long-life non-staining dev for fast film?

[Xícara de Café]

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Hello, I wonder if anyone can recommend a  long shelf-life non-staining developer for 400 ISO film? When I say long shelf-life, I mean in liquid concentrate, in the way Rodinal and PMK Pyro can be used.

Thanks!

Edited November 28, 2020 by Xícara de Café

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[rpittal]

HC110 and Rodinal are both non-staining and have very long shelf lives.

[Xícara de Café]

Thanks a lot, I'll look into HC110

[Charles Morgan]

HC110, old formula, has a spectacularly long life. It has been re-formulated and at this stage it isn't clear that it will retain the old formula's longevity. 

[Ouroboros]

I often use Adox Rodinal at 1:50 with 400 iso films if I don't have may rolls to process. You can't really go wrong with it and I like the edge effect  it produces on the grain.   If I have a lot of films to work through and the developer will not be standing around too long between processing sessions,  as often happens when I return from a holiday or workshop, I'll often use Ilfotec DDX for it's very different characteristics.

You can have endless fun experimenting with Rodinal, RO9 and HC110 for comparison with different dilutions, film emulsions and speeds.  When you done all and arrived at a combination you like, I guarantee some other concoction will pique your curiosity!

Digital shooters haven't a clue what they're missing!

 

[105012]

Let’s not forget Ilford’s Ilfotec HC, their version of Kodak HC110.

[Xícara de Café]

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B&H has HC110 and Ilfotec HC but unfortunately doesn't ship either, but I keep looking.

Anyone tired FA-1027? http://stores.photoformulary.com/fa-1027-film-developer/

5 hours ago, Ouroboros said:

I often use Adox Rodinal at 1:50 with 400 iso films if I don't have may rolls to process. You can't really go wrong with it and I like the edge effect  it produces on the grain.  

Thanks, yes I've once tried Rodinal (1:50) with Tri-X 400 and really liked the results (and I'm about to try this combination again shortly), but I suppose I'm looking for something more general purpose and a bit less grainy - I found the Tri-X Rodinal combination pretty dramatic! Here's a print from it:

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Cheers,

[Xícara de Café]

7 hours ago, Charles Morgan said:

HC110, old formula, has a spectacularly long life. It has been re-formulated and at this stage it isn't clear that it will retain the old formula's longevity. 

Do you know if the old formula is still available?

[Charles Morgan]

It might be in some low turnover store far away but the new formula has been in production of a year or so, so very unlikely, and you'll have no way of telling as the packaging is the same.

[Doug A]

4 hours ago, Xícara de Café said:

Anyone tired FA-1027? http://stores.photoformulary.com/fa-1027-film-developer/

I have developed a few rolls of HP5 Plus with FA-1027 at 1+9 and 1+14. The negatives look very much like my HP5 Plus negatives developed with Ilfotec DD-X. The developing times at 1+9 are shorter than I like at 5 to 6 minutes, depending on the temperature. 1+14 is more manageable.

My workflow is hybrid - shooting film and making inkjet prints. Over time I find I am relying more on chemical sharpening of the negatives and less on digital sharpening of the scanned and printed image. And with this workflow I am getting my best results with Rodinal.

[Martin B]

On 11/28/2020 at 4:44 PM, rpittal said:

HC110 and Rodinal are both non-staining and have very long shelf lives.

I have been using one 500 ml bottle of Rodinal for 5 years without any issue. When the bottle emptied, more reddish crystals started forming on the side and at the bottom, and the solution darkened more red. But the development worked still in the same way. Rodinal is my std developer for all B&W films often in combination with Xtol (Xtol has a much shorter time it works, less than a year normally). 

[Mr.Prime]

On 11/29/2020 at 12:32 AM, Charles Morgan said:

HC110, old formula, has a spectacularly long life. It has been re-formulated and at this stage it isn't clear that it will retain the old formula's longevity. 

I read someplace on the internet, more than once, that Ilford HC retains the long life properties attributed to the original HC-110