Table of Contents

Introduction

I primarily made this page for my own note taking regarding B&W 35mm film development at home. I have a separate page for C41 color development.

Chemicals (B&W)

This section is for B&W development assuming a 300ml tank is used. My tank is actually 290ml for 1 roll of film but I rounded to add a margin of safety and to make the math easier. Values can be doubled to develop 2 rolls simultaneously.

When water is used, it is from a bottle stored in the same place as the chemicals to prevent temperature differentials.

Stop

I've reused the working solution 10 times without issues.

Fix

I've reused the working solution 10 times without issues.

Developer

Ilford DD-X

The datasheet recommends this ratio. I only adjust timings when developing using DD-X, and don't make ratio adjustments.

I have reused the DD-X working solution up to 4 times (and adjusted developing time by +10% after each reuse).

Rodinal (SSD @ 1:100)

I read from others that it is not recommended to use less than 5ml of Rodinal while developing, so I increase the amount of water so I can maintain the 1:100 ratio while also achieving 5ml of concentrate.

This is what I generally use for semi-stand development (1 hour development, with a single inversion at 30 minutes).

I have increased this to 6ml Rodinal (494ml water) for some rolls when wanting some extra developing (approx. 1 stop pushed).

Rodinal 1:25

When I'm using Rodinal and don't want to use (semi-)stand developing. This is quicker (sub-10 minutes), timings are described below.

Timings

Temperatures refer to the working solutions in Celsius.

I never (deliberately) change my inversion method unless I am doing (semi-)stand development. I generally invert constantly (but slowly) for the first 45 seconds, then do 2 slow inversions every whole minute on the timer.

These are timings I have used with success, but they might not work for you. Always read the datasheet.

Ilford DD-X

DD-X can be reused, but it may drop the quality on future usages. I've tried up to 4x reuse. Increase dev time by 10% per reuse.

Film stock Temperature Push/Pull Time Remarks
Ilford Delta 3200 23 No 9 min
Ilford Delta 3200 23 1 stop push 12 min
Ilford HP5 Plus 23 No 8 min
Fomapan 400 24 2 stop push 12 min Under exposed, shot at 1600ISO
Fomapan 400 25 No 8 min
Fomapan 200 23 No 5 min

Rodinal 1:25

Film stock Temperature Push/Pull Time Remarks
Fomapan 200 20 No 5 min
Fomapan 200 24 No 4 min

Rodinal 1:100 SSD

I don't adjust the timings when doing semi-stand development. I do 2 inversions right after pouring in the developer then leave it. After 30 minutes I do a single very slow inversion and then leave for a further 30 minutes. Once the timer hits 1hr total, I discard the solution.

Stop

Timing isn't critical for this. I always leave the stop in for at least 30 seconds, inverting constantly (but not aggressively). I've left it standing for around 3 minutes after the inversions before with no noticeable change to the result.

Once the stop working solution is well-used (>5 uses), I start leaving it in for at least 60 seconds instead.

Fix

Timing isn't critical for this. I always leave the fixer in for at least 4 minutes, inverting constantly (but not aggressively) for 45 seconds, then inverting once per minute after that. I've left it standing after the inversions for around 5 minutes with no noticeable change to the result.

Once the fixer working solution is well-used (>5 uses), I start leaving it in for at least 5 minutes instead.

Low-res example photos

Here are some photos I have self-developed. Note that these are “social media” versions where the resolution has been lowered and the digital compression increased. Click an image to enlarge it.

All digital versions below are scans of the negatives using a Plustek 8200i at 3600DPI. Unless otherwise stated, the images have minimal post-processing.

These aren't necessarily my best shots, but are images which I think showcase the film nicely.

SSD = Semi-Stand Developed

Fomapan 400: SSD in Rodinal for 1hr

Rodinal SSD Fomapan 400

Kentmere Pan400 shot at 800ISO: SSD in Rodinal for 1hr

Rodinal SSD Kentmere Pan400

Ilford Delta 3200: SSD in Rodinal for 1hr

Rodinal SSD Delta 3200

Fomapan 200: Rodinal 1:25 4 minutes

Rodinal 1:25 4 minutes Fomapan 200

Ilford Delta 3200: DD-X 11 minutes

Developer working solution used twice prior to this roll being developed.

Ilford DD-X Delta 3200

Ilford Delta 3200 shot at 6400: DD-X 12 minutes

Ilford DD-X Delta 3200 pushed 1 stop

Fomapan 400: DD-X

Developer working solution used once prior to this roll being developed. Development time was not logged, but likely was around 5 minutes.

Ilford DD-X Fomapan 400

Fomapan 200: DD-X

Developer working solution used once prior to this roll being developed. Development time was not logged, but likely was around 5 minutes. Dirt and scratches on negative.

Ilford DD-X Fomapan 200