My first film development experience

[yigitaltay]

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Hi all,

I finally gathered all the stuff and chemicals to develop my films. I am using D-76 stock solution for development, Ilfostop and Ilford rapid fixer. I am using Kodak Photoflo as wetting agent.  And I have some questions and need your advice.

 

I experienced the first problem with dissolving D-76 in 3L double distilled water at  55℃. Entire mixture dissolved (no precipitate there) but still the solution was blurry even after 24 hours. And I had to filter it. Does it always happen to you too?

 

I shot Fomapan 400 at 400 ISO. As far as I read from the forum, it has an actual ISO rating not more than 200. I was expecting an underdeveloped film at the end of the process. But film turned out to be over-developed. And it looks very contrasty as if it is pushed 2-3 stops. Is it a general feature that you expect from Fomapan? This is my first time using this film.

 

At 19℃, I developed for 8:45 min (first 1 min continuous agitation and then every minute 10 second agitation) , 2 min for stop and 5 min fix. I washed with water in between baths to increase the lifetime of chemicals.

 

Can you comment on how can I improve the development process?

 

Here some results:

 

 

 

[Doc Henry]

Yigit first what scanner have you ? you scan in Tiff and post in Jpeg "with or without"

modification in photo software ?

it seems problem with black too much black (picture 2) or too much contrast

Normally Fomapan 400 in 20°C and with D76 * pure dilution ,  it's 13 mns

You use D76 in 3L and you dev. only in 8mn45 ?

Apart this, the images are fine for a first development. Congratulations

Best

Henry

 

* D76 109g (3.8 oz)

Edited August 7, 2016 by Doc Henry

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[yigitaltay]

I have reflecta x7 (got better results before) it produces just jpeg files. There is no modification in the photosoftware.

 

I use d-76 stock solution (415g in 3.8L water) which Massive Dev Chart gives 7-8 min (here) 

 

Thanks!

 

Yigit first what scanner have you ? you scan in Tiff and post in Jpeg "with or without"

modification in photo software ?

it seems problem with black too much black (picture 2) or too much contrast

Normally Fomapan 400 in 20°C and with D76 * pure dilution ,  it's 13 mns

You use D76 in 3L and you dev. only in 8mn45 ?

Apart this, the images are fine for a first development. Congratulations

Best

Henry

 

* D76 109g (3.8 oz)

[Doc Henry]

Thanks for your reply

First I made a mistake , it's not 13 mns but  8 mns for Fomapan . Sorry.

Another question : have you this problem on all the roll ? or only on some pictures ?

Picture 1 and 3 are fine for me

 

How to improve : may be you must "stop" the revelation with acetic acid  (white vinegar bought

in shop and diluted in 10%) before washing

Best

H

Edited August 7, 2016 by Doc Henry

[yigitaltay]

It is all over the film. Actually the ones that I've underexposed looks better. pic 1 looks fine but on the 3rd pic I actually metered for the middle part of the puzzle, so I should get more detail from the top part.

 

I already used stop bath (Ilfostop) for 2 min. But it is based on citric acid. Do you think acetic acid is better over citric acid?

 

Thanks once again!

 

 

Thanks for your reply

First I made a mistake , it's not 13 mns but  8 mns for Fomapan . Sorry.

Another question : have you this problem on all the roll ? or only on some pictures ?

Picture 1 and 3 are fine for me

 

How to improve : may be you must "stop" the revelation with acetic acid  (white vinegar bought

in shop and diluted in 10%) before washing

Best

H

[TomB_tx]

I switched from acetic to citric stop (Ecopro) and find it just as effective.

[pico]

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I experienced the first problem with dissolving D-76 in 3L double distilled water at  55℃. Entire mixture dissolved (no precipitate there) but still the solution was blurry even after 24 hours. And I had to filter it. Does it always happen to you too?

 

I use D-76 for most 35mm, and have used distilled water to mix it. I have not experienced 'blurry' solutions, so I am puzzled. May I ask what kind of container you used to mix the developer? (Looking for some kind of contamination.) I always dilute D-76 at 1:1 and 1:2 just before developing, depending upon the contrast of the day/exposure. That might help to clarify your mixture.

 

IMHO you are over-agitating. When first poured into the tank, rap the tank sharply to dislodge bubbles, and agitate for 30 seconds, rap it again, then agitate to inversions every 30 seconds. It is the intervals of agitation, not the total time agitating (each minute) that matters.

 

I would have to see your negatives to know if they are also under-exposed. You should have more texture in the shadows than shown, but that could be a scanning issue, or too hard a paper grade if wet printed.

 

Best of luck!

Edited August 7, 2016 by pico

[yigitaltay]

I am using 5L plastic container (that we use for keeping hplc grade acetone, i.e. high grade acetone) and it it thoroughly cleaned before use. Actually filtering the solution clears the solution but takes a while to filter 3.8 L.

 

Since it is my first time, I followed the agitation pattern defined in Massive Dev app. I will use standard protocol for the next time. Thanks!

 

And here is the negatives (on ipad based lightbox taken with iphone)

 

 

 

I use D-76 for most 35mm, and have used distilled water to mix it. I have not experienced 'blurry' solutions, so I am puzzled. May I ask what kind of container you used to mix the developer? (Looking for some kind of contamination.) I always dilute D-76 at 1:1 and 1:2 just before developing, depending upon the contrast of the day/exposure. That might help to clarify your mixture.

 

IMHO you are over-agitating. When first poured into the tank, rap the tank sharply to dislodge bubbles, and agitate for 30 seconds, rap it again, then agitate to inversions every 30 seconds. It is the intervals of agitation, not the total time agitating (each minute) that matters.

