I am taking a photography course in which the instructor recommends processing Tri-X at 400 in D-76 1:1 at 70 degrees for 12 1/2 minutes. I'm wondering about this. Any comments would be appreciated.

-- Allan Silberglait (allanrs@att.net), November 28, 2001

Answers

Check the Massive Development Chart at http://www.digitaltruth.com/

Also read the Kodak information at the Kodak site. Sorry, I haven't used D-76 lately, so I can't comment on your instructor's guidelines. D-76 has been around for decades, has been updated in recent years, and reportedly was designed for Tri-X.

-- Jeff Polaski (polaski@acm.org), November 29, 2001.

Kodak's D-76 data sheet says 9 1/2 minutes (Tri-X, small tank, 1+1, 70F).

-- Dave Mueller (dmueller@bellatlantic.net), November 29, 2001.

At 70 deg and 1:1 D-76, I process 35mm Tri-X for 8.5 minutes, with agitation of 5 seconds every 30 seconds (inverting the tank twice). Obviously, if you tend to vary from EI 400 because of how you meter, etc., you may have to do a little different. But I can't imagine 12.5 minutes giving anything but really too-contrasty negatives. Of course, you should try what your instructor suggests, just ot see what happens, or at least look at what another student gets. Part of photography is experimenting with everything.

-- Keith Nichols (knichols1@mindspring.com), November 29, 2001.

Development times can vary depending on enlarger light source (condenser vs. diffusion) by about 20%. The condenser light source should use the lower development time. Obviously, lighting conditions can also dictate more development, such as a scene without much contrast.

-- Michael Feldman (mfeldman@qwest.net), November 29, 2001.

a good source would be Ed Buffaloe's site www.unblinkingeye.com he has a development times section for a lot of films.

-- Jorge Gasteazoro (jorgegm58@prodigy.net.mx), November 29, 2001.

In some previous classes, I've had to use Tri-X 400 for almost every assignment, and as the classes go, we've had to use D-76. I've tested the combination with several different temperatures and times. The best one yet is D-76/water 1:1 at 68 degrees for 10 minutes, agitating for 5 seconds (invert 4 times) every 30 seconds. Hope it helps!

-- Rebecca Jolene Day (rebeccajday@yahoo.com), December 03, 2001.