xtol or tmax rs developers?

[franklphoto]

for 8x10 tmax 400?

[Ron Marshall]

I've only tried XTOL 1:1, which does a wonderful job with TMY. I've read that tmax rs also is a good choice.

[Sal Santamaura]

I haven't tried XTOL with TMY2, only years ago with TMY. I didn't like the curve shape and was put off by reports of unpredictable developer failure.

I did recently test 8x10 TMY2 in TMAX RS 1:9. Results were beautiful; no rising curve and extremely pleasing grain structure. The convenience of a liquid concentrate is a big plus for me, as is this developer's capacity. Only 45ml of A+B concentrate is needed per 80 square inches of film; that's important when processing with dilute developers in a Jobo. It also affords reasonably long times at higher temperatures. After a 5-minute presoak, my time for CI=0.50 was 6 minutes 45 seconds at 75 degrees F and 45 rpm.

This combination will be my standard when Glazer's delivers the 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 TMY2 order in 3-5 weeks.

[cjbroadbent]

You are stuck with 5 liters of Xtol and it goes off after a month. But it is friendly to the environment (Vitamin C) and, in my tests, works the mid-tone contrast better than tmax. (I do go for a dense negative for brown prints with twice N, so I'm not gospel)

[willwilson]

My vote would be for Xtol.

I think with testing you could get comparable results with either developer, but Xtol, as mentioned above, is greener. It also comes in a stable powder which is easily stockpiled; mixing Xtol is very easy. I use it 1:1 and 1:2 in a rotary unicolor processor. I have always had great results with TMY, Delta 100, TMAX, Tri-x, and HP5. Unlike Christopher I have never had storage problems with Xtol if it is kept without any excess air in a dark colored airtight bottle. I have used 3-4 month old stock solution kept this way without any problems, that said fresh is always a good idea.

[Eric Brody]

I am an Xtol fan. I keep my Xtol in a large container with a floating lid. It keeps quite well in an attic darkroom that can get warm in the summer. I usually mix a new batch if what I have is over two months old and I am doing some really important film. I've had no failures since they discontinued the one liter package.

Eric

[Ron Marshall]

I put XTOL in 500ml brown glass bottles, completely full. Every batch has been good for six months, at which point I dump it if I happen to have any remaining, since that is the storage life according to Kodak.

[jim kitchen]

I use XTOL with TMY, but I have not used this developer with the new TMY film...

I like this developer at 1:1, where I develop twenty 8X10 sheets of TMY film in one film developing session after making fresh developer, stop bath, fixer, and hypo clear. I do not have any developer to save because I use it all in one day long session, although I do make fresh stop bath, fixer, and hypo clear after developing ten 8X10 sheets of film to complete the task with the remaining ten sheets of film.

I have not experienced any image problems while holding onto my exposed negatives, where I might collect and save them to develop over two days, several days, and sometimes a few weeks, until I usually have twenty negatives to complete this one time task.

If I am forced to develop my negatives because my curiosity overwhelms me, and the total is somewhat less than twenty, I just do it, and I toss the remaining mixed solutions away, since the total cost of the solutions are relatively inexpensive for each film developing session.

jim k

[Filmnut]

I too use XTOL, and although I have also read about failures, I have not had any problems. My storage is cool and dark, and it keeps well even in a partly filled bottle for a few weeks. I will sometimes split the contents into several smaller bottles, to extend its' life. This way I have had it last for several months. I generally use it at 1:1.
I think that either developer works well, as I have used the tmax dev also, but I have not done any scientific tests to compare the particular strenghts and weaknesses of the two types.
Keith