'One shot' developer for faster films

ped

ped

Messages
1,770
Edit My Images
Yes
I tend to use Rodinal for my developing because I generally use slow to medium speed films and I like the ease of a 1:25 dilution with water so I can easily make up 200ml for my use.

I used to use ID11 with faster film but find it makes a bit too much for me to get through and it's not as convenient to store as a small bottle of Rodinal for example.

So I'm looking for a liquid concentrate that can be diluted down to produce small batches of working solution but something more suited to faster films as sometimes Rodinal can look a bit grainy for some purposes with 400+ film.

Ilford LC29 looks to fit the bill - wondered if there any other alternatives about? Or any experiences with LC29 with Tri-X and HP5+?

Cheers
 
Xtol......but its not a one shot

I've used LC29, it was very similar to ilfosol except the colour, they're both fine grain and I doubt there's much difference in grainyness on 400 speed film.
I stopped using LC29 after I accidentally fixed the damn film before I developed it....duh....LC29 is colourless and clear, just like fixer, got the jugs mixed up = bugger.
This is not possible with Ilfosol because it has a pale yellow tinge to it, so I went on to that.

The smoothest 400 I've seen is Delta 400 in Xtol, but I understand you can get smooth results with ID11 and D76, non of which are one shots.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ped
I've so far only used two developers; Rodinal and Ilfosol 3. Ilfosol is a fine grain one shot developer and I've so far used it with Pan F, FP4+ and HP5+ and have loved the results. It's a bit more expensive than some developers but being a one stop dev it's so much easier.
 
Trouble with the one shots is, economy takes a dive because it doesn't seem to keep very well, by the time I was down to half a bottle I began to worry about whether it was still good or not, deciding it wasn't worth the risk it goes in the bin, so that's half the thing wasted. :/
I mean you can clip test but....can you ever really be sure its going to fully produce all the tones you expect, I dunno....I've come to accept that maybe this film malarky is just naturally wasteful process...lol
 
What about Pyrocat, its a staining developer in 2 solution based parts that supposedly keep for a year or so.

Never used it but its close to the top of my "to try next" list.

@EdBray used it quite a bit but he's not around much these days.
 
I use LC29 extensively and really like it. I have used it with Tri-X and HP5+, indeedI use doe all black an white films I shoot. I tend to use it @ 1-19 and find it to be a good fine grain one shot. the only film it seemed not to do s well on was TMAX100 for some reason. I rarely shoot this film so not a problem for me.

HP5+, LC29 @1-19
15904861782_42385fa0c0_b_d.jpg


TRi-X, LC29 @1-29
14513585389_e3cf7d3c21_b_d.jpg
 
Maybe I can guess the answer, but for the avoidance of doubt, what's a one-shot developer? And why might they be a good thing?
 
Jao said:
I use LC29 extensively and really like it. I have used it with Tri-X and HP5+, indeedI use doe all black an white films I shoot. I tend to use it @ 1-19 and find it to be a good fine grain one shot. the only film it seemed not to do s well on was TMAX100 for some reason. I rarely shoot this film so not a problem for me.

HP5+, LC29 @1-19
15904861782_42385fa0c0_b_d.jpg


TRi-X, LC29 @1-29
14513585389_e3cf7d3c21_b_d.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks goooood!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jao
Chris, you use it once and then throw it away. One shots often have a high dilution rate, Rodinal being a good example with a common dilution of 1-50. One shot means you are always using fresh developer.

LC29 as it's name suggests is designed for 1-29 dilution.

This is my basic understanding of one shot.
 
Developers work by a chemical reaction, and the active developing agents are used up as they work. Hence, developers that are designed to be used more than once require either replenishing (adding more active ingredients) or have the developing time extended. Since exactly how much developer is used up will depend on the area of film and the developed density of same, it can be imprecise. One shot removes the uncertainty (which isn't very much); it mainly removes the inconvenience of keeping track of how many films developed and adding more chemicals.

You can use ID11/D76 as a one shot. A name not so far mentioned (unless I missed it) is HC110, as recommended by Ansel Adams. The Kodak data sheet lists times for Tri-X, so I assume they think/thought it was OK for fast films. I've never used it.
 
Yeah I could use ID11 as one shot, I love the results but I'd never get through the stuff if I make up a bottle of stock. Ideally I'd like longer shelf life too because I probably develop one roll a month on average.

LC29 looks great and delivers in every aspect except perhaps shelf life - how has yours fared @Jao ? I'd split it into small airtight bottles and could expect them to last a year or so probably?
 
ped said:
LC29 looks great and delivers in every aspect except perhaps shelf life - how has yours fared @Jao ? I'd split it into small airtight bottles and could expect them to last a year or so probably?
Click to expand...

