35mm Film dev tanks: Patterson vs Jobo?

35mm Film dev tanks: Patterson vs Jobo?

  • Patterson!

    Votes: 152 60.3%

  • Jobo!

    Votes: 100 39.7%
  • Total voters
    252
Bosk

Bosk

Make photos, not war.
Local time
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Joined
Aug 17, 2006
Messages
202
Hi guys,

Having recently bought but been unsatisfied with a metal reel/tank (way too hard to load!) I'm now looking to buy a new plastic tank/reel for developing 35mm film.

My local pro store sells both Patterson & Jobo reels/tanks, my question is which one is the better buy?
I'm looking for something easy to load and durable basically.

Cheers.
 
Haven't used the Jobo, so can't speak of it: but the Paterson Universal I bought in 1975 is still going. It leaked very slightly from the start during inversion.
 
Have both, prefer Paterson the take up on the spool is better with the metal bal.
Once lost three films because I forgot to put in the middle part on the Jobo lid :bang: :bang: :bang: stupid me, so I might not be objective.
 
Buy stainless--Tundra makes nice tanks new, though they can get kind of pricey ($30 for a 1L tank, $10 for a 250mL tank).
 
I struggled with Paterson tanks for several years, for MF film. Then I switched to Jobo. What an improvement! Easier to load, easier to use, just better all 'round.
 
I like Patterson for the easy filling via the funnel like top and the quick emptying that is accurate enough to pour back into the storage bottle as for loading it must be simple cos I havent given it a thought till now.
Regards
Steve
 
I use Petterson for multi processing, a kinderman stainless for single films ... its all a thing of getting use to, and getting the hang of ..
 
I have been using Paterson Tanks and Reels since 1977 and I love them...
35 or 120 never been a problem to load as long as the reels are completely dry...
I guess it's "Fear of the Unknown" when it comes to using the metal reels...
I have plenty of Paterson stuff to last me awhile...
 
I got aftermarket S/S reels and tanks, but found I couldn't load them. The spring clip wouldn't grip the film enough to even get the film wrapped around once. Then I got a Paterson Universal setup. Worlds easier. I will try S/S again, but it will be with Hewes or Kindermann reels.

I like the funnel in the Paterson, too.

Sorry, can't comment on Jobo. Haven't used it.
 
I use both (two Patterson and one Jobo). I prefer the rotation action of the Jobo as well as the fact that the lid screws into place. It's also slightly cheaper than the Patterson one and it comes with two reels, as opposed to only one for the Patterson. I find the Jobo reels easier for use with medium format film but the Patterson ones for 35mm. No leaks with either.

I give my vote to the Jobo but, frankly, both are good for the job. I can't comment on durability, I 've only had them for about a year.
 
I used patterson, jobo, and stainless. I like the jobos the best. There is no leaking, you can simply push the film on (like 10 sec to load reels when you are practiced), and they are made of better plastic than the patterson equipment. If you drop a patterson, it chips or cracks. Jobos tanks are make of a more amorphous polymer, making them less likely to crack.
 
I vote for Paterson and my darkroom is proof of that. there are about a dozen of the tanks, mostly 5 reel (1500 ml) and close to 100 reels. Over the years i have scooped up every Paterson Tank and Reel that I have seen at camera swaps. The tanks can crack ( two have) and the reels are not as good as the Jobo for 120.This is not a problem anymore since i unloaded all my 120 stuff.
The stainless reels and tanks are great for color as the reels do not absorb some of the more penetrating chemicals and you can load film on wet reels. If I had to travel and process on the road I would use stainless tanks and reels as i could do larger batches without having the reels dry in between.
One of the problems with stainless tanks is the smaller volume of developer used. i use a fair bit of high dilution developer and sometimes with a 4 reel Nikkor i got lees development than I bargained for. There is a critical level of developer needed with some combination of film and i rather err on the upside here.
The stainlees tanks are also smaller diameter and my old color agitator needs different wheels to rotate the stainless tanks. The Paterson just drops on it and as it is plugged into a Gralab 300 timer, it can be left to its own device while I do the next batch. The banshee scream of the timer lets you know when the fix-run is done!
 
I vote for a Patterson, too. In addition to the easy filling and pouring out that everyone else mentioned, I like using the optional hose they sell for washing film. It gives me a head start on cleaning up:)

I prefer to process my 120 in old Kodak ravioli reel style tanks. The ravioli style film aprons require zero skill and coordination to use. Freestyle sells good copies of it, but the aprons are slightly smaller than the originals and sometimes leave marks on the film.

Richie
 
I've got a Nikor stainless, and some other brand stainless, I hear Hughes reels are nice, but I have (I think) Prinz metal reels, and I also have one of those 1L steel tanks with the plastic lid. The Nikor is the best (fills quick, drains quick, and doesn't leak), and unless I am doing more than 2 rolls of 35mm at a time, that is what I use.

For some reason, I cannot get comfortable with plastic reels, they just seem to take way too long to load.
 
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