XTOL - minimum volume?

Although I have been pleased with results using Tmax developer for the Tmax films, I would like to give XTOL a try. So far using Kodaks recomended times my negs are way too thin at every dilution except 1:1. Can it be that you need to have a minimum amount of stock in the tank regardless of the dilution? Also I woulld like to hear about the resulting negatives in terms of contrast and printability at the various dilutions. Thank you for any help.

Mr. Brown is correct. In practical terms, what this means is that

Kodak's recommended times are for one roll of 35mm or 120 film in

100ml (8 oz.) of undiluted stock. So if you dilute the stock 1:1 you

should still use it to develop only one roll. That means using 16

oz. of diluted developer for one roll of film.

 

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Given that you can fit two rolls of 35mm film into a 16 oz. tank, you

may want a more efficient option. Here it is: when developing more

than one roll of 35mm/120 film in a 1:1 dilution, increase your

developing time by 15%. This is what Kodak recommends in their tech

sheet for Xtol, albeit in very small print. If you dilute at 1:2,

add another 15%, and add yet another 15% for 1:3.

 

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BTW, even though one roll of 220 film will fit into a 16 oz. tank of

developer, it still counts as two rolls because of its increased

surface area. Adjust your times accordingly.

100ml = 3.38 oz., not 8 oz.

Opps! How embarassing, but thanks for pointing out my error. Let me

try again. The average 35mm rollfilm tank takes 8 oz. (227ml) of

solution for a single roll of film. If you dilute Xtol 1:1, half of

the volume (113.5ml) will be developer, so there will be no problem

with undercapacity. If you dilute 1:2 however, there will be only

76ml of developer to 151ml of water. That's less than the 100ml

minimum, which will lead to underdevelopment.

 

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In my experience however, negatives developed at 1:1 at Kodak's

recommended times do not have the same density as negatives developed

in full-strength Xtol, also at Kodak's recommended time (i.e.,

they're a bit lighter.) Bottom line: run a few tests before you

develop an important roll of film.