I'm still using the same bottle of LC29 after a year and I've just kept it in its original bottle.

I use LC29 for most films up to EI 400 and then use DD-X for anything that I shoot at EI 800 and beyond.
 
I use HC110 as a one shot devloper, had a bottle open for 6 month now with no ill effects. Normally I use PMK pyro, 2 bottles that you mix 10ml of part A and 20 ml of part B (to make 1 Lt) and it lasts forever!! You can also tell if its not active as it does not change colour when mixed.

Mart
 
joxby said:
Xtol......but its not a one shot

I've used LC29, it was very similar to ilfosol except the colour, they're both fine grain and I doubt there's much difference in grainyness on 400 speed film.
I stopped using LC29 after I accidentally fixed the damn film before I developed it....duh....LC29 is colourless and clear, just like fixer, got the jugs mixed up = bugger.
This is not possible with Ilfosol because it has a pale yellow tinge to it, so I went on to that.

The smoothest 400 I've seen is Delta 400 in Xtol, but I understand you can get smooth results with ID11 and D76, non of which are one shots.
Click to expand...

That was why I stopped using Ilfosol many many years ago, when it first came out it was clear and as we all knew at the time one of the signs that your dev was going off was it turned yellow before it turned brown, when they changed the formulation of Ilfosol I was convinced they had all gone off. :(

Do Paterson still make chemicals (or even still exist) there Acutol & Aculux used to be quite usable.

I suspect the last Dev I used was LC29 as well, never got on with ID11 or Kodaks D76 which was basically the same thing.

Paul
 
ped said:
Yeah I could use ID11 as one shot, I love the results but I'd never get through the stuff if I make up a bottle of stock. Ideally I'd like longer shelf life too because I probably develop one roll a month on average.

LC29 looks great and delivers in every aspect except perhaps shelf life - how has yours fared @Jao ? I'd split it into small airtight bottles and could expect them to last a year or so probably?
Click to expand...
@ped The bottle I am using is nearly 2 years old. I have slowly filled it with plain glass marbles to minimise the amount of air getting in. The bottle is probably more marbles now than chemical! I have had no issues with quality over time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ped
Thanks I think I'll give it a shot (pardon the pun)

Side note - just taken delivery of a vintage (50s?) bottle of Azol developer which is basically Rodinal. Going to give it a try for fun. Apparently it works just fine!
 
Johnson's Azol is listed in my winter 1960/61 catalogue. It cost 3/6 (17.5p) for 100cc, 6/- (30p) for 250cc, 11/- (55p) for 500cc, and £2"5"0 (£2.25) for 80oz (4 pints). I don't know when it ceased being made. Just checked the Johnson's history site - it was still going in 1965.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ped
Thanks yeah I've found some examples of developed pictures online and a few different style bottles from different eras. Mines a sealed brown bottle with orange label. I'll make a thread and post some results when I try it!
 
I always liked the plastic cover that Johnson's fitted under the screw cap. I still have (somewhere) an empty bottle of their glazing solution. The plastic bottles just weren't as nice as the brown glass ones.
 
OK, as you may know I have an Agfa Rondinax tank, and am using Tri-X. I have no chemicals yet (except for the C41 ones I'm trying to give away). I know absolutely nothing about processing... I was in Camerabase yesterday and they had a row of Ilford chems including Ilfosol, Ilford fixer, some washing stuff. AFAIK the Rondinax requires nearly constant winding as the film is only half immersed in the solution, so it needs to be as short a time as reasonable. No powders please... is that lot going to be OK for Tri-X?

(The good thing about sending a film off is no-one asks you any questions about whether you want grain, acutance, whatever, they just send you some lovely negatives back!)
 
I used Ilfosol 3 before I started using Rodinal and that gave me ok results on faster films (think it was HP5+ rather than Tri-X). You can mix up Rodinal at 1:25, that's also quite good and the Manchester shots in my OCOLOF are processed that way. Personally I'd go with Rodinal, then you have the option if you want to try stand development later, plus it seems to last forever.

I know you said no powders but I've just made up a 5l batch of XTOL and am pleased with the first set of results, though I think I've over-agitated as the grain is ridiculous on a number of the shots. :(
 
Doesn't anybody here use D74 one shot developer?.
I got some pouches from Ed Bray, and I've used it for TMax 400, and Ultrafine Extreme 400, and I'm sure I've done some Tri X, and it produces less grain than using the same film with Rodinal. I make it up to 1:15 for 500ml(31ml+469ml)..... (although the pouch says 1:15 for 16ml concentrate and 244ml water.)
 
