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Emrehan Zeybekoglu
7-Mar-2005, 16:26
Hi everyone:

Recently having switched from Xtol to D76 and using Bergger 200 shot at ASA 200, I ended up with disaster. Following Bergger's suggestion of 9 min at 20 deg Celsius, the film was completely undeveloped. Gradually increasing the time did not help. Finally I exposed at ASA 100 and kept the film in the developer for nearly 15 min I got some image but this time the nonemulsion side of the film was (again) opaque. My developer, etc. are all fresh. The temp is on the mark, etc., etc. Can you tell me what's going on? Many thanks in advance..

Mike Chini
7-Mar-2005, 16:38
I tried Xtol a few times and got VERY underexposed negs and had to increase listed times by about 50% to get things to look right. I never really stuck with it and went back to ID11/D76 which works REALLY well with bergger for a very rich, classic look. FG7 will work well but will be a bit grainy. I rate the film at 100. Both D76 1:1 and straight will work well. I say ditch Xtol which is IMO a crappy product. Try another fine graind developer if that's what you're looking for. There are many many out there.

Mike Chini
7-Mar-2005, 16:40
My mistake. I see that your problem is actually with D76. In that case, I've never had a problem and you might recheck that you didn't expose the film properly. I also strongly suggest exposing the film at around 100 which is its real speed (or thereabouts).

tim atherton
7-Mar-2005, 16:44
Stick with Xtol - I found it gives very nice results with Bergger200

ronald moravec
7-Mar-2005, 16:52
The best results I ever had with Bergger was D76 undiluted, 7.5 minutes at 68. EI 160. Prints on an Omega D2 condenser. Nine min was like a brick.

There is some other problem. I would guess it is the developer. Try a sheet of something else.
Or try a sheet from a different batch in the D76.

Don`t try extending time with pre-used developer. it goes bad pretty fast even in a sealed bottle.

Brian Schall
7-Mar-2005, 18:47
Ronald

How did you develop the film: tray, drum, etc.?

Jay Wolfe
8-Mar-2005, 05:14
Emrehan,

You didn't say what dilution of D76 you used. Perhaps you over-diluted.

Donald Qualls
8-Mar-2005, 07:09
Maybe I'm reading this funny, but when you say the "non-emulsion side was (again) opaque" that suggests to me that the problem is with the fixer, not with the developer. Even a properly developed image will be very hard to see if the film isn't correctly fixed -- unexposed portions (under the film holder edge, for instance) should be almost clear.

Assuming your fixer does in fact clear your film, you're fixing for twice the clearing time, and I'm just reading this wrong, could it be your D-76 was mixed incorrectly? The time you give is about right for stock solution, but more than a little short for 1:1, and if your stock solution was made with the wrong amount of water you might be working at the equivalent of 1:1 or even 1:3 without realizing it. The fifteen minutes with EI 100 that you report gave images is similar to what I see reported for this film in 1:1.

Another possibility is that your water could contain impurities that would make the D-76 work incorrectly; high levels of iron can do this, as could (possibly) water that's ozonated (done instead of chlorination in some systems, this could cause premature oxidation of the developing agents). If you aren't already, you should mix the developer with distilled water or water of known purity (I've used filtered water from grocery store dispensers with excellent results).

And I presume you've verified that your shutter and diaphragm are working correctly; that is, that you're not, somehow, underexposing by 3-4 stops relative to what you intend...

Emrehan Zeybekoglu
8-Mar-2005, 14:11
Thanks for taking the time..

Jay, I am using (trying to use) D76 without diluting it.

And Donald, what you're saying is interesting. I did not really think about the water business too much. I always pay attention to cleanliness, etc. but the water could possibly have had too much ozone, as you state. I mix my own fixer: about 12-13 ml per liter of water. It seemed to work before. My exposures are OK, my lens is APO Symmar 150 that I bought brand new; it's working fine.
No part of the fim (the edges..) gets clear after dev. and fixing. However, is presoaking important? I don't think it should be but I can give it a try.

I guess I'll have to keep trying.. Thanks for the suggestions..

ronald moravec
8-Mar-2005, 17:45
12/13 ml per liter ! Film strength fix is 200 ml fix and 800 water. Looks to me like the film is not fixing. Mix a batch of film strength fix and refix some of the failures.

Jim Noel
9-Mar-2005, 20:38
Based on the information supplied, there is no doubt that the fixer is the problem. Mix fresh at film strength and your problems should go away.

Emrehan Zeybekoglu
10-Mar-2005, 05:29
Thanks, Ronald and Jim and everybody else..