Originally Posted by
paulbarden
D-23 has a slightly softer look to it than D-76, but as stated, they are very similar developers, and neither are "compensating" developers. However, at high dilutions, D-76 can act a bit like a compensating developer, and it isn't as much of a solvent developer.
If you want more of a compensating effect, try one of the 2-bath developers which are designed to manage high contrast scenes with a big tonal range. The Thornton 2_bath is very simple to make (it's essentially a split variant of D-23) and produces excellent results. Xtol is also a somewhat compensating developer, preventing "overcooked" highlights while maintaining excellent shadow detail.
Of course it's also worth mentioning that your choice of films will play a significant role in the outcome also.
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