Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/01/03

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Subject: [Leica] Re: tri-x and microdol-x
From: pswango at att.net (pswango@att.net)
Date: Tue Jan 3 14:29:11 2006

Philippe, you probably have more info than you need by now but here's my two 
cents worth.  I used that combo for years and it was my favorite for image 
tonalty, grain and sharpness.  I shot TX at ISO 250 and souped in Microdol X 
at 1:3 for around 11-13 minutes (I forget which one now).  I was using a 
cold light enlarger and printed everything on grade 2 paper.  It made for a 
very consistent technique and the prints still look great.  If I were going 
back to chemical BW I'd give it another shot even now.  But it's not THAT 
different from D76 1:1, which may give a little more speed.  But I was 
always going for shadow detail and controlled highlights.  One thing that 
made it consistent is the kind of longish development time, compared to say 
6-7 minutes for some of the hydroquinone soup.  So little variations in 
agitation or timing didn't make much of a difference.  I could never warm up 
to the Hydroquinone look (HC-110) although others love it.

Phil Swango
http://pswango.smugmug.com/

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