Kodak Xtol vs Adox XT-3 for Portraits (Girls on Film)

This post is for fellow black and white film photographers who develop their own B&W film and are looking to create the best possible negatives. In the past I always used Kodak Xtol developer until it was no longer available. I then switched to the modern “substitute”, Adox XT-3 developer. Are Kodak Xtol and XT-3 the same developer? Which one is better? Lots of sample photos coming up and will cover Rodinal develop too.

Long time follower of my work?

If you’ve followed me over the last decade you’ll know my go to developer is slightly unusual. I made up my own theoretic ideal developer by mixing both diluted Kodak Xtol stock solution and Rodinal. That said I have used both Rodinal on its own and Kodak Xtol on its own too. Let’s look at a few sample photos and discuss further.

Kodak Xtol stock dilutions

With a degree in science I love to experiment (and I love more economical ways to shoot film too). I found that 1:3 or 1:4 Xtol stock dilutions give me great results. I’ve never done a side by side test comparing the two (perhaps something for the future). Developing with 1:4 Xtol is very economical and a 5L Kodak Xtol pack will last your for ages (even when you develop 6-9 rolls with every 1L of working solution). For clarity 1:3 Xtol is 250ml of Xtol stock + 750ml water. 1:4 Xtol developer solution is 200ml of Xtol stock + 800ml water. I always make 1L batches for my 3 reel Paterson / Jobo tanks.

1:3 Kodak Xtol dilution

The following example photos are film negatives developed in 1:3 Kodak Xtol dilution. Click any photo to view view full res and see the developing details + camera/ lens film etc.

Xtol 1:4 dilution

These photos are film negatives developed in 1:4 Kodak Xtol dilution. Click any photo to view full res and see the developing details + camera/ lens film etc.

Kodak Xtol stock solution

I don’t think I ever tried developing in 1:1 Xtol or 1:2 Kodak Xtol dilutions. Even in my early days. I’d read up a lot on the topic at the time like I do, always eager to know more, and I liked the results I saw from 1:3. I started with that and later went to 1:4 just for my own interest.

Life was good, no need for change

I was happy being boring and using my usual black and white film developer method. As I change up my cameras, lenses and films so often (follow the blog if you enjoy the same!) I needed some consistency in my work. I liked that I knew that Kodak Xtol always worked with my methods regardless of the film stock.

Kodak Xtol discontinued

I loose track but around 2 years ago perhaps Kodak Xtol developer disappeared from the UK shelves and it became impossible to buy. Some of my awesome Patreons mentioned on a group Zoom calls we do each month that it was available in other parts of Europe. Switzerland was one example if I remember. I now had the daunting task of finding a reliable Kodak Xtol alternative film developer. I did some research and again spoke with Patreons and one developer that kept cropping up was Adox XT-3.

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Adox XT-3 developer (Kodak Xtol alternative)

If you do the reading Adox XT-3 is based on Kodak Xtol developer so should give similar results. I needed a film developer as I had a pile of B&W film to develop so I ordered a pack of XT-3. The first thing you will appreciate if you’re used to Kodak Xtol is Adox XT-3 powder dissolves more readily. It’s worth noting that I was buying both of these developers in powder form, then dissolving in tap water for my working stock solution. Both developers were sold in 1L and 5L packs depending on how much B&W film you shoot.

Where my worries started

After reading a lot about Adox XT-3 and looking at all the sample photos I can find I noticed that the best results seem to be with 1:1 XT-3 stock, that being 500ml XT-3 stock + 500ml tap water. In the UK I could only find 1L packs of Adox XT-3 powder available so you dilute that to make 1L of XT3 stock solution. That means if you need 500ml of the stock for one developing session you will only get 2 uses from each pack. Compare this to 1:4 Kodak Xtol developing when I got 5 sessions per 1L (200ml Xtol x5)(and I bought in 5L packs back then) so it lasted me over 12 months each time.

Adox XT-3 1:1 dilution

From my results, if I develop my black and white film with 1:1 XT-3 solution I can get nice looking images, perhaps no different to my old Kodak Xtol developed images. The problem is as mentioned I was using 1:3 or 1:4 dilutions when using Kodak Xtol which makes this far more economical to use. Here are some Adox XT-3 1:1 dilution sample photos.

Developing with 1:2 Adox XT-3

As a comparison here are some film negatives developed in 1:2 XT-3 developer. To me, the results are OK but not as good as when developing in the recommended (by others) 1:1 dilution.. or even in pure stock solution (so no water added at all once you make up the original 1L of stock). Developing in stock solution is too rich for my blood so I never tried it haha. (Says the guy that uses Leica and Hasselblad!)(Cameras feel more like an investment than an expense!)

