Alternative to Rodinal

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RaglanSurf

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Can anyone recommend an alternative to Rodinal?

One shot liquid developer that has a long shelf life once opened.

Even better if it works well for everything from PanF to Tri-X.
 
HC-110. Stupid long shelf life, comparable costs to Rodinal (per film, not per bottle) and lots of MDC times for the standard dilution (B). Also develops HP5 without making it look awful.

However after seeing the results Nige got with DD-X, I now have a bottle of that. Over 3x the cost of Rodinal/HC-110, and shorter shelf life. A lot less films per bottle though, so if you shoot quite a bit you won't have it lying around for long (10 rolls of 120/litre vs 64 for HC-110). However the results with Ilford film (Delta 100 & HP5 all the way to 1600) are really really nice. At this time of year I'm often pushing HP5 to 800 or 1600 and the contrast buff you get with pushing is nowehere near as pronounced with DD-X which is a much "gentler" developer. The grain is also far less pronounced.

So I have HC-110 as my "sit in the cupboard and develop anything with it" developer, and DD-X for my Ilford film. It does play nice with Tri-X too but I haven't shot much Tri-X recently because HP5 is so much cheaper.
 
Another one in the HC110 camp here. I have considered trying DDX for HP5 (and I've just bought 100 feet of HP5+ in 35mm) but so far I'm not convinced that the cost issues justify the change. Still have about 500ml of HC110 concentrate left, so might try something else if that ever gets used up.
 
D76 or ID11 works as an excellent one shot diluted 1 to3. and keeps for ages. and give fine grain with anything.
this chap has collected some good data on it. up to 1 to5 dilution.
skrasnov.com

Film developing with Kodak D-76, dilutions 1+1, 1+3, 1+5, push and pull

Kodak D-76 is a classic and true versatile developer. Do you want to know how to process b&w films with Kodak D-76 developer diluted 1+1, 1+3 and 1+5?
skrasnov.com skrasnov.com
.
 
I've been using HC-110 with no problems this past year, although the bottle has been open for longer than that. Prior to that I used Xtol replenished, but it can be used one shot as well. I made up the full amount, then split it into tightly sealed containers for storage. It was still working well after a year.

As an aside to this, Keith Moss was featured in the recent Ilford email and he uses Perceptol with HP5+, but I haven't tried it and don't know how long it lasts.
www.ilfordphoto.com

In Focus - Keith Moss

We have known Keith for a long while and admire both his photography and his enthusiasm for all things film and darkroom.
www.ilfordphoto.com www.ilfordphoto.com
 
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Here's a Bronica ETRSi shot taken on HP5+ pushed three stops to 3200asa. DD-X 20mins 1+4 at 20 degrees. I wanted to see how it fared vs using Delta 3200. I'm very impressed.

This is straight off the scanner - no further post-processing other than a bit of straightening. The grain becomes more pronounced when I sharpen it and add contrast, but it's still not obtrusive I don't think. Shadow detail also holds up well.


dd-x HP5+ 3200 example by fishyfish_arcade, on Flickr

Here's a crop of the image:

ddx 3200 crop.JPG
 
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Just a tip if you haven't used it, HC-110 is a thick syrup and out of the bottle you need 9ml for 35mm or 16ml for 120 in a standard tank so I have marked up one of those translucent 35mm film holders at appropriate levels.
 
sirch said:
Just a tip if you haven't used it, HC-110 is a thick syrup and out of the bottle you need 9ml for 35mm or 16ml for 120 in a standard tank so I have marked up one of those translucent 35mm film holders at appropriate levels.
Click to expand...

I use a medicine measurer cup and one thing I do to make sure it all comes out is to measure that first, then put the little cup into the dev jug and run the cold tapwater straight into it, "rinsing it out". I then stir it about a bit with the thermometer before fishing it out and dropping it in the sink. Because it's so syrupy, just pouring it into the water seemed to leave lots of liquid still in the measurer.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I use a medicine measurer cup and one thing I do to make sure it all comes out is to measure that first, then put the little cup into the dev jug and run the cold tapwater straight into it, "rinsing it out". I then stir it about a bit with the thermometer before fishing it out and dropping it in the sink. Because it's so syrupy, just pouring it into the water seemed to leave lots of liquid still in the measurer.
Click to expand...
I use Ilfotec HC rather than HC110, which I think is slightly less syrupy, so YMMV... I use a small syringe (5ml) to measure out the concentrate, there might be a tiny quantity of chemical left in the tip, but looking at the graduations on the syringe it's fractions of a hundredth of a ml, so I don't think it's significant!
 
