I generally use the manufacturer’s recommendations for film and paper processing, except for film development where I find the Ilford recommended development times rather long for my way of working. It's also not helped by all the American forum users insisting on using Farenheit instead of Celcius and intermingling their terms for time conversions between 'x1.4' and 'add 175%' ... I'm a maths-biff at the best of times, so keeping this all straight in my head is a challenge anyway...

Like I said though, I am not versed in the particulars of how developers work, if you are, please let me know in the comments if dilution does make a difference in the amount of grain you get in your images. No, I only use this tone with people who waste my time by posting irrelevancies over the why's and wherefore's. It's my business as to why I want to do it. . If you don't know the answer, say so. You've been spectacularly unhelpful by the way - I can see your profile descriptor is pretty accurate... Well, I've used Rodinal and HC110 and ID-11 - as you know Rodinal and HC110 act differently to developers like ID-11, D-76, Microphen etc. - and now I want to compare those results to DDX at various dilutions without wasting too much film... If I have a reasonable starting point that others have successfully used, maybe I'll waste less film than if I just guess... if that's OK with you?Films developed to a slightly lower D max, and slightly lower gamma, with an extended straight line portion to the characteristic curve, tend to make life easier for scanning. As the digit work flow is optimised with out consideration of a toe or sholder, which do not exist in digital output from sensors. Mamiya m645 – Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm – Kodak TMax 400 @ ASA-400 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 8:00 @ 20C Mamiya m645 – Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm – Kodak TMax 400 @ ASA-400 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 8:00 @ 20C Mamiya m645 – Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm – Kodak TMax 400 @ ASA-400 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 8:00 @ 20C Mamiya m645 – Mamiya-Sekor C 1:2.8 f=80mm – Kodak TMax 400 @ ASA-400 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 8:00 @ 20C There seems to be some consensus on Delta 400 and Delta 3200 especially when pushed, but almost nothing regarding Delta 100 at box speed...

I spent the latter part of 2018 and all of 2019 with Rodinal, and I made the descision to spend 2020 with HC-110, but to be honest, after my first few rolls, I found it delivered far superior results to Rodinal for the films I shot and the look I liked. HP5 in Rodinal looks terrible to my eye so it's not included here.

Perhaps the best part about using DD-X, is that it gives users the maximum amount of tonality on their negatives. That means that the negatives will look relatively flat when compared to other developers like Rodinal or pyro-based developers. But in return, you’ll get negatives that can be edited to create the desired level of contrast. Where maximum film speed is needed I would always use Ilford Microphen powder, still the best speed enhancing developer. Paper Developer Ilfotec DD-X is one of the very best film developers for pushing film. This developer is the perfect balance between solvent action (reducing the size of grains) and shadow enhancement. A single 1L bottle isn’t that expensive, but when you consider that it requires a 1+4 dilution, that means you’re only getting 10 cycles out of a single bottle. For example, Rodinal, which usually comes in a 500ml bottle at a cheaper price, can develop up to 50 rounds, totaling 100 rolls of 35mm film — all in a solution that doesn’t expire over time. That’s why I always recommend Rodinal (or Blazinal in Canad) to be the first film developer for new film photographers. Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford Delta 400 @ ASA-200 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 6:00 @ 20C Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford Delta 400 @ ASA-200 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 6:00 @ 20C Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford Delta 400 @ ASA-200 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 6:00 @ 20C Rolleiflex 2.8F – Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm 1:2.8 – Ilford Delta 400 @ ASA-200 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 6:00 @ 20C

You can't replenish a diluted developer-- something that is both good and bad. This depends on the developer used as some replenish well (aka get "ripened) others gain no such benefit and some really just ought to be disposed of after development.So interestingly, whilst I was developing the 2 test rolls I also had a roll of HP5 shot at 1600 to do. I decided to dev it in DD-X. Grain is much more pronounced, esp in the zone II & III shadows and there's a "kludgy", muddy look to the image - which suits the subject in this case. This grain is less pronounced through the tonal range, but it's visible, and nowhere near as clean as the DD-X shot. I may well sacrifice a couple of rolls of P3200 to compare. However I have successfully scanned Images that I took in the 50's using Adox R17 and processed in one shot Neofin blue, a very highly dilute Beutler type developer that gives great compensation, sharpness and high actuance. Adox R17 was a single coated high silver content thin emulsion, with massive resolution and extraordinary tonal rendition, When correctly processed. I was able to produce fine quality 3meter square bromide enlargements for store window displays, from Rollie negatives. These were able to stand up sufficiently well with others from 5x7 negatives. Most scanners tend to struggle with high density highlights. and they respond badly to high actuance, as edge effects are accentuated by digital processing.

Ilfotec DD-X is the best developer for developing B&W film that is ISO 400 and above. This liquid-concentrate developer enhances shadow details, and creates images with rich tonality, making it one of the top options for pushing film without creating overly-grainy images.Ilford DDX for single roll – 15 ml + 485 ml water – 22+22 with 20-second stir at start and midpoint. Nikon FE – AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 – Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 7:00 @ 20C Nikon FE – AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 – Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 7:00 @ 20C Nikon FE – AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 – Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 7:00 @ 20C Nikon FE – AI-S Nikkor 35mm 1:2.8 – Kodak TMax 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (1+4) 7:00 @ 20C Certainly, the developer is not hampering my capability as a photographer as I perhaps suspected. It must be something else It seems the rule of thumb for increasing development time is generally agreed-on at being x1.41 for a doubling of the dilution (or halving the amount of developer for a given volume), so the recommended 10.30mins at 1+4 @ 20C would be theoretically be 14.50mins at 1+9 (ish). In which case, the Massive Dev Chart seems way off with 1+9 timed at 18.30 at 20C (converted from their posted timings for 1+9 which are at 24C - sigh)... Minolta Maxxum 9 – Minolta Maxxum AF 28-135mm 1:4-4.5 – Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford DD-X (1+4) 10:30 @ 20C Minolta Maxxum 9 – Minolta Maxxum AF 28-135mm 1:4-4.5 – Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford DD-X (1+4) 10:30 @ 20C Minolta Maxxum 9 – Minolta Maxxum AF 28-135mm 1:4-4.5 – Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford DD-X (1+4) 10:30 @ 20C Minolta Maxxum 9 – Minolta Maxxum AF 28-135mm 1:4-4.5 – Ilford Delta 100 @ ASA-100 – Ilford DD-X (1+4) 10:30 @ 20C