1:3 XT-3 developer

I wanted to tried my usual 1:3 dilution so the first time I used Adox XT-3 developer I went for 1:3 XT-3. It wasn’t good even for my needs and definitely wasn’t comparable to my usual 1:3 Xtol or 1:4 Xtol developed images. Here are sample photos but I didn’t do this again after this first experiment.

Don’t wreck your film negatives at the final huddle

One thing I try to tell myself is, there is no point using nice film cameras or nice lenses plus now more expensive film if you then skimp at the developing stage to result in sub-par negatives. I could just spend a few more pounds on developer and develop with 1:1 a dilution. This was what I started to do but I couldn’t help but think back to the “good old days” of using Kodak Xtol.

Surprise email – Kodak Xtol returns!

Last week (I think it was) I received a surprise email from one of the shops I’ve bought film from in the past to say Kodak Xtol and other Kodak chemicals are back!! Let me give it to you straight. This is the exact wording from AG Photographic in the UK, they said –

Customers will be aware that, for many months, the very popular range of Kodak chemistry has been unavailable – favourites like XTOL, HC110, D76 etc. disappeared when the Tetenal factory in Germany ceased operations (Tetenal were making the range for Kodak). The following products are expected in the next 2-3 weeks:

• D76
• XTOL
• T-Max Developer
• T-Max Fixer
• HC110
• Dektol
• Hypo Clearing Agent
• Selenium Toner
• Photoflo
• Indicator stop bath

Kodak Xtol is back (2024)

You can imagine my joy when reading this email so I quickly contacted the owner and put my name down for a pack of Kodak Xtol once it’s available. For you D76 lovers or HC110 etc I’m sure you will be equally excited! Interestingly I also use Kodak T-Max Fixer but perhaps I was lucky to buy some old stock as I have continued to use that during the Kodak Xtol shortage.

Make your fixer last longer

A quick bonus tip for film newbies. You can make your film fixer last ages if you just test your working solution before each new film developing session. Throw in your 35mm film leaders that you cut off and see if they go transparent quickly. If not add some fixer concentrate solution (in this case of Kodak Max fixer) and watch them quick turn transparent. Your fixer is then refreshed and good to go. Refreshing your film film fixer instead of making a new batch is much more economical and one bottle of fixer seems to last forever.

XT-3 vs Kodak Xtol – which is better

From my own results I would say both Adox XT-3 and Kodak Xtol developers can give great looking images. My argument is for me I need 1:1 XT-3 solution to get the most pleasing results yet for Kodak Xtol I can use the mentioned 1:3 or 1:4 Xtol dilutions.

Going back to Kodak Xtol

For the mentioned reasons above, as soon as Kodak Xtol is available I’m jumping the XT-3 ship and going back to Xtol. Sorry Adox XT-3! At least I now have XT-3 as a backup option for the future as needed. I just know I can get great results with diluted Xtol and buying in bulk (5L) is both cheaper and less hassle (make it just once a year).

What about Rodinal developer?

I wrote a post for Patreons on this topic just last week. You should join us on Patreon if you enjoy film photography (and model photography in particular) or even if you just appreciate this free blog resource (and the YouTube channel) and want to support my work. I’m a one-man team running all these sites single handedly so it is now my full time job. All support is greatly appreciated.

Rodinal is another fantastic developer that I used before I discovered Kodak Xtol. Rodinal is an acutance developer so it gives added apparent sharpness to your images. For some images it can look too grainy to me so that’s why I switched to Kodak Xtol.

Mixing Kodak Xtol + Rodinal

I decided to mix Rodinal to my standard developers such as Kodak Xtol (or Adox XT-3) to try to give some added sharpness to the images. In my head I thought if I add just a dash of Rodinal to my working developer solution hopefully it will give a touch more sharpness. As a photograph mostly female models I wanted just a little extra bite to the image but not too much to make the skin look overly grainy.

Rodinal developer is great if you know how to use it

I think most people will agree that developing film in Rodinal will give greater acutance (apparent sharpness as we mentioned) plus more apparent grain (and perhaps contrast too). More grain doesn’t need to be a problem if you think about the basics. Low ISO films such as Ilford Pan F50, Ilford Delta 100 or Kodak TMax 100 / TMax 400 are all fine grain film stocks. If you add more apparent grain with Rodinal developing this isn’t really a problem. Compare that to Ilford Delta 3200 or perhaps Ilford HP5 (especially pushed to 800 or 1600) any added grain makes for very grainy looking images. Some photographers love that look but I prefer less overpowering grain personally for my style of images. This image was hugely disappointing (near junk) for me due to the excessive grain –

Do you shoot 35mm film, 120 or 4×5?

The film format you shoot is equally important to the film stock that you use when it comes to film developing. If you’ve ever shot with 120 Kodak T-Max 100 or 400 films with perhaps a Hasselblad camera you can easily mistake these images for being digital photos. The grain can be near non-existent. In these instances you can develop your negatives in Rodinal and still not get overpowering film grain. If you shoot with 35mm film (such as fellow Leica users) the film negatives are much smaller so grain will always be more apparent. For that reason in most cases I now prefer not to develop my 35mm film in Rodinal developer alone, especially 400 speed non-premium films/ classic grain film.

