1st self-dev color film photos

I realize that space or money are an issue for some people, but I honestly don't know why more folks don't develop their own color (or BW) for that matter. I paid $20 USD for the Unicolor kit and it pays for itself in 4 rolls. And I should be able to get another 15-20 out of it easily. If I discount out the cost of the bottles to store the 3 chemicals, I still break even at 7 rolls and anything past that is just the cost of my time and the water I use when rinsing.

Like Kenj8246 said, both film sizes are a breeze, it's really just a matter of how many photos you get out of the effort and otherwise the films all work the same pretty much in the soup.

gsgary, thanks! That's a Flowering Quince bush/tree in my yard. I love the blossoms on it, they are so amazing. I only get 2 or so weeks of the flowers so I take a lot of photos of them when I can. This was my first year to do so with film vs digital. And my first year to develop the shots myself.
 
I'll probably get a pack once the temperatures warm up. I have a hell of a time in the winter keeping my temperatures consistent in my cold basement. But the results look great and the price is right.
 
I don't recall whether the instruction sheet mentions anything about it but it's not a bad idea to reserve the presoak after pouring it off and then using it between developer and blix to keep the blix alive a little longer. Just pour it in and swish it around and pour it off before adding the blix.

Kenny
 
alienmeatsack said:
I realize that space or money are an issue for some people, but I honestly don't know why more folks don't develop their own color (or BW) for that matter. I paid $20 USD for the Unicolor kit and it pays for itself in 4 rolls. And I should be able to get another 15-20 out of it easily. If I discount out the cost of the bottles to store the 3 chemicals, I still break even at 7 rolls and anything past that is just the cost of my time and the water I use when rinsing.

Like Kenj8246 said, both film sizes are a breeze, it's really just a matter of how many photos you get out of the effort and otherwise the films all work the same pretty much in the soup.

gsgary, thanks! That's a Flowering Quince bush/tree in my yard. I love the blossoms on it, they are so amazing. I only get 2 or so weeks of the flowers so I take a lot of photos of them when I can. This was my first year to do so with film vs digital. And my first year to develop the shots myself.
Click to expand...

Over here we get cheer blossom mostly it can be gone in a matter a days if it is windy
 
I've been processing my own since the early 1980's. This is one done last autumn on MF
129975861.jpg

and one from last spring;
112777681.jpg


Done with a Tetenal kit, it works out about £1 per film
 
How does the Tetenal kit compare to the Unicolor kit in terms of quality and length of usability?

Those are gorgeous shots BTW!
 
I haven't used the Unicolour, but I can get 16-18 films per 1 litre kit and it lasts at least 2-3 months. I save up films and process them in batches. After the first 8-10 films I add 30 seconds to the dev time and 50% to the bleach.

The process is simple, a plus is the kit being a liquid one; if you can do mono then C41 is within your capabilities.

That said I started developing my own as a teenager when Photocolor started making kits in the early 1980's so I've never found it hard.
i urge everyone to give it a go, especially if you have a scanner:

115851058.jpg
 
My kit lasted for 3 months , I will note I made no attempt at keeping the oxy to a minimum. I wanted to see how long it would last with no special care. I got 43 rolls out of it . 2 liter kit. For me the film got a little milky looking when it finally exhausted ( very low contrast. ) 20 percent of the rolls were 120 rest 35mm 24 and 36 exp.
 
I agree. I have no color printing equipment, but I do have a scanner and a full darkroom. Since the summer's coming I might as well give it a shot!
 
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