HC-110 (y) One of the most economical developers on the market and like Rodinal, even when Yorkshire tea coloured, it works just fine.
The dregs of my last bottle were almost a year past the marked expiry date and a deep shade of tan in colour...................Absolutely no probs whatsover evident on the negs ;)

I too have recently acquired a pack of ID11 but tbh only purchased it ( along with some HP5) to try with the Snapshot as I'm finding myself having to push to 1600 most of the time and Foma 400/ HC-110 simply isn't cutting it.
 
Thanks folks,

I think I’ll give the HC-10 a try, I haven’t used Kodak chemicals in a very long time so it will make a change, also it’s significantly cheaper from Process Supplies than Ilford HC.
 
My homebrew of paracetamol, caustic soda and campden tablets works ok and keeps well.
 
dmb said:
My homebrew of paracetamol, caustic soda and campden tablets works ok and keeps well.
Click to expand...
Does it work for hangovers too?
 
And blocked drains, at a guess. But not as well as a lump of sodium, as used by someone I used to work with to clear his mother's drain.
 
I was q uite impressed with HC-110. I got 2 rolls out of it then promptly dropped the bottle. you'd think it would be fine but you know sometimes you have the one thing on the floor that isn't usually there? I had a part of a chair i was repairing, the glue was drying on the leg so it was laid out on the floor...the bottle landed right on the corner and split the bottle. The language that day :)
I've always planned to buy more but I got gifted 3 large bottles of Rodinal and I'm waiting for those to run out first.
 
Ouch! It may go a long way, but a bottle of HC 110 is not cheap!

BTW IIRC there are various alarmist-seeming posts on t'internet (I guess this is one too) about something like "European formula" for HC 110. Anyone had any issues? Mine has been brilliant...
 
ChrisR said:
Ouch! It may go a long way, but a bottle of HC 110 is not cheap!

BTW IIRC there are various alarmist-seeming posts on t'internet (I guess this is one too) about something like "European formula" for HC 110. Anyone had any issues? Mine has been brilliant...
Click to expand...

The second bottle I got seemed much less syrupy than the first but I've seen no difference in quality or dev times.
 
ChrisR said:
It may go a long way, but a bottle of HC 110 is not cheap!
Click to expand...

...and add delivery charge.....I thought of getting some to use up some old 35mm and 120 film, but probably go for IDII as it's a lot cheaper.
 
ChrisR said:
Ouch! It may go a long way, but a bottle of HC 110 is not cheap!

BTW IIRC there are various alarmist-seeming posts on t'internet (I guess this is one too) about something like "European formula" for HC 110. Anyone had any issues? Mine has been brilliant...
Click to expand...

My last bottle was purchased from Germany and the present one purchased here in France .
The 'German' bottle was very efficient, like the Germans typically are as a nation.
The French bottle I expect to work at a 'snails' pace :ROFLMAO:

Atm the UK is still in the EU so is there some reason why the HC-110 should perform differently than anywhere else in the EU?.

Perhaps come Jan 1st, all your HC-110 stocks will perorm superior or inferior to mine :rolleyes:

Darned alarmists , they could do to get out more .....Oh hang on, depending where they live perhaps they can't which could account for an increase in BS on the internet through boredom.
 
Asha said:
... Darned alarmists , they could do to get out more .....Oh hang on, depending where they live perhaps they can't which could account for an increase in BS on the internet through boredom.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing you're locked in, Asha?:D
 
ChrisR said:
I'm guessing you're locked in, Asha?:D
Click to expand...

Better than it was as we can now get out for 3 hours a day as opposed to 1 hour and wander further but that time passes very quickly especially when shooting LF.

I can see this bottle of HC-110 being two years past its expiry date unlike one year for the last bottle) by the time I get to the dregs with present shooting rates.
 
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