Enjoying large format cameras

The same is true with perhaps almost any film stock if you enjoy shooting with 4×5 cameras or 8×10 format. I recently got back into large format photography and for that reason I am happy to develop with Rodinal instead of Adox XT-3 or Kodak Xtol. For reference, I am using both 120 film backs and standard 4×5 sheet film with my large format cameras. Check out the MPP blog post for more info and follow the blog to see future work with my 4×5 cameras.

British 4×5 camera – MPP Mk VII

Get better images in the darkroom with Rodinal 1:100

If like me you print your own images in the darkroom (I just started so again follow along for the journey!) you might know that your final image sharpness is not as easy as just increasing the sharpness slider in Lightroom or Photoshop. In the past I’ve scanned all my film negatives with an Epson v800 scanner so have enjoyed a hybrid film shooting process. Shoot film and scan to digital. This let me “fix in post” if needed and also sharpen in post as required. (One observation is I think I rarely ever needed to sharpen a Hasselblad negative images. Those lenses are that good).

Sadly when you do things “properly” in the darkroom you are limited by the sharpness of your film negative. If I want sharper prints I need sharper film negatives. I did a lot of reading (as I do) and found that Rodinal might just be the magic bullet answer I’m looking for.

1:100 Rodinal for sharper images

If you do some research you’ll find the 1:100 Rodinal developer has been proven to give greater acutance compared to stronger dilutions such as 1:50 Rodinal or 1:25 Rodinal. 1:100 seems to be the sweet spot where the extra acutance gives your that added edge sharpness like you would see on the computer if you add sharpening after. As I am now striving to make great black and white film prints (in addition to nice negatives) I wanted to try 1:100 for myself. So far I’ve used it for 120 film (as mentioned for the reasons above) and I’ve been very happy with the negative scans. The next step is to try printing those negatives but as we all know sharper negatives is our best chance for sharper prints.

Tips to getting sharper darkroom prints

You must bare in mind that I am speaking above my experience level here but based on my own research, to make sharper darkroom prints the following factors are important –

1. Correctly setup your darkroom enlarger
2. Ensure the enlarger is levelled so you get sharpness across your image
3. Use a decent enlarging lens – APO variants are better for corner sharpness at wider apertures they say
4. Stop your enlarger lens down 2-3 stops from maximum for perhaps the optimum sharpness
5. Paper stock makes a difference – Kentmere paper is said to be sharper than Ilford Multigrade so I’m trying both
6. Darkroom chemical will likely make a difference but I’m new to this game so haven’t experimented yet
7. Use a grain finder magnifier to ensure your enlarger is correctly focused
8. Ensure your paper is flat – I use an easel to hold the paper down (Fibre based papers curl more I hear)
9. Make sure your enlarger is setup on a solid base so you don’t introduce vibration movement
10. Staining is also said to increase apparent sharpness but I’ve not experienced with that yet
11. Lastly, have sharp film negatives to begin with (You can’t polish a turd as they say!)

Best B&W film developer?

Everyone has their favourite film developer. One developer I’ve still not tried that others rave about is the various Pyro developers (Pyrocat). This is perhaps something for me to try in the future. My current plan is to go back to Kodak Xtol 1:3 or 1:4 dilutions and use Rodinal too. Depending on what film format I am shooting I will use Xtol-Rodinal mix or 1:100 Rodinal semi-stand developing. I’ve written about Rodinal developing in the past if you want more info.

Developing C-41 colour film in Rodinal

A quick bonus fact for you. Sorry slightly off topic I realise. Did you know you can develop C-41 films with some B&W film developers? For example, if you mess up your exposure when shooting with colour film one way to save the images easily (albeit now in B&W), is to develop the film in Rodinal. I did just that after thinking I had B&W film loaded in my Voigtlander Perkeo 2 camera (and shooting at ISO 200) only to realise it was very expired Kodak Vericolor III film that I needed to expose at ISO 25 ish (based on previous tests of this specific batch of film). See the recent shooting film in Budapest video and a sample photo of C-41 film in Rodinal below.

C-41 black and white films

I’m sure most people don’t buy colour film only then to develop with B&W chemistry. Where Rodinal 1:100 is really useful is if you have C-41 black and white films to develop. I shot a lot of Kodak BW400CN C41 film in the past and I often developed it with B&W chemistry. See example photos below developed with Rodinal or Rodinal + Xtol.

A more useful example today would be the current C41 Ilford XP2 400 film which is black and white and can also be developed in Rodinal. You will likely see me doing this as I have some expired Ilford XP2 film in the fridge.

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