Kodak D76 Part 1 - Making and Using This Classic Developer

[@mnoliberal7335]

What a coincidence--I just bought two bags of Kodak D-76. I used it exclusively in college (late '70s) and with Tri-X exclusively. Looking forward to some time with my old friend

[@naturelvr123]

It is good that someone is explaining what these film developers do to film. Keep up the good work.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks Paul! Sometimes I feel a bit repetitive but always try to add some valuable tidbits.

[@chris-non-voter]

Great video, thanks. I heat the water to 50°C, add D76 powder from the packet and use a milky coffee frother to whisk the mix. Takes about a minute and I get a nice clear liquid. I leave it for 24 hours. Works fine.

[@mikeratledgeguy]

great resource! thanks for this! getting into photography and this has been super helpful

[@PictorialPlanet]

Great! Take it step by step and you'll become an ace.

[@endingmirage]

Thank you, your videos are always giving me new information I need

[@PictorialPlanet]

Excellent! Keep on watching my friend!!

[@randallstewart175]

One of the reasons D-76 is a standard developer is that, in fact, for many years is was (maybe still is) a "standard". In the 1930s, the American Standards Association ( aka ASA) was tasked to set standards for film speed to establish a rating system in the US to compare speed of new films, which is where the ASA film speed rating came from. To do this, they made D-76 the standard developer for use in comparing all B&W films being assigned an ASA speed. I think that organization stopped doing this several decades ago, and the reference to film speed adopted the ISO (International Standards Organization) reference, although it seems to be the same rating standard. When I used D-76, I diluted stock 1:2 for use as a one-shot developer, which IMO made repeatable results much superior to saving used stock for further re-use and gives much sharper (if not smaller) grain structure.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for you comment, Randall! Yes, the ASA test developer was similar to D76 (although not the same). Definitely from the same family. I believe it was MQ Borax. You raise a good question as to what they do now? I wonder??

[@AtlantaTerry]

I always used it 1:1 for excellent results.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Yes, agreed!

[@flatbrokefrank6482]

In the mid70's I went on a college visit to Kodak in Liverpool and the D76 line was a row of ladies each with a spatula, a scale, and a pile of bags weighing out by hand and with no personal protection - not the high tech plant you might imagine. I went on to work for a freelance agency who's work was mainly football for the national papers, D 76 was the industry standard, HC 110 would push tri x to 1600 for extreme lighting conditions but had very high contrast and grain like golf balls. The lads at Thompson House could instantly read a neg and produce immaculate prints first go probably the best printers in the country - Happy Days!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Wow! How interesting!! Thank you for this Frank.

[@jagman1953]

Thanks John, I always look forward to your videos as they are full of helpful info.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thank for you comment, Paul!

[@m00dawg]

I hope you had a great trip! Nice to see a new video! And also I'm really enjoying your book! When I first decided to try mixing my own chemicals, my original plan was to do D76H. But, I ended up opting for D23 and I have to say, though I'm not yet replenishing it (thouhg have thought about it since I've replenished Xtol before and now replenish XT-3) I have really loved the results so far! Super easy to mix too! Curious how D23 may end up comparing to D76 as I tend to hear various things about that. I found that with Fomapan 200 in 4x5 it gave me rather lovely results! Lately though I've been messing about with 510-Pyro and I quite like that too!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for your comment Tim and for purchasing my book. It really helps me with my channel. D23 is remarkable isn't it? Just two chemicals that can bring such good results. Results that rate with the best of them! I've always been amazed by it - replenished is even better. I hope you enjoy the new series. I might have an even better dev for you to try :)

[@m00dawg]

@@PictorialPlanet Looking forward to it definitely!

[@mahasidha9]

Try D76 1:1 With Tri-X rated at 200 for 7 minutes & 30 seconds on 120 format results are especially sharp; great tonality, beautiful pure whites; printed on Ilford Multigrade fiber based paper 8 x 10, people refuse to believe the film is Tri-x; they have such wrong preconceptions of what the film can do exposed & processed this way.

[@jameslane3846]

Literally just gave a talk on basics of photochemistry, how to make D76 and what is what component, that all fine grained physical developers were based on this for the rest of the century then to say how 510 Pyro (and Pyrocat HD) throws this out of the window and then talking about photochemistry in the future at The Photography Show back on Saturday and Monday Ilford's top executives attended my talk :) Oh and I quoted you at it! 😀 your thoughts on the three pyro giants

[@PictorialPlanet]

You quoted me, blimey!! What do you say lol 😂

[@jameslane3846]

@@PictorialPlanet yep haha, you with Andrew Sanderson and a few fine artists on how amazing 510 Pyro is 😅 Ilford were very impressed with 510 Pyro, I'm going to try to get Jay's flagship developer manufactured with them

[@PictorialPlanet]

Great idea!

