Best Developer For Minopan films?

[thermionicist]

Hello all,

 

What is the best developer and fixer to use with current-production Minox Minopan 100 and 400 speed 8x11mm films? I'm just getting back

into developing my own Minox film and wanted to find the best chemistry for the purpose. By the way, I have the Minox Daylight

Developing Tank that I bought at the same time I bought my Minox B.

 

Thank you for any and all advice!

[subminiature]

Minopan 100 and 400 is not current although stocks do turn up.

 

Use Spur SLD which is in 50ml bottles, very suitable for Minox developing tank use.

[thermionicist]

Thank you for the tip!

 

Where can I find Spur SLD in the USA? I've been able to find only the Spur Imagespeed developer. Spur doesn't seem to

be a customer-focused company; they've been unresponsive to my inquiries and their English-language website isn't

being maintained. Their website has a sort of W.C. Fields-like "go away, kid, you bother me!" attitude.

 

Would Agfa Rodinal or Kodak HC-110 be suitable for Minopan films? I'd prefer to use a developer that is easily obtained

from a company who is more interested in serving their potential customers than what Spur seems to be.

 

Also, which black-and-white Minox films are currently being produced?

 

Thanks!

[robbedoes]

@Kermit, Take a look at www.8x11film.com

[thermionicist]

Hi Robert,

 

I tried the link and they do not sell to the USA. The link they listed for FotoImpex USS is a dead link and none of the

other dealers sells to the USA. Freestyle Photographic does sell SPUR, but they don't stock SLD.

 

Does anyone in the USA sell SPUR SLD? It doesn't look to me like either vSPUR or 8x11film.com cares about the US

market and I'm not really motivated to mount a major search-and-rescue operation on the scale of the search for Amelia

Earhart in an attempt to locate their products. Oh wait, I forgot -- SPUR SLD is sold at Area 51!

 

Instead of the elusive SPUR SLD, think I'll try Rodinal and a few other developers that I can actually buy here in the

USA and see which is the best.

 

Honestly, I do not understand SPUR's and 8x11film.com's business practices -- or lack thereof. Why do they make it so

difficult to buy their products? I cannot buy it if they do not make it available for purchase! I would love to have used

their developer, but I give up, they've worn me out with the frustration of it all!

[robbedoes]

Hi Kermit,

 

Then I know one other address: www.fotoimpex.de they sell SLD and ship worldwide. You can contact them in English by email.

 

Success.

 

Rob

[david_nevin1]

Freestyle Photo <a href = "http://www.freestylephoto.biz"> www.freestylephoto.biz </a> stocks SPUR Imagespeed developer. Don't know if this is similar or if freestyle can get SLD or not. Hope this helps.

[thermionicist]

Hi Robert, David.

 

Thanks for the information! I do appreciate it.

 

While I'm awaiting the elusive SPUR SLD, I decided to try my hand at developing a roll of Minopan 100, which I've been

told was Agfa APX100, in a common developer. For the attempt I tried good old Kodak D-76, the developer I've used

most often since the 1970s (as well as Rodinal). My past experience with D-76 and Agfa films is to reduce development

time. So I diluted the D-76 to 1:1, then ran the film at 10 minutes with gentle agitation. The results were good for a first

time without completely know what I'm doing. The negatives were quite sharp, but contrast is a bit too high and some

highlights burned out, so next time I think I'll try 9 minutes. I'm confident I'll be able to refine developing Minopan/Agfa

100 film with D-76 and achieve excellent results. I'll keep you posted.

 

Attached is a shot from the roll. It is sharper and less grainy than the scan shows, notice the burned out highlights on

the hall's light fixtures.<div></div>

[robbedoes]

Hi Kermit,

 

I don't no if you are still in the progress of experimenting with film and developer but if you are I maybe have some interesting combinations. All available at Fotoimpex [1].

 

The first is Ilford Delta i.c.w. Spur HRX2 or other Delta developer. Samples on my site [2]

 

The second is AGFA Copex i.c.w. Spur Nanospeed. Sample yet to come...

 

These films are listed at the German PDF catalog[3] on page 18 and 19.

 

[1] http://www.fotoimpex.de

 

[2]

 

[3] http://www.fotoimpex.de/catalogus_novus_impexi_germanus.pdf

[thermionicist]

Wonderful suggestions, Robert! Thank you! I'll be trying all of those ideas.

 

Another film idea I will be trying is slitting down the "Bluefire Police" 35mm film (http://www.frugalphotograher.com) then

developing it with their developer. I've used this film for the past year with my 35mm Pentax LX because the film's

sharpness, long tonal scale and absolute absence of grain is beyond anything I've ever seen! It gives photos from the LX

the same look you'd expect from a Hasselblad. This film seems a natural for using with Minox cameras, or any other 8x11.

I've not been wanting to "roll my own" but I think I'd be crazy not to custom load minox magazines with Bluefire Police.

[subminiature]

Photographs taken with Copex, Imagelink, Delta 100, Tmax 400, Vario Pro, Sensia are shown at www.8x11film.com.

 

http://www.submin.com/forsale/private/gfg/index.htm

[thermionicist]

Excellent, Gerald! Looks like I will be ordering quite a few Minox items from you, not just film. By the way, I think I just

bought some Copex Film plus Nanospeed developer and a Jobo 8x11 reel from your eBay store. I also want to buy some

other items from you too.