Nova Film Processors

[useless generation]

Has anyone used one of the nova film processors before? I'm looking for something to start doing my own C41

http://www.theimagingwarehouse.com/Products/Nova-Daylight-Film-Processors/ANFP-D21

 

[newsgrunt]

It appears to be just a heating bath for a whopping £249. A dish pan could do the same for much less if you already have the film tank. Keeping the right temp shouldn't be too onerous. ymmv

 

[f6andBthere]

]It appears to be just a heating bath for a whopping £249[/I]. A dish pan could do the same for much less if you already have the film tank. Keeping the right temp shouldn't be too onerous. ymmv

That's my impression also ... they have to be kidding!

 

[useless generation]

Yea I was thinking maybe buyin this http://www.theimagingwarehouse.com/ProductGrp/Novatronic-Heater and use that in a tub or sink and it would probly work just as well?

 

[Eric T]

I solved the problem by buying a water bath for $50 on eBay.

 

[Roger Hicks]

Well, I have two of the older ones (4x5 inch and 35mm/120) and they are thermostatically controlled to a high degree off accuracy (unlike a dish pan). Sure, you can piddle around with DIY and save some money -- or you can get something that is compact, reliable and works 'off the shelf'.

Have you considered a CPE2 or other Jobo processor? Much better, in my experience, for small volumes of C41.

Cheers,

R.

 

[useless generation]

Yes I'm also looking into a CPE2 which seems good although more expensive. Also i would also develop black and white but would the jobo agitation be too much for black and white

 

[Roger Hicks]

Yes I'm also looking into a CPE2 which seems good although more expensive. Also i would also develop black and white but would the jobo agitation be too much for black and white

Not really. A lot of drivel is talked about agitation. Extra agitation (a) shortens dev times; (b) gives slightly higher true speed for a given contrast; (c) reduces edge sharpness to a modest degree. Whether this matters to you is a question of personal taste. I don't really see much difference between the B+W 120 I do in the Jobo and the stuff I do in small tanks -- though I normally use small tanks (2x 35mm reel) for 35mm because I find them more convenient.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Nomad Z]

I recently picked up a CPE-2 with the lift gizmo for just over 100 quid. Worked very well for the one roll of C41 I've done in it so far. Much less hassle than trying to get a sinkful of water to the right temperature, and the method is a lot less frantic than manual agitation. I would say the only downside is that it's quite large if you don't have a dedicated darkroom or space to easily store it. I haven't, but I like it enough to work something out for storage.

 

[newsgrunt]

or look for a DevTec heater. These are very precise and can be set to specific temperatures (bit of trial and error tbh).

Imo, absolutely precise temps for C41 is not really that important for most people. Hotel bathrooms and tall tanks were the norm for my wire friends on the road and they used either DevTecs or Kodak lab thermometers and hot water from the tap. Getting a bath to the proper temp and maintaining it really isn't that difficult.

If you can find an affordable Jobo with a lift, that will make life MUCH better and add a degree of consistency (agitation) to your processing. More so if it costs the same or less than the Nova tempering bath.

Regardless, whichever system you get, be sure to mix the bath up regularly to ensure consistent temperatures throughout so as not to have cool spots away from the heater core.