Best developing times for these films

[jose_gamboa]

Hi to all, I took some nice pictures (I hope) in brazil this last

week with my m6 and 24 asph, and I�m not really sure as to what are

the best developing times for these films:

Ilford delta 400 rate at 320

Ilford pan f 50 rate at 40

Inlford delta 100 rated at 80

These are all going to be developed with d-76 (should I use

another). Hope you can help me out

Thanks

[continuity]

Have you visited <a href="http://www.digitaltruth.com">digitaltruth.com</a>? They have a Massive Development Chart which should work as a start.

[luis_martins]

hi jose,

 

check: http://www.digitaltruth.com/chart/tables2/d76id11.html

or go to the main page: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

and navidate from there.

 

i didn't see any times matching your exposure index, about 1/3 less than the advertised iso, but i do believe that you may use the published times and get good prints out of 1/3 overexposed negatives.

or you may reduce the dev times by 10% or so.

 

[],

[peter_schauss1]

For Delta 400 I use D76 1+1 at 20 C for 11 minutes. I use a condensor englarger and have found that the 14 minutes listed on the Digital Truth table gives too much contrast and grain for my taste.

[tim_brown5]

Developing times given by the manufacturer, Digitaltruth, or anywhere else are only a starting point. The successfull darkroom worker learns to adjust for their own equipment, technique and tastes.

[jose_gamboa]

Thanks to all for your response. What does 1+1, 1+2 or 1+3 mean? Is this the dilution? I don�t seem to find the Ilford Pan 50, can anyone recommend me a developing time (from experience). Thanks again.

[eric_chamberlain]

Yes dilutions. 1+1 is mixing equal parts of one liquid with another. An example is D76 1+1, diluting 1 part (say 500mL) of D76 stock solution with another part water (another 500 mL) will give you a liter of half strength D76. Its also written as 1:1. And some developers use several solutions, e.g. PMK pyro has three and is used 1:1:100 (1 part a, 1 part b, 100 parts c). Good luck

[luis_martins]

i do believe that ilford pan 50 is ilford pan f+, you'll find it on digitaltruth.com as well. 1+1, 1+3, 1+n, means 1 part of developer plus n parts of water.

[jose_gamboa]

Thanks Erick; thanks Luis, now I have this clear. Which dilution would you recommend?

[rich815]

Jose, shooting B&W films at other than their stated ratings (or shooting them at their stated ratings, for that matter), what developer used, what dilution used, etc. is all done for what specific result you may be after, and all that is based on your subject matter, lighting, contrast, etc. too. You state in your query the speeds you want to rate them at. Why? You ask which dilution is best. The best answer is what do you want to accomplish in how you want your negatives and how you will print or scan them. There is no "right" or "best" answer. That's why so many answered "...as a starting point". Sometimes I shoot a high speed film like Ilford Delta 3200 at 1000 and develop at 1600 using Rodinol, sometimes trusty Tri-X at 400 in D-76 1:1, sometimes XP2 at 200 and developed in C-41, and also Fuji Acros at 100 developed in Microdol-X or Xtol. It all depends on conditions, lighting, effect desired and so forth. You seem to start with the premise that you want to overexpose all these films slightly. Not a bad idea but again, why? Not to sound flippant but only you can decide the best technique for what you are after as a result. It's why so many of us still love traditional B&W film and not digital. Should you use D-76 or another developer? Sure, why not? :-)<p>Main point is just do it. Then decide what you like or dislike and try again with different speeds and dilutions, maybe different developers. Learn which worked better or did not. It's the only way to get the best results possible. If it does not matter, or is not worth all that effort then shoot XP2 or Kodak T400CN, or straight digital.

[timothy_o_mcdonald]

Jose - "And some developers use several solutions, e.g. PMK

pyro has three and is used 1:1:100 (1 part a, 1 part b, 100 parts c)." This developer is used 1:2:100 unless Gordon Hutchings is wrong.

These are just suggestions for what you should use, not something carved in stone.

 

Tim

[jose_gamboa]

Thanks Richard, you are so right. I took these pictures with available light, most of them on nice sunny days. I overexpose them to get richer negatives and make sure I was getting shadow detail on the negs. What I�m concerned with is quality (fine grain) and high contras photos. I hate gray dull pics, with no life. With that in mind what dilution should I use? How much time? Thanks again.

[jose_gamboa]

I forgot to say I�m going to scan this negs, and print them on an Epson 2200 printer. Thanks.