Delta 400 and PMK

[cedric_reverand]

I've been using PMK and Ilford FP4 successfully for years, and I've used PMK on

Ilford HP5 (I prefer the gradation of FP4). I understand that pyro developers

don't really offer an advantage for certain kinds of film, like TMAX, because of

the special structure or shape of the photosensitive particles in that emulsion.

The question is: does anybody have experience with PMK and Delta 400? Also, does

anybody see remarkable advantages to PMK plus TMAX.

[jay_de_fehr]

Hello Cedric,

 

The notion that staining developers don't work as well with designer grain films as they do with traditional films is pure mythology. Staining developers do not stain the silver, whatever shape, but the gelatin that binds the grains together. Designer grain films like Delta and Tmax were designed to produce maximum sensitivity and sharpness with minimum grain, but there were many other improvements over traditional films as well, including: reciprocity characteristics, high temperature processing tolerance for rapid machine processing, scanability (is that a word?), and keeping properties. TMY-2 is the current heavyweight champ of B&W films, with sharpness and grain comparable to the best 100 speed films, and true ISO 400 speed, with remarkable processing latitude. Staining/tanning developers like PMK confer the same advantages to TMY-2 as they do to any other film, and the results can be astounding. Just as the engineers who created TMY-2 found a way to simultaneously increase sharpness and decrease grain (traditionally considered inversely proportional), staining/tanning developers offer similar benefits through some nifty loopholes in traditional wisdom, and best of all, the benefits are cumulative, so pairing TMY-2 with the best staining/tanning developer offers the ultimate in film performance. Which staining/tanning developer is best depends on many factors including your processing method, which of the film's characteristics you want to feature most prominently, or simply which developer you have on hand, or have experience with. PMK is not near the top of my list of favorite staining developers, but as you must know, it is capable of excellent results when handled properly. Give it a go; I think you'll be glad you did.

 

Jay

[the world in black white]

Welcome back, Jay. I am still an advocate of 510-Pyro and have been using it exclusively for about two years with tremendous success!

[jay_de_fehr]

Hi Donald, and thank you for the warm greeting.

 

I'm happy to know 510-Pyro is working for you. When I was working in my little lab,

testing various formulae and hypotheses, I developed a lot of film in experimental

developers, with mixed results, but when I wanted to be sure of easy printing

negatives, I always used 510-Pyro. I never had to worry about my stock solution, and I

could make a working solution in a few seconds. 510-Pyro has never let me down, and

I don't miss two-part developers a bit.

 

Regards,

 

Jay

[rg nelson]

Cedrik, I've used PMK on Delta 400. You get a darker general pyro stain but it prints through easily. Mostly, I get a light general stain from PMK on FP4 negatives. Interestingly, a friend had a batch of FP4 that stained much like the Delta 400. I processed a roll of my film with a roll of his in the same tank and got a significant difference in stain. I'm not sure why this should be so.