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Question on film & chemistry compatability . . .
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 11:24 pm    Post subject: Question on film & chemistry compatability . . . Reply with quote
Is there a site that gives info on developing film in chemicals other that the same brand?

When I picked up my chemicals I went with Kodak due to the ease of availability here. So is D76 universal?
The lot of B&W film I stocked up on is Kodak as well, but I have discovered that I have a roll of Ilford B&W that was picked up by my wife for me - she was told that it was suited to home developing. So will Kodak chemistry develop Ilford film? And what about Fuji . . . Shocked Confused
<mybrain>

a slightly confused

Jim


PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 11:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
B&W chemical are same I think if I remember as well no difference. You can develop any film with same chemical.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
There are some sites... massive is kind of cool...

http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/techtips_filmdev.php


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Black and white chemistry for silver halide film is very universal. The ones to avoid are Ilford XPx, and Fuji Neopan 400CN, as they use colour based chemistry to produce their B&W. Kodak also have a similar film, T400CN.

Not very cleverly, the non-CN version of Neopan is silver halide, so that's ok for you, but you'd think they'd have chosen a different name.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Jim,

Many film manufacturers use(d) the same chemical recipe but call them under their own names. The same MQ-Borax recipe is called D76 by Kodak, ID-11 by Ilford, etc, so they can be used interchangeably.

This ID-11/D76 recipe is pretty much universal and can handle most films successfully, you can use it as your standard film developer, either as a one-shot at 1:1 or 1:3 strengths, or a replenishment system.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 7:32 am    Post subject: Re: Question on film & chemistry compatability . . . Reply with quote
j.lukow wrote:
Is there a site that gives info on developing film in chemicals other that the same brand?

This is what you are looking for :-
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php

Quote:
When I picked up my chemicals I went with Kodak due to the ease of availability here. So is D76 universal?

You cannot go wrong starting (and even staying) with D76. It's the same formula as Ilford's ID11, and these two have been around a very long time. For reasons I do not understand, D76 is significantly cheaper than ID11 at my local photo store, so I use D76, even though I'm an Ilford film man.

Quote:
The lot of B&W film I stocked up on is Kodak as well, but I have discovered that I have a roll of Ilford B&W that was picked up by my wife for me - she was told that it was suited to home developing. So will Kodak chemistry develop Ilford film?

If it's straightforward traditional B&W film, then you can choose any combination of film manufacturer and developer that pleases you. Once you've started doing your own developing, you'll come across recommendations for all sorts of pairings, dilutions, times, and so on. Everyone has their own favourites. I like D76/ID11, with FP4/HP5/PanF. Others like to develop Kodak's Tri-X in Agfa's Rodinal. The scope for experimentation is limitless. You're probably best to stick to the traditional developer/film combinations, till you feel ready and competent to explore others.

Just be cautious about chromogenic B&W films, like Ilford's XP2. Chromogenic films are monochromatic films made to be developed in colour film chemicals. This can be useful as many 'mini-labs' don't process traditional B&W films any more, only colour. The down side is that they also print on colour paper, so you don't get the same richness of black that you would on true B&W paper. If you are scanning to make prints, that is not such a problem. My local photo dealer will do developing only, without printing, and that's often very convenient, since I need only print what's worth printing.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I am still a novice in the field, but what I have learned is that while you can use any B&W developer to develop any B&W film, the results can vary.
Different developers can deliver different grain and different acutance (resolvance) and contrast.
Add to that, that developing times can also vary.
Usually, producers of film developers also publish tables with indication of the correct developing times and procedures for each different film.
Film producers also sometimes provide tables for the most common developers.
So with a little research you should often find the needed indications.
In case you don't, you can always shoot a few test rolls and try developing them with different times and procedures and see what happens.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I am still a novice in the field, but what I have learned is that while you can use any B&W developer to develop any B&W film, the results can vary.
Different developers can deliver different grain and different acutance (resolvance) and contrast.
Add to that, that developing times can also vary.
Usually, producers of film developers also publish tables with indication of the correct developing times and procedures for each different film.
Film producers also sometimes provide tables for the most common developers.
So with a little research you should often find the needed indications.
In case you don't, you can always shoot a few test rolls and try developing them with different times and procedures and see what happens.


Orio,

While what you said is true, I suppose my answer was meant to be specific towards the OP's query. When I was teaching photography, I recommended the adoption of a system until one is totally familiar with its characteristics, and then experiment with the variables, one at a time. It would be very confusing for a novice to try to make sense out of the combinations possible with ten films and ten developers, let alone the extra variables such as film rating, developer dilution, processing time etc.


PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
You can't actually use any devloper to any film. I have a silly example, the Neopan SS does not fit the Tetenal ultrafin developer, so i have to use Rodinal.

by the way the best link have been given : digital truth, this is a great one . look for an universal developer for your films, like the Rodinal ( might be labelled R09 new, this is exactly the same ). about 40 more known films to be devloped with this one, and many films cas be pushed.
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