| I happen to quite like HC:110, though if you are going to shoot T-Max there are better developers out there (T-Max Developer if still available).
Rather than D-76, I prefer Ilford ID-11, which is apparently almost exactly the same formulation.
Ilford Microphen is also a nice developer, and if you are intending to shoop portraits, Kodak Microdol-X can't be beat. Don't use it with T-Grain emulsions such as T-Max or Ilford Delta though. It turns the crystal structure of those films into mush.
Photo-Flo is just a very high grade pure detergent, a few drops of any good dishwashing detergent in a gallon of water will do the same thing. I think Photo-Flo is cheap enough that the real thing wont break the bank though.
In over 30 years of darkroom work, I probably only bought the stuff 3 or 4 times, with a big spike when I ran my custom darkroom.
My understanding is that film comes pre-hardened from the factory, and so hardening fixers are not necessary. |