Opinion needed concerning min. amount of dev. for 4 x 5 sheets

[Dmorrison]

In your opinion(s), what is the least amount of Developer needed to develop one sheet of 4 x 5 film (in ml); Ilford B&W HP5+ or similar.

If the container the sheet was housed were not much larger than the sheet of film, 5mm on all sides, that's about 51ml. Is this enough?
Or will it become exhausted due to its low volume? There must be some factors that I'm not considering, such as length of dev. time and
dev. used.

Please leave feedback.

Daniel

[JW Dewdney]

depends on the amount of active developer in the solution - you could dilute it WAYYYY lower (1:100 maybe even) and do a super long development on it (usually called 'stand' developing etc) ... best to experiment to find out what works for you though.

[Mark Sawyer]

I'm sure there's a minimum amount, but with any normal developer, you'll hit the limits of what it takes to evenly cover the film before you hit the volume limits. 51ml is plenty for a 4x5 sheet, at least volume-wise.

BTW, stand developing is based on lack of agitation more than high dilution. It's compensating nature depends on the developer exhausting as it sits there. The high dilution lets it exhaust the developer more, but the longer time lets more developer "fresh" diffuse in over time, so it's almost a wash. (Mind you, that's from my experience; others might argue the point...)

[Dmorrison]

My initial film developing will be using the Ilford HP5+ and some standard dev. D23 or D76 etc.
I figure that as long as the sheet is covered, it will develop--assuming it is more than simply wetting the sheet.
If the sheet were standing upright, in a box that was 5mm higher than the film, and 5mm thicker on both the front
and back gives a volume of about 51ml. This seems enough to me, but I'm new to 4 x 5 large format film. Everything
I've done has been roll to this point.

"She may not be very pretty now, but she was somebody's baby once." Bugs Bunny

[JW Dewdney]

Yes Mark but stand developing often involves super high dilutions. So that's why it was mentioned. I'm big on high dilution for acutance and frequent agitation myself.

I'm sure there's a minimum amount, but with any normal developer, you'll hit the limits of what it takes to evenly cover the film before you hit the volume limits. 51ml is plenty for a 4x5 sheet, at least volume-wise.

BTW, stand developing is based on lack of agitation more than high dilution. It's compensating nature depends on the developer exhausting as it sits there. The high dilution lets it exhaust the developer more, but the longer time lets more developer "fresh" diffuse in over time, so it's almost a wash. (Mind you, that's from my experience; others might argue the point...)

[Dmorrison]

Let's not stray from the main point here.
I'm trying to decide on a method for developing my sheets, and was thinking that tank was best?
Anyone have experience with using developing devices that use very little fluid? Tanks? Tubes? etc.

Thanks

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. --Abraham Lincoln

[BradS]

well I routinely process six sheets of 4x5 in an Jobo tank - with 300~400ml of D23...so, yeah, I think that 50ml of D-23 per sheet is plenty.

I think you're going to have other problems with your "narrow box barely larger than a sheet of film" tank idea though. The most obvious is aggitation...

[jcoldslabs]

Daniel,

I use Cibachrome 4x5 developing tubes on a rotary base for all of my 4x5 (and smaller) sheet films. The drum's internal reservoir holds a maximum of 40ml so I have settled on HC-110 1:39 as my standard dilution. This means, of course, that I am only using 1ml of developer for each sheet of film, but I have had no problems with my development since I adopted this approach. In fact, it's produced the most even and consistent negatives of any method I've tried. The only drawback is that I can only develop one sheet at a time, but seeing as I prefer to process each sheet individually this has not bothered me.

Jonathan

[Dmorrison]

Daniel,
In fact, it's produced the most even and consistent negatives of any method I've tried.
Jonathan

What other methods have you tried? may I ask?

[jcoldslabs]

I started out using a JOBO 6 sheet 4x5 reel (2509n) in a tank with hand-inversion. Then I tried stand development in the same tank but abandoned that after a few bouts of bromide drag and/or uneven development in open sky areas. (Might have been user error.) Both of these methods worked fine, I suppose, but the level of consistency I get with the small drums is superior in my opinion. Plus, the low volume of chemistry required makes me happy; the 1500ml to fill the JOBO tank seemed like a waste for only six sheets.

I've never developed in trays or in tanks using hangers because I don't have a proper darkroom and daylight processing options have been a necessity. Also, I shoot a lot of odd sized films (3 1/4" x 4", 2 1/4" x 3 1/4", 9x12cm, etc.) and the small drums accommodate them all easily.

Jonathan