up pretty much most of the popular developers... I could look it up if you like.<p> However, if you are looking for one developer for most uses you can't go wrong with the basic "Gainer" developer, all you need to order then is Metol and/or Phenidone... All the rest of the ingredients are commonly found via the Health food store, Hardware store, Pool suppliers and Supermarket. Very inexpensive to make, fine grained and excellent speed.<p> Good luck, Nicholas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim_appleyard Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 TD-16 (their version of D-76), or BW-44 would be good choices for both of these films. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j._salty Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 PF is an excellent company and they'll provide an educated opinion to your question if you ask them. I like PMK for Pan F+ and HP5+. The Pan F+ won't stain as well as the HP5+. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_s. Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 I like Photographer's Formulary. I have used their version of FX-2 (a Crawley formulation), which they call TFX-2. It is a good developer for slower films like Pan F. It is a speed increasing, accutance developer. For HP5, I like Xtol, so I can't help you with a PF developer there. Although I have developed HP5 in TFX-2, it came out with grain pattern that was a little strange. You could try it and see if you like that look, but TFX-2 and FX-2 were not designed for faster films. If you are already ordering from PF, I would suggest getting their alkaline fixer, TF-4. It eliminates the need to use perma-wash and reduces general washing time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trooper Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 Their divided D-76 is versatile and would be good way to try out 2 bath developers if you haven't already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug_bennett Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 I used WD2D+ with HP5, with good results. It should work OK with Pan F as well, though I haven't tried it. Now that I think of it, I may try it with Pan F. I've never been able to get Pan F's contrast under control, and WD2D+ is definitely a lower contrast developer. Hmmmmmm..... With other films, such as HP5, you may find that you need to increase the amount of stock solutions (I've gone up 20%), or increase your times to get appopriate contrast. When it's right, though, WD2D+ yields good sharpness, excellent shadow detail, and highlights that just keep going. Amen to the TF-4 fixer; it's a godsend to us fiber printers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.schifano Posted February 4, 2004 Share Posted February 4, 2004 Mind you, I have no quarrel with Photographer's Formulary except that their prices are a bit on the high side. I've used Rodinal 1+50 for PanF+ with beautiful results, but it's not so good for HP5+ - especially in 35mm. Some of my best results with HP5+ have been either with XTOL or D-76. Use the XTOL at 1+3 if you're shooting in contrasty light for a bit of compensation, but please makae sure that you use at least 150ml of stock solution per roll. I'm fairly certain that's more than Kodak's recommended minimums, but it has always worked for me and the stuff is not that expensive. Otherwise, it's really hard to go wrong with D-76 diluted 1+1. This is my general, all purpose, never fail developer. It may not be the best for everything, but it's pretty darned good with just about anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 I like Geoffrey Crawley's FX5, a metol/borax formulation. It's similar to Ilford's Perceptol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 If you would like to mix up your own, Crawley's FX series are very good, and FX-15 is particularly good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete_su Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 IMHO it takes a lot of work to do better than D76 1:1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted February 5, 2004 Share Posted February 5, 2004 Pete: I agree about D76. Keith: So, why not simply buy OTC prepared developers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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