robert_orofino3

Add my vote to the Forte Polywarmtone Plus and LPD camp. An excellent combination. I agree with all comments made about this combination.

Wine bottles are excellent. Get the less expensive type with screw caps. This so called "jug wine" comes in 1 & 2 liter sizes. Get the type with the dark class and the moulded handle at the neck. It's lots of fun emptying the bottles as well :-).

Does anyone have experience with this film. In particular, what is the true EI (I will be using a B&W #90 filter), best developer (I was planning on using D-76. Is there a better alternative?) etc. Any advice would be appreciated.BTW I will be using an old Nikon F2 with the original DP1 Photomic finder. Thanks RO

I keep my XTOL stock solution no more than 2 months. I mix with filtered water and have never had the dreaded XTOL failure. However, the XTOL dies very abruptly after 2 months in one of those accordion type containers. I'm using the glass bottle & marbles system now & I'm hoping that I can coax an additional month out of the stuff. I have used tmx & tmy in Xtol with good results. The best results are with 400 Delta in XTOL. 1:1 dilution btw.

There is a printable development chart available at the Kodak wbsite as well. It includes all brands of film but only gives times for full strength XTOL and 1:1.

My Tmax100 negs looked thin and flat as well. The prints, however, are bueatiful (2 are hanging on my wall). I rated film at 80EI and developed in XTOL. I did use a 31/2 Polymax filter with my Polymax Fine Art paper (I usually use a 2/12-3) other than tat printing these negs are no more dificult than any other.

Tri-X in Microdol-X 1:3 at ei 250 was my standard film/developer

combination for many years. I also used quite a bit of Plus-X in

Microdol-X 1:3 at ei 64 with excellent results. I have switched to

Ilford 400 Delta in XTOL 1:1 at ei 320. I would not hesitate to

recommend Microdol-X to anyone.

Film ratings depend on many factors. You need to find your "system speed" this is explained in a very good publication in the "Kodak Workshop Series" titled "Advanced Black-and-White Photography" (KW19). I recommend this book.

I was inactive in photography for several years and this publication was the perfect refresher.If you are just starting out I suggest you look into the other books in the series as well.

To answer your question, I regularly rate my 400 Delta at 320 and give it a 20% pull in the developer. This is, however, a personal preference. I use a condenser enlarger that works best with a slighty denser, less contrasty neg. My negatives usually print under a no.2 1/2 polymax filter.

The other EI ratings mentioned in your question seem about right for my system as well (with the 20% dev. pull). Good Luck. RO

Another vote for Tri-X in D-76 (I prefer the 1:1 dilution).Tri-X is very forgiving and is available (in the US at any rate) just about everywhere, ditto for D-76.

Good luck to you Mason! I guess I have a reason to Pop Photo again.

Thanks for taking over Ed. I'm glad to see this invaluable site will continue. I may even try PYRO one of these days :-).

I believe you can get Verichrome Pan in 127 format from B&H in NYC.

I have gotten superb results with TMX developed in XTOL 1:1 at ei 80.My results are consistant but make sure the developer is fresh. It seem that Kodak has solved the 1L packaging problem.

Wolfram has given you good information, Adran. It seems that he is assuming that you are using a chromogenic film (the type using dyes). My suggestion to you is to get a few rolls of silver halide film (AgX).This type of film will give you the "true" black and white look. Unfortunately this means you can't bring you film to the local minilab that dosent develop AgX film. Your local camera shop should be able to help you out.

If you are serious about black and white photography you really need to consider processing and printing your own work. (Finding a custom lab that can produce work to your specifications is a good[not the best] solution if you don't have the desire to "do it yourself".)

I suggest you at least develop your negatives yourself. All you need is a tank,themometer,chemicals,containers(graduate for mixing, bottles for storage, an accurate timer with a sweep second hand and a light tight place to load the reel (a changing bag etc.)There are detailed instructions on this website that will get you started. Have fun!

The Agfa site has an on line tutorial...excellent...it is in all

likelihood exactly what you are looking for.

I sent Kodak a packet with an 011 date and received 2 packets back from Kodak. It seems to me that Kodak's actions indicate they do care.The bad packet was bought mail order,therefore,I will only buy XTOL in person so I chan check the date code myself. (For the time being, anyway). BTW Delta 400 (35mm) developed in XTOL (1:1) is my current film /developer of choice.

Re: Tri-X speed. It is indeed ei 250 in a fine grain developer like microdol-x but it is closer to 320 in d-76. As far as Ilford vs Kodak, I prefer Ilford btw I'm getting an ei of 320 with delta 400 as well. Perhaps it's my equipment.AT any rate before I started using delta 400, tri-x was my film.

I just finished printing some Delta 400 (35mm) negs developed in Xtol with no dilution,I usually dilute 1:1. I can affirm the previous posts re contrast, grain and shadow detail. All the negs developed at 1:1 usually require a 2 1/2 or 3 polymax filter (papers are polymax rc & fine art developed in Dektol 1:2). This batch of negs were printed through 1 1/2 & 2 filters (same papers), in addition the prints required more dodging and burning than usual (I could not visually see any difference in grain).My conclusion is, I prefer XTOL at the 1:1 dilution.

I use 125 ml of XTOL per roll as well. This means that you can develop two 36 exposure rolls only at 1:1 dilution in a 500ml tank. You can only develop one roll at 1:2 or 1:3.If I have more than 1 roll I use a 1000ml tank.

Tri-X in D-76 1:1 will give finer grain than HC-110 and with my set up a true EI of 400. My personal favorite, however, is Tri-X rated at EI 250, developed in Microdol-X 1:3. Based on my very unscientific visual inspection Microdol-X 1:3 gives Tri-X the finest grain.(I am referring to the 35mm version of Tri-X by the way.)

I mix my Photoflo 200 as a one shot using the bottle cap. Instructions printed on the label. I've been doing this for YEARS with no problem.

Let me chime in with Tri-X in D-76 1:1. The most forgiving film developer combination I have ever used. You can't easily mess this stuff up.

Black and White Photography is the process of turning salt into silver. In order to do it properly you need a "philosopher's stone". No one can tell you where to get one...you have to find it yourself. Watch out for the Inquisition!

How old was the XTOL? I've had this problem with developer that is over one month old, XTOL is very prone to oxidation. My solution is to mix in small bathches as needed. (One litre at a time). The packaging problem has aparently been solved, I haven't gotten a bad batch since April.

This stuff works really well with T-grain films, especially my personal favorite Delta 400 with 1:1 dilution. Haven't used it with Tri-X but perhaps as mentioned above this is not a good match. In addition Tri-X is a traditional film and will most likely work well with a traditional developer like D-76.

Even better, rate your TRI-X at 250 EI and develop it in Microdol-X 1:3. Before I switched to Delta 400 in XTOL 1:1, Tri-X in Microdol-X 1:3 was my favorite combination.

I don't think 3 months will adversly affect the latent image. I've developed Tri-X 35mm and Ilford Delta 400 up to a year after exposure with no noticable image degradation. If you are traveling overseas perhaps you should mail your film home after exposure to avoid any x-ray exposure at airport security. I'm sure there are others in this forum with more specific advice.