Your experience with Microdol X is similar to my own. I used it for
quite a few years back in the seventies, mainly because it was
conveniently available pre-mixed <g>, but eventually realized it wasn't
giving me the kind of results I needed, particularly for car
photography. I eventually switched to D-76 1:1 and liked that very much
for work that required high accutance. I always heard good things about
XTOL but had trouble finding it in local stores. I still use D-76 1:1
for my occasional BW work. I like it with T-Max 100, 400and Plus-X,
which are the films I shoot most often. However, I must admit I' ve
been ignoring BW lately. Must shoot some more. Cobwebs are forming in
my darkroom :-).
Paul
On Jul 10, 2005, at 11:11 PM, Godfrey DiGiorgi wrote:
On Jul 10, 2005, at 6:43 PM, Mark Roberts wrote:
A man after my own heart! I shoot Pan-F whenever I can. Microdol-X
seems
to keep the harshness in check.
My test bed for film and chemistry evaluation was Minox subminiature
format, where tiny changes in exposure and processing become
immediately apparent even in a 6x8" print (19x magnification).
Pan F is good, but no better than TMax 100 when it comes to grain,
acutance, and mid-range tonalities. It's an older formula emulsion.
TMax 100 took me a while to learn ... I finally figured it out: it
needs a LOT of agitation as it was designed for machine processing,
and the traditional 68 degrees F B&W temperature isn't best suited for
it in most developers. Go to 72-74F and strong agitation, it comes
alive.
Microdol-X is a pretty crummy developer for landscape work, where
detail is very important. It was designed with a lot of grain
dissolver (sodium sulphite) to soften grain for portraiture. I used to
use it for portraiture a lot, stopped using it entirely for anything
else.
Kodak's XTOL, straight or at 1:1 dilution, or the very similar
Paterson FX-50, produces similar grain without loss of acutance, and
better speed to boot. I've used it with Pan F, Agfa APX25 and 100,
TMax 100 and 400, Delta 100 and 400 ... all do well in it.
The best B&W film and processing soup for landscape work I ever used
was Agfa APX25 in 35mm and medium format sizing. Rated at EI 50,
exposed carefully, processed in XTOL 1:1 @74F with very light
agitation, it produces negatives that express gorgeous tonality, are
virtually grainless, and both scan and print in the wet lab well.
Unfortunately, APX25 is now long gone from stores, and Agfa is out of
it. I still have a couple dozen rolls in my freezer (and about 60
rolls of Minopan 25, (which is the factory slit, Minox-branded version
for 8x11 cameras).
Godfrey
