I'm about to shoot an indoor event using 120 Delta 3200. I believe I can get away with rating it 1200 to 2400. What one shot developer should I use? DDX or Xtol? Should I mix the DDX as per Ilfords rec's or can I use a more economical 1+9? How about the Xtol? I do not want to use stock! How about 1+2 or 1+3? I'd like to process at around 70 -72 degrees? Anyone have any suggestions? Do I see John Hicks shadow approaching? Tks Jim

-- Jim W Vanson (primary_colors@hotmail.com), April 19, 2000

Answers

begging your pardon Jim but can I add a question about 3200 delta? since this seems to be a popular topic I don't care to waste more space and my original thread is still in tact but very low down there .. thank you. With Thomas, Phil's, John's and Ed's help I've been testing 3200 Delta in various developers for a while now and since the jury's been out for a while on the case...I'd like to ask it again. Any magic bullets for a huge push 12.5k and up? Will SLIMT help? Can you recommend a lab that sells hypered 3200 in 120?

thanks again,

Trib

-- Trib (linhof6@hotmail.com), April 19, 2000.

There is a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience available on this forum. If everyone here who uses Delta 3200 will send me their times, temperatures, exposure indices, agitation techniques and other pertinent data, I will put it all together in one convenient chart and post it on my web site. Or post the info here.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), April 20, 2000.

Great Idea Ed...Lets start collecting times, temps and methodology on Delta 3200. It must be a popular film as four people I know, myself included, have found the 120 version so good that they gone out and bought cameras just to use it...jim

-- Jim W Vanson (primary_colors@hotmail.com), April 20, 2000.

cool, that's a great idea...yeah Ed...I'll send them along..excuse me if it takes a few days...I'll have to organize all the info from the chicken-scratching on the outside of my film boxes...I'm not the most organized photog. I've found John's formula for EI 2k is great so I'll just send my push test results....but they aren't anything new or shocking...that's why I'm asking again.

Thanks Jim for forwarding the link...I haven't had a chance to read it...but I'm going there now.

-- Trib (linhof6@hotmail.com), April 20, 2000.

Here goes....

Delta 3200 in:

Microphen 7'/75F EI 2000 Microphen 9'30"/75F EI 3200 Microphen 13'/75F EI 6400 Microphen 18"15"/75F EI 12800

Xtol 1:1 12'/75F EI 1250 Xtol 1:1 15'/75F EI 2000 Xtol 1:2 17'/75F EI 2000 Xtol 1:2 20'/75F EI 3200

DD-X 1:4 11'/75F EI 2000

The "sweet spot" is EI 1600-2000, showing the best combination of "real" speed, grain and acutance without excessive contrast.

As for really high speeds, one thing I used to do for TMZ in Microphen was add about 50g/L sodium sulfite. That reduced the graininess a bit but didn't make mush. I've tried it with Delta 3200 in DD-X only so far, and it did make a difference. It's no magic bullet, but it may help in the quest for really high speeds and reasonable quality.

Also, since Delta 3200 is available in 120 there's a tremendous advantage to shooting it in medium format, especially 6x7. I bought a used Graflex XL w/f2.8 Planar specifically for that; there's actually a big difference in quality between printing 6x7 and printing a cropped rectangle out of 6x6.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), April 20, 2000.

Okay. I'm going out of town until April 24. I will correlate everything everyone posts here, along with any other information that is sent to me, on the web next week.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), April 20, 2000.

I've got John's development recommendations up on the web at http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/D3200/d3200.html. It isn't linked to anything on my site yet, so the only way to get to it is to type in the URL. Next week I will add any other data that may come in, and I may open another discussion D3200.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@unblinkingeye.com), April 20, 2000.

Geez, so much for formatting. Is it readable?

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), April 20, 2000.

hey John..while I'm gathering chicks....is that planar effective at 2.8?

-- trib (linhof6@hotmail.com), April 21, 2000.

> planar effective at 2.8

Sure. It's not blazing sharp, super-contrasty and flare-free like current-model f2.8 lenses or, say, the 75 f3.5 on the Mamiya 6, but that's not a bad thing for its intended usage. It cleans up by f4.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), April 21, 2000.

thanks john...

-- Trib (linhof6@hotmail.com), April 21, 2000.

FWIW, I just developed a roll of Delta 3200 shot at EI 2000 in DD-X 1:4 with sodium sulfite added at the rate of a tablespoon per quart working solution (real precise here).

I think it helped the apparent graininess maybe a little; otoh, it certainly didn't hurt anything and didn't change the development specs.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), April 22, 2000.