Agfa Rondinax 35u

[madNbad]

The orange Lab Box is on my list! Tom, thanks for the information about caffenol and Rondinax tanks. I bought a changing tent from another member and picked up a single reel developing tank for that project. Over the last few weeks, I have gathered all the essentials, beakers, storage bottles, developer (HC-110), fixer (Ilford Rapid), clips and even a film retriever. The weather has been hit and miss the plenty of northwest rainy days so I'm only about halfway through a roll of TMax 400. I did drag out the Plustek and have been practicing scanning on a box of thirty year old Kodachromes. Thanks for the information and the encouragement.

 

[Moto-Uno]

Concerning caffenol , have been using it for a few months now. An accurate scale is pretty much necessary ( at least to 1/10 gm) . PM me if you have any concerns I can help you with . HC-110 has been my go to otherwise for a number of years now . It much more satisfying and faster doing B&W at home .
Peter

 

[Beemermark]

Seems rather complicated. I use SS tanks & reels, a dark bag for loading the film. Tanks, reels, funnel, chemicals, dark bag, hanger with clothes