[QUOTE=Jay DeFehr;664745]

Hi Jay,

I don't agree with much in your previous post. It is your opinion but definitely not substantiated as fact. I respect your knowledge and experimentation, but I don't respect when you state opinion as fact. And frankly, much of what you state as fact is absolute nonsense, and I refer specifically to your comment that pyrogallol does not oxidize as quickly as pyrocatechol. In fact, the absolute opposite is true and you could easily verify this by using both as a sole reducer. Have you ever made that test? If not, please do so and report the results. Here is what Bill Troop (in The Film Developing Cookbook, p. 79) says about pyrocatechol. "Pyrocatechin (also called catechol, pyrocatechol, and catechin) stains and tans as well as pyro. It is generally considered to be more stable and reliable. It has been used in a few commercial developers such as Neofin Blue and even, for a brief period, in HC 110." Does Bill Troop's opinion matter? Well, I think so as he is without doubt one of the most brillant minds in the world re: photographic chemistry.

The fact that you don't want either arbitration or consensus pretty much says it all as far as I am concerned. Sorry, but if you plan to continue to claim that 510-Pyro is the best staining and tanning developer in the world, you better plan to back it up with independent and objective testing. I have never made such a claim about my formulas, nor has Gordon Hutchings or John Wimberely. Both do great work with their formulas, as I do with mine, but as for the best formula I have never made and will never make such an absurd claim as to the best pyro developer. You should not either unless you are prepared to have your formula(s) compared with independent and objective comparison to others of its type. Even then, do you think anyone would care since by your own words developers are "interesting but not important."

Sandy