Response to XTOL; 100ml or more?

I never have understood the dramatic differences that each photographer has in developing film. One person uses 10% more time and the other uses 10% less. One processes at 75F and the other at 68F. It would be quite educational to lay the negatives together on a light box and examine the differences. I have been using Delta films in Xtol for over three years now and probably have developed in excess of 1000 rolls during that time. My negatives are always a bit on the contrasty side and I don't know exactly what grade they typically print on because I use split contrast printing most of the time. Grade 1 1/2 would be my guess. After running tests for each of my cameras I concluded that I liked Delta 100 @80 ISO and Delta 400 @320. In processing both of these I reduce the development time by about 20@ and the negatives are perfect for me. I always shoot Delta 3200 at ISO 1200. I use distilled water for mixing the stock solution, all dilutions and the stop bath. All of my developing is done at 68 or 70F. I have only experienced one incident of Xtol failure during this time and I think it was my fault.

[ Previous | Next ]