[@theoldfilmbloke]

Having a Viewing Marathon since I discovered YOU John !! a Fellow 'Crawley Fan ! ' I make up my own D76/ID11 as you do and have found that increase in activity ---- Interestingly ILFORD time for HP5 in ID11 is DIFFERENT from D76 time -- I find in my 'Home-Made ID11 the 'Time' is better if I give the D76 time !

[@raybeaumont7670]

True D76 uses Metaborate - ID11 uses Tetraborate. And don't forget -- your water supply makes a hell of a difference. Moving house from Lancashire to South Wales increased all my development times - different water.

[@namesurename-fotografiaana3168]

Really good one. Thank You.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thank you!

[@nickfanzo]

Great channel

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thank you 🙏

[@namesurename-fotografiaana3168]

I was my second “DIY” D76 I mixed some days ago. I was really positively surprised by results I obtained with my favorite cheap Rollei RPX 100. Using stock concentration I obtained really nice tonality and surprisingly small grain. In parallel I prepared D76R - to keep my developer alive for longer time. What is your opinion about D76 replenishment?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I don't have a lot of experience with D76R but instead use D23 Replenishing. I like it a lot!

[@andrewcroft2570]

Nice video, I am new to developing my own film, can I use D76 on all B&W film, and can I use any stop and fixer in the final stage, please?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Yes and yes

[@russjump6194]

have you experimented with ansco 17 which is a variant of d76 very curious about its performance

[@PictorialPlanet]

I like Ansco 17 and use it for a while with replenishment. It's like a sharper D76 with similar times. Replenishment improves tonality.

[@russjump6194]

@@PictorialPlanet have you tried it at 1+1. I may give this one a whirl. if I can ever get some Phenidone I may try to make fx55. this is all so much fun I'm 69 years old always played with film photography but never got into developing any of it. I am so burnt out on digital photography but I still shoot some digital I always pack my 5D Mark IV and two Canon Elan 7e, 1 with black and white film and one with color film:)

[@PictorialPlanet]

1+1 is ok but begins to compress the mid tones. If you are looking for a developers with the lovely tonality of D76 but the sharpness of 1+1 or even 1+3 look no further than Thornton's high definition two bath. That is a better developer. And you can develop different films together in it at the same time.

[@gabrysgabriukas]

Hi, When mixing developer I got small white hard particals in soliution. How to dissolve them?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Make sure your water is hot, up to 50C is ok.

[@gabrysgabriukas]

@@PictorialPlanet Thank you! the heat helped a lot and now they are gone.

[@gabrysgabriukas]

Also how many rolls you can develop and reuse it from 1liter?

[@monochrome17]

How does D76H (H76) compare to original D76?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I prefer the original however, after using D23 Replenished, I never went back to D76. D23 replenished just has a nicer, richer look. Recommended. I cover it in my book.

[@Max-nv4fb]

Could you elaborate a bit more on the activity upon storage? Really curious to see what this means. I have been using D76 for a while now but what can i expect overtime when storing the negatives?

[@PictorialPlanet]

The classic D76 developer increased in PH over time. This increase caused the developer to become more active and therefore develop your film faster and to a higher contrast. It's difficult to get your development consistent if you don't know how much activity your D76 has. Now, there are modern formulas for D76 that fix this problem, D23 being the simplest solution (literally). As far as negative storage is concerned, no problem as long as they've been fixed and washed as per my videos.

[@Max-nv4fb]

@@PictorialPlanet ahhh ok, then I got it wrong... I thought that you ment the negatives when developed and stored increase over time in contrast.. And that sounded a bit odd to me. But when it comes to the shelve life of the developer inside the bottle I understand that point. But I hardly ever keep my developer more that 2/3 months because I always mix up whatever I need for a developing sesssion so I never have to worry about that problem!

[@billhackley3540]

could you please tell me how many developments i can do out of a 'batch' i just made 500 ml. and developed a roll of 120 came out nice.

[@billhackley3540]

nearly through the d23 replenisher batch i made for the d23 i made a couple weeks ago. going very well

[@PictorialPlanet]

Check out my website

[@ahmedbinarafat7762]

May i do for x ray of this formula?

[@PictorialPlanet]

I expect so. D76/ID11 is a standard developer that can be used for most applications.

[@AtlantaTerry]

Has anyone tried 120 Shanghai B&W film recently? I use their 4x5" film and like it. The reason I am asking is I want to order some 120 Shanghai to try but not if they still are having trouble with the backing. If you are not aware, a few years ago Shanghai had a problem with the ink on the paper backing that would transfer to the emulsion of the film while it was all rolled up. The ink of the words and numbers would soak in and not come out during development! In the final B&W prints, you could faintly read those words and numbers. Thank you. Terry Thomas... the photographer Atlanta, Georgia USA

[@PictorialPlanet]

If you try it I'd love to know how you get on.

[@sofiafilmcom]

Sir, I have 10 rolls TriX 400 120 expired '92. Suggest me a developer for them.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Try shooting one at EI100 and developing in Rodinal 1+100 stand for one hour.