Diafine question

[Joseph Dickerson]

Hi All,

Does anyone have experience using Diafine with 4x5 sheet film and film hangers?

I've found lots on using HP Combi, and/or Jobo tanks but I think I'd prefer hangers with 4x5 utility tanks.

Thanks in advance...

JD

[David Karp]

I have used Diafine with 4x5 sheets in tanks and with a slosher. It works fine. I developed it for 4-5 minutes in each solution.

I think traditional emulsions look best, my favorites being FP4+ and HP5+. Others disagree. Do searches on the forum for Diafine and two bath developers. There is a lot of information on this site. I would give you more info, but I have to run.

[BetterSense]

I've always been afraid to try it because development times are so short, and worried about even development. I would like to use Diafine with Efke IR film in 4x5.

[Roger Cole]

I've always been afraid to try it because development times are so short, and worried about even development. I would like to use Diafine with Efke IR film in 4x5.

Give it a try (I plan to do so.)

I've used a ton of Diafine back in the day for 35mm. The thing about Diafine is that, in common with most if not all other two bath developers where the first bath is not alkaline enough to develop much if any, the development pretty much just goes to completion and stops. It is pretty much impossible to over develop. So if you prefer going five minutes per bath to make sure all the film gets fully developed, it's not going to make any real difference (other than perhaps improving evenness, though I rather doubt this - I know I never had problems with uneven development in 35mm and I was pouring it in and out of a tank, which took a bit.)

The only reason I didn't use it for 4x5 was that I had bought Diafine in quarts (since it lasts just about forever) and didn't have enough for my 4x5 deep tanks.

Oh yes - as I said, I didn't try it in 4x5 (well, I think I may have done one or two sheets in a small tray to try to rescue an accidental underexposure) but in 35mm I concur that it works best with conventional films. Tri-X - the 400 type not the 320 - and Plus X and FP4+. HP5 was ok but not as much speed gain as Tri-X. FP4 gave a little slower but finer grained results than Plus X and was a favorite of mine. T-grain films, both T-Max and Delta, never seemed to do well in it.

[D. Bryant]

Give it a try (I plan to do so.)

I've used a ton of Diafine back in the day for 35mm. The thing about Diafine is that, in common with most if not all other two bath developers where the first bath is not alkaline enough to develop much if any, the development pretty much just goes to completion and stops. It is pretty much impossible to over develop. So if you prefer going five minutes per bath to make sure all the film gets fully developed, it's not going to make any real difference (other than perhaps improving evenness, though I rather doubt this - I know I never had problems with uneven development in 35mm and I was pouring it in and out of a tank, which took a bit.)

The only reason I didn't use it for 4x5 was that I had bought Diafine in quarts (since it lasts just about forever) and didn't have enough for my 4x5 deep tanks.

Oh yes - as I said, I didn't try it in 4x5 (well, I think I may have done one or two sheets in a small tray to try to rescue an accidental underexposure) but in 35mm I concur that it works best with conventional films. Tri-X - the 400 type not the 320 - and Plus X and FP4+. HP5 was ok but not as much speed gain as Tri-X. FP4 gave a little slower but finer grained results than Plus X and was a favorite of mine. T-grain films, both T-Max and Delta, never seemed to do well in it.

Hi Neighbor,

How's things over in Larryville?

You know I discovered that if I purchased two mixes I could make a half gallon. Works every time! :)

This product works fine for T-Grain films, IMO, though my preference these days is Pyrocat-HD and TMAX developer with TMAX getting the nod since it lasts forever in the jug like HC-110 and people keep giving me free gallons.

Don Bryant

[Ken Lee]

If you're concerned about uneven development, you can add a few drops of PhotoFlo to Solution A - as we do with Divided Pyrocat. It worked wonders for me.

[BetterSense]

Do you use tray development?

I can see using Diafine with rotary development, but I always try for >10 minute development times when I develop by hand. I have watched development progress with my IR goggles and it's pretty shocking how fast the image pops up once you put the film in bath 2. It's much faster than any conventional developer; more like a print. But if people have successfully used tanks or trays with diafine I would like to know about it.

[Juergen Sattler]

I live in Scottsdale, AZ and in the summer time our tab water is very very warm - above 80 degrees F. Diafine is almost the only developer I can use in those temps without taking a gamble - 3 minutes in Bath A, 3 minutes in Bath B - no matter what temp the tab water is - I always get consistent results. I use either a Jobo tank or the HP Combi plan - doesn't matter - the results are the same. Plus it lasts forever - my current batch is two years old and works as well as on day one.

[Roger Cole]

Hi Neighbor,

How's things over in Larryville?

You know I discovered that if I purchased two mixes I could make a half gallon. Works every time! :)

This product works fine for T-Grain films, IMO, though my preference these days is Pyrocat-HD and TMAX developer with TMAX getting the nod since it lasts forever in the jug like HC-110 and people keep giving me free gallons.

Don Bryant

Well duh - obviously. ;) But when I got the 4x5 I also got a Jobo. I continued using Diafine for the (apparent, yes I know, but real enough for most purposes) speed sometimes shooting handheld 4x5, but didn't really need that for the 4x5 and just used T-Max RS in the Jobo. I could have, could have also simply bought the gallon size, but never felt like it just to try it out in tanks when I had all I needed for 35mm.

Good to hear it works, though. Freestyle has the gallon size for less money than Badger (I think it was) has the quarts, so I'll get a gallon this time and give it a go in my deep tanks.

It does "work fine" for T-grain films, but it gets more effective film speed push on older emulsions. I'd shoot Tri-X at 1600, Plus-X at 500 (box says 400, found 500 worked a bit better) and FP4+ at 320 in 35mm. Until T-Max 3200 came out Tri-X in Diafine was my standard push when I had a need for speed.

[Lynn Jones]

Diafine and other split developers, the times are minimal, you can't over do it. Soln a just soaks the unactivated developer, it doesn't over develop if it is there longer. Soln b, activator, just develops the developer that is there, when it is used up that is it.

Lynn

[Roger Cole]

I continued using Diafine for the (apparent, yes I know, but real enough for most purposes) speed sometimes shooting handheld 4x5...

Er, that was supposed to be "shooting handheld 35mm." The edit option seems to go away after a time - this is a rather, um, more rigid board than other vBulletin ones I'm on. But anyway...


Diafine and other split developers, the times are minimal, you can't over do it. Soln a just soaks the unactivated developer, it doesn't over develop if it is there longer. Soln b, activator, just develops the developer that is there, when it is used up that is it.

Lynn

Pretty much what I said, and it's true for Diafine but worth noting that it isn't true for ALL divided developers. It depends on how active solution A is. Divided D-23, for example, will develop noticeably with longer times in the A bath.