Question about switching from bottled to powder developer for home developing

I used to swear by Kodak D-76 in the 1 liter bottles for all my black and white rolls. It was simple, consistent, and I knew exactly what I was getting every time. But after the price jumped to like 15 bucks a bottle last year, I finally tried the powdered D-76 that makes 5 liters for the same money. Honestly, the first batch came out a little grainy on some Tri-X 400 I shot at the beach, and I wondered if I mixed it wrong or if the powder just isn't as good. Now I've done about 10 rolls with the powder, and the results seem fine, but I still have this nagging feeling the bottled stuff was sharper. Has anyone else made this switch and noticed a real difference in their negatives, or am I just imagining things?

2 comments

2 Comments

sandra71522d agoMost Upvoted

The 120 degree thing was key for me too. @nancys90 is right about the distilled water, I started using it after reading her tip and my grain vanished. I also let my powder solution sit for a full 24 hours before using it, seems to help everything settle.

nancys9022d ago

The powder is the same stuff, but the mixing matters more than you'd think. Make sure you're dissolving it fully in water that's the right temperature - I used to rush it and got grainy results too. Let it sit for a bit after stirring, then stir again before using. Also, the tap water at my place made a difference until I switched to distilled for mixing the stock solution. It's probably not the powder itself, just a learning curve with the mixing process.