 

I would have to see your negatives to know if they are also under-exposed. You should have more texture in the shadows than shown, but that could be a scanning issue, or too hard a paper grade if wet printed.

 

Best of luck!

[250swb]

You can see the film is over developed by the frame numbers 'spreading' and going fuzzy around the edges. There seems to be some pink discolouration in the 42-43-and 44 frames, is this caused by the light box or is it on the film?

 

 

Steve

[yigitaltay]

There is no discolouration in film, possibly caused by the lightbox (ipad).

 

It is good to know that we can deduce over/under development by looking at the edges. Thanks a lot!

 

You can see the film is over developed by the frame numbers 'spreading' and going fuzzy around the edges. There seems to be some pink discolouration in the 42-43-and 44 frames, is this caused by the light box or is it on the film?

 

 

Steve

[gbealnz]

Well, this is one of the major reasons this forum has become part of my life (OK, I can hear you all chortling, "this guy really does need a life"). But look at it. Yigit takes the plunge, the same plunge nearly all of us here has taken, he gets the stuff together, and has a crack at processing his own roll. AWESOME, well done Yigit.

 

And the result? Pretty darn good I reckon, yes, it needs a slight tweak, but man oh man, it's a great attempt.

 

So he asks for help, and is getting exceptional assistance. Heartwarming I feel, great to be part of this caring, helping bunch.

 

Do it again Yigit, try a few things, try Pico's slightly less agitation. I normally pour the dev in, and invert (NOT shake, it's not to drink) for 30 secs, then I do two inversions, every 30 seconds. Right or wrong, it's what I do, always have.

 

Try the tweaks mentioned, and report back. But like I said, wonderful result, for the first roll.

Gary

[Doc Henry]

Gary, Pico, Steve good guys bravo for your help 

Concerning Acetic (vinegar) or Citric (lemon) Acid  i think it's the same for the PH around 3

advantage acetic (or white vinegar) can find in supermarket and costs less 1 Euro

Best

Henry

[EoinC]

Yes, there shouldn't be any noticeable difference in acetic vs citric acid at same pH, as the purpose of the stop bath is just to bring a halt to the developing.

The advice above on developing is very good. IMHO, it is important to work your way through fine-tuning your technique before changing developing chemicals, as more factors will only confuse the cause / effect paradigm.

 

Keep going - You're doing well.

Edited August 8, 2016 by EoinC

[Doc Henry]

Yigit, shoot another roll and develop . You'll see if this time is better 

Don't forget to post and share with us in "I like Film"thread :

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/page-981

Thanks and good photos

Rg

H.

Edited August 8, 2016 by Doc Henry

[fotomas]

It's a bit confusing. You say you use 3 liter of water. But your package is for 3,8 l. Did you fill it up to that level? If the developer is to concentrated this could explain the overdevelopment and maybe the unclear solution. 55° C seemed a bit high for me. I never go above 50. Normally between 40-50°C. If it's to hot some ingredients may separate.
Just my 2 ct.

Looking on the negatives my suggestion would be to use 250 or 320 ASA next time and develop 15 % shorter.
 

[pico]

For D-76 (or ID-11) it should be dissolved in 3 quarts water, then when fully incorporated, filled to 4 quarts. Covert that to metric if necessary.

[yigitaltay]

Sorry my bad. I dissolved it in 3L water and after complete solvation, I diluted to 3.8L as it is stated on the package. Also on the package it says 50-55 degrees celcius so it shouldn't matter much (the most heat sensitive chemical in there is hydroquinone, and it should be ok up to 60-65 degrees, above that oxidation rate increases heavily).

 

I'll keep that in mind for the next time!

Thanks

 

 

It's a bit confusing. You say you use 3 liter of water. But your package is for 3,8 l. Did you fill it up to that level? If the developer is to concentrated this could explain the overdevelopment and maybe the unclear solution. 55° C seemed a bit high for me. I never go above 50. Normally between 40-50°C. If it's to hot some ingredients may separate.
Just my 2 ct.

Looking on the negatives my suggestion would be to use 250 or 320 ASA next time and develop 15 % shorter.
 

[Doc Henry]

Yigit you're right to dissolve D76 at 50°C.It's recommended by Kodak.

It's better you use for 1 L each time. Buy sachets for 1 Litre more convenient
and it saves money in time.  I have Paterson tanks of 1L.

Store in a closed bottle protected from light (see picture below) .

Best

Henry

 

My home photo lab.:

Enlarger Focomat + plastic bottles Rowi + compressor for dusts on film

I develop b&w and C41 color

 

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M8-35 LA

 

The results

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/?p=3092977

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/?p=3092692

http://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/205842-i-like-filmopen-thread/?p=3092432

Edited August 9, 2016 by Doc Henry

[Herr Barnack]

@yigitaltay,

 

I have mixed a fair amount of D-76 and have found that it takes a lot of stirring and persistence to get all that powder to dissolve.  Warm water is essential; if you try to use room temperature  or faucet temperature water, it will not work and will cause you much trouble. 

 

My procedure is to mix my D-76 on the day before my planned development of film and let it sit overnight.  The next day, there may be a few granules in the bottom of the mixture but the solution has always been clear, never cloudy or blurry.  I will carefully pour the solution into my darkroom chemical storage bottle and discard the last few undissolved grains of D-76 with the last teaspoonful of solution.  My negatives have always turned out beautifully; those last few grains of solid D-76 do not negatively affect my finished negatives in any way.

 

Hope this helps...

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Hallo,

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[gsgary]

I use a lot of Foma and i love it, i develope it in Rodinal i used gentle agitation for fist 30 seconds then i invert 4 times every minute and tap on worktop 2 times

https://photos.smugmug.com/Fuji-GW690/i-K352rHM/0/XL/248-XL.jpg