Last edited:
I tried D74 but I didn't like the mushyness, I also don't like the grain from rodinal on fast films. I've been trying Microphen but I'm not entirely happy with that either.

You can use Microphen one shot but it gets crazy expensive by comparison to other soups.
 
steveo_mcg said:
I tried D74 but I didn't like the mushyness, I also don't like the grain from rodinal on fast films. I've been trying Microphen but I'm not entirely happy with that either.

You can use Microphen one shot but it gets crazy expensive by comparison to other soups.
Click to expand...

Lol.... we're a fussy bunch.
 
For me:

Slow films (PanF, Fomapan 100 and FP4) = Rodinal 1+50
Faster films (HP5 and Tmax 400) = Ilfosol 3 or D76. Ilfosol was really good but D76 is much cheaper (although more faffing as its a powder).
 
Carl Hall said:
For me:

Slow films (PanF, Fomapan 100 and FP4) = Rodinal 1+50
Faster films (HP5 and Tmax 400) = Ilfosol 3 or D76. Ilfosol was really good but D76 is much cheaper (although more faffing as its a powder).
Click to expand...

I'm still searching for a fast film developer. I've not scanned the films I did in microphen at the weekend but the 35mm roll has surge marks at the sprockets and Retro 400s has speckles in the highlights. I'm not sure why this has happened but the only variable is the developer.
 
ChrisR said:
OK, as you may know I have an Agfa Rondinax tank, and am using Tri-X. I have no chemicals yet (except for the C41 ones I'm trying to give away). I know absolutely nothing about processing... I was in Camerabase yesterday and they had a row of Ilford chems including Ilfosol, Ilford fixer, some washing stuff. AFAIK the Rondinax requires nearly constant winding as the film is only half immersed in the solution, so it needs to be as short a time as reasonable. No powders please... is that lot going to be OK for Tri-X?

(The good thing about sending a film off is no-one asks you any questions about whether you want grain, acutance, whatever, they just send you some lovely negatives back!)
Click to expand...


For Tri-X I use Rodinal 1:25 in my Rondinax tank, it looks great - there's some grain, but more like 'texture', however I'd like another option for less grain where required.

Brimham Rocks Vista by chiscocks, on Flickr

Juxstapose by chiscocks, on Flickr
 
OK, suppose I try the Ilfosol, looking at the massive dev chart web site it has times for 1+9, Tri-X: 200 5.5 minutes, 400 7.5 and 800 10.5 minutes. Now I've shot it at something like 250 but would have just got Peak to process as normal, so pick the 400 ISO time, yes? Ie 7.5 minutes... (Can I wind a handle for that long? :) )
 
ChrisR said:
OK, suppose I try the Ilfosol, looking at the massive dev chart web site it has times for 1+9, Tri-X: 200 5.5 minutes, 400 7.5 and 800 10.5 minutes. Now I've shot it at something like 250 but would have just got Peak to process as normal, so pick the 400 ISO time, yes? Ie 7.5 minutes... (Can I wind a handle for that long? :) )
Click to expand...

Yeah I'd probably give it 6.5 mins to be safe, remember in a rondinax tank it's best to shorten dev times by something like 10% because of the increased agitation but I shouldn't think it'll be too critical either way.
 
It all sounds a bit unnecessarily complicated, shoot Tri-X 400 @ 250...??, then develop in a tank that needs constant agitation, but recalculate development time to account for this, having already adjusted development for a pull on iso 400 film.....

tell me its a one off...:)
 
joxby said:
tell me its a one off...:)
Click to expand...

It's a none off so far, John; I only have the tank so far, not the chems. Probably over-complicating things as usual, but this is to avoid using a changing bag as I'm only partly dextrous. Probably over-thinking things as usual.
 
I don't find the agitation etc of the tank makes much difference tbh, and I find using the rondinax so much more fun than a changing bag etc. I've been shooting much more 35mm since having one, anyway!

Admittedly shooting at 250 is a complication too far for me but I should think you'll be fine with the times above. I shot a roll at 800, developed at the 400 speed times by accident and it turned out just fine!

I suspect we're all overmthinking things :)
 
ped said:
This is mine. Glass bottle but not opened yet. Will be cool if it still works!

$_35.JPG
Click to expand...

The VG onei n the past was Johnson Unitol...the oldies here will remember the test boat in AP magazine, well they used it also.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top