Acufine Diafine 2 Bath Black & White Film Developer Concentrate, Makes 1 Qt. of Solution

2022-03-03T10:12:12

I haven't mixed it yet, but I imagine it's the same as in 1987!

JAY G.

2020-07-10T17:29:15

This developer is such an amazing trick, I'm starting to shoot everything planning on using Diafine. Soak in A, then soak in B (don't mix too much, just clear out those bubbles), then rinse, fix, rinse, and you're done. Room temperature is fine. Time doesn't matter, five minutes of each is okay, or longer. You can underexpose shots by several stops depending on the film, and all the info will be there in the negatives. Reuse solutions A and B over and over again many dozens of times, they don't go bad. It gives a classic 1980s journalist look with Tri-X film shot at 1000 or 1200. But, with Tri-X some of your shots can be at 2000, and some of them can be at 800. Sometimes, in a dark room at night, I don't even think about exposure, I just open the aperture, turn down the shutter as far as practical, cross my fingers, and click away. Every shot will have an image and some kind of respectable density on the negatives. It's magic. But, yeah, the higher that ASA goes, the grainier the results will be. That's with Tri-X. Most other traditional grain films should be about one stop faster (e.g., Kentmore Pan 100 shoot at 200, etc). The fancy new formulations like Kodak T-Max or Ilford Delta should be shot pretty close to box speed, but they still process great in Diafine with very nice fine grain. The only limitation, of course, is if you want your Tri-X to actually look like Tri-X at regular box speed. That, of course, won't happen unless you shoot the Tri-X at 400 and then do NOT develop it in Diafine. If you want fine detail for landscapes or whatnot, Ilford 50 PanF+ shot at ASA 100 and developed in Diafine has grain so fine I can't see it on my 7200 dpi film scanner, and the negatives have a decent density and range of contrast - it's beautiful. When you start shooting a roll of film, though, you have to DECIDE right away that you're going to develop it in Diafine, because the best exposure is different from box on many films, and you have NO control when developing with Diafine. Whatever you get, that's what you get; there's no adjusting the development process. If it didn't work well, then next time you'll have to shoot that film at a different speed, or don't use that film at all with Diafine.

Jeff W.

2020-06-08T10:09:13

I really like using this developer With TriX 400. I shoot at about 1200 ISO and develop as directed. No blown out highlights and great tonal range for printing.

JAMES C.

2020-03-02T07:09:51

Diafine is an excellent fine grain developer, especially for traditional films like Tri-x. It gives a boost to the box speed in good light. In low light, I have to shoot Tri-X at box speed. Diafine is very easy to use because it’s not picky about temperature and most of the development times are simply 3+3 minutes in the A&B baths. It also seems to last forever. HC-110 is a better developer for low light pushing, though.

PETER R.

2019-06-26T13:41:07

What a great developer to have on hand when the summer heat sets in or the hard to heat darkroom of the winter months. I have actually tried to find a away to mess up the developing process, but the negatives have a perfect contrast and density. This is definitely my go to developer for both Tri=X and Ilford Delta.

JAMES Y.

2019-04-14T08:42:40

Works great, consistent results.

Anna R.

2019-03-11T19:09:55

I call this a "magic developer" because it doesn't matter what film you are using, it always uses the same time (3 minutes for Solution A, followed by three minutes in Solution B) AND it apparently never goes bad AND you can use a wide temperature range which has no effect on development time AND you can develop really old film and even old color film (pre-C41) with it and get decent results. Some things to be aware of--it increases film speed so for example if you are shooting HP5+ you will need to expose it as if it were 800 ISO instead of 400. It doesn't double everything so do some research on the internet to see how it affects various films. Some you won't want to use this with. Also, take extreme care to NEVER allow any Solution B to contact your bottle of Solution A or it will ruin it. I use two separate funnels to pour the stuff back into the bottles so I don't have to worry about a poorly washed funnel having some B on it that gets washed into the A bottle next time around. This is not my standard go-to developer (I like Rodinal) but it is a good one and since I develop lots of old film it has its uses.

MARK J.

2018-04-30T11:25:02

Easy to use and high quality product!

Douglas D.

2018-03-28T08:14:14

PLEASE CONTINUE SELLING DIAFINE!! Adorama is the only place that I could find the 1qt size of this developer. Very impressed with shipping speed. Thank you!

Jensen H.

2017-09-12T14:25:07

I use Diafine to process 120 film, usually Ilford delta 100. It's great when you need to rein in the highlight densities. Plus, I live in central Texas where tap water is around 80 F in the late summer. That makes the temp latitude of diafine attractive.

JAN S.

2016-05-15T15:05:05

Never used it until about six months ago very easy just follow directions. Make sure to use distilled water. Great product and last for a very long time. Good Luck

PHILIP L.

2015-04-21T21:00:00

I'm on my third batch of diafine now. It always does is job, lasts an incredibly long time, and is super easy to use. Tri-x, hp5, I've even developed some color Fujitsu superior in it just to see if it works. Shooting one to two stops under with most any rolls of film with come out with really high contrast images.

Brandon L.

2014-03-03T19:00:00

I love Diafine. You don't have to worry about temperature, it is quick, and it always works. I have used it with Neopan 400, Tri-x, Kentmere, and even ORWO UN54. Always wonderful

DANIEL F.

2008-09-03T21:00:00

If you ever wanted to push film but never got around to it this is the developer to start with. I have tried other push developers but keep coming back to Diafine.

BRIAN Q.

2007-11-10T19:00:00

Okay, in addition to the info in the general description, a few points need to be made. One, the stuff is extremely economical because it lasts for months or even years with only a periodic 'topping-up' of solution A (some of which gets absorbed into the film). It is great for those who like to carry a camera about at all times and end up shooting under a variety of lighting conditions on a single roll of film. The reason is that it is a compensating developer and will pull as much shadow detail out of the picture as possible without blocking hightlights effectively broadening exposure lattitude and compensating for inconsistencies in exposure. It is less effective for those who wish to fine-tune there contrast during development to match specific lighting conditions. The fact that it is not effected by length of development time means that the film cannot be pushed or pulled. This is probably its only real disadvantage. It is also not a fine-grain developer, so it is best used with slow or middle speed film or where grain is not a concern. Since it gives an effective boast in speed of approximately one stop depending on the specific film used, this is not really a problem. Ilford Pan f 50 exposed at iso 80 is about as grainless as 35mm gets, has a beautiful tonality, and a moderate speed boost. Ilford fp-4 exposed at 200 or 250 is fast, fine-grained, and almost too perfect in tonality. Not only does diafine control the inherent contrast of slower films but it retains the already rich tonality of Tri-x and gives a nerely two stop increase in speed with only moderate increase in grain. Again, great stuff.

Randy W.