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  #1  
Old 28th February 2022, 06:29 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Default Preferred developer for Delta 100 and 400

In Martin's terrific favourite film polls I mentioned I'd never been able to get good results with Delta 100. But I noticed that quite a few poll respondents noted D-100 as their no. 1 or 2 favourite. I'm curious to what developer you all are using to make this film work for you?

I've tried it several times using two different developers. In dilute Perceptol (1+1) it gave very nice tonality, but rendered a super-clean, smooth, grainless digital look that I don't care for at all. In dilute D76 (1+1) the contrast was too harsh - all blacks and whites, no subtle gradations, lacking rich mid-tones, even in flat light (granted, I have not tried playing around with development times or agitation to improve tonality).

I still have a bunch of rolls to shoot and don't want to just let them expire. But if I can't get good results I will just forget 'em and sell them on.

FWIW - I have the following developers on hand which I can use with D-100: Xtol, HC110, Rodinal, D76, and Microphen. I can also do homebrewed Perceptol, but I've already ruled that out as not my cup of tea with this film.

Many thanks in advance.
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Old 28th February 2022, 08:33 PM
snusmumriken snusmumriken is offline
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I am very pleased with Delta 100 in my usual Barry Thornton 2-bath developer, which is just Metol. It seems easy to over-develop Delta 100, which might explain the disappointing results you've had. I find that for eyes more used to FP4+, a Delta 100 negative that prints well looks suspiciously thin.
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  #3  
Old 28th February 2022, 08:49 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snusmumriken View Post
I am very pleased with Delta 100 in my usual Barry Thornton 2-bath developer, which is just Metol. It seems easy to over-develop Delta 100, which might explain the disappointing results you've had. I find that for eyes more used to FP4+, a Delta 100 negative that prints well looks suspiciously thin.

Thanks for the recommendation Jonathan. Thornton's 2-bath is certainly something I can mix up any time, as I'm pretty sure I have all the raw chems for it. His description in his book, and what others have written about it, makes it sound extremely versatile and forgiving. Interesting suggestion.

I'm used to the thin look of T-grain films, having shot TMX and TMY for years, so that's not the issue. At least with those I get nice rich mid-tones in D76. Not so with Delta - even using the Ilford recommended times with dilute D76 it just seems overly contrasty. Now that I think about it, I may have tried a film or two at -10% dev. time but still wasn't happy.
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Old 1st March 2022, 04:30 PM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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I have done a series of Beyond The Zone System (BTZS) film tests with Delta 100 and ID11.

My development times look nothing like the Ilford published ones.

I tried Delta 100 with ID11 at 1+1 but found the development times were too short for reasonably consistent development - I'm always concerned if the developing times get below 5 mins.

So, I coughed up the money and paid for a repeat set of tests using ID11 at 1+2 (Dev:Water) and got much more reasonable development times.

As a guide I use 9m 10s for Delta 100 using ID11 at 1+2 at 20 degC for a subject brightness ratio of 7 stops - a typical brightness range for a non contra-joure landscape.

This is for 120 roll film in a Paterson Tank and Reels - with 15s agitation every minute.

YMMV

I also find Delta 100 has a much shorter toe than HP5, so if you are worried about shadow detail in your photograph, you will need to make some sort of exposure compensation.

It is a classic case of expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights.

I also find that Delta 100 film speed diminishes when the film has gone beyond its use-by date.

On the upside - Delta 100 has a lovely straight line relationship between exposure and negative density when the exposure is away from the toe area.

If you can manage your exposure and are careful with your development, then Delta is an extremely nice film to use but you do have to be accurate with both.

I find HP5 to be a much more forgiving emulsion both in terms of exposure and development if you cannot manage both with sufficient accuracy.

Hope this helps

Martin
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Old 1st March 2022, 05:05 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Aislabie View Post
I tried Delta 100 with ID11 at 1+1 but found the development times were too short for reasonably consistent development - I'm always concerned if the developing times get below 5 mins.

Martin
Martin I have just looked up the Ilford times for D100 in ID11 at 1+1 and it says 11mins which seems completely at odds with what I have inferred from your statement that the Ilford times were too short and below 5 mins

Can you clear this up for me?

Thanks

Mike
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Old 1st March 2022, 06:05 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Martin - really interesting feedback, and most helpful. Thank you!

If your times at 1+2 are basically the same as Iford's posted times for 1+1, then it's no wonder I'm getting the results I am with this film-developer combo. I checked my developing notes last night for a few rolls of D-100, and they were all as per Ilford's times for D76 @ 1+1, with a couple of recent ones at N-10% (sp. 8.5 to 9.5 minutes at EI 50). This was using standard Ilford agitation of 10 sec. / minute. These are way different from your times.

Also, I'm assuming that the higher dilution of 1+2 would give a softer rendering vs. 1+1.

I notice your agitation is for 15 sec. / min. - would this be enough of an increase to cause your times to be so much shorter? It doesn't seem likely, but I thought I'd ask in case this film was super fussy about agitation.

In any case, may I ask how you find the tonality and tonal gradations with your regimen? As mentioned, my results are lacking rich mid-tones and those subtle gradations that make for a really pleasing image.
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Last edited by Svend; 1st March 2022 at 06:13 PM.
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  #7  
Old 2nd March 2022, 08:09 AM
mpirie mpirie is offline
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I've recently started developing D100 in Pyrocat-HD and am very pleased with the results.

I overexpose by ½ stop (@80) and develop in Pyrocat-HD at 1+1+100 for 13.5 minutes after a 5 minute pre-wash on a Jobo in Expert tanks.

Mike
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Old 2nd March 2022, 09:52 AM
Tom Kershaw Tom Kershaw is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mpirie View Post
I've recently started developing D100 in Pyrocat-HD and am very pleased with the results.

I overexpose by ½ stop (@80) and develop in Pyrocat-HD at 1+1+100 for 13.5 minutes after a 5 minute pre-wash on a Jobo in Expert tanks.

Mike
I would agree this is a good combination. Otherwise, Rodinal 1+49 using an EI of 50 works well; although more recently I have been using Ryuji Suzuki's DS-12 for Delta 100. EI 100.
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Old 2nd March 2022, 11:06 AM
tillari tillari is offline
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My best result was with D76 1+3
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Old 2nd March 2022, 02:21 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Much appreciated.

At the moment I think I'd like to stick to a developer that I have on hand (see first post), and not introduce anything new. I have a batch of Xtol mixed up at the moment, and can throw together a batch of D76 any time, and of course the liquid concentrates Rodinal and HC110 are always on deck. I'm inclined to try making D76 or Xtol work for this film. The idea of using D76 at a higher dilution than 1+1 seems like a sensible thing to start with, as it will be softer working. I have also seen some wonderful results out there of D-100 in Xtol - very luminous tones, and sharp. My limited experience with Xtol seems to indicate that it is good for taming contrast and has a softer look it.

I'm curious too if you all handle Delta 400 in the same way? Or is it a unique film with it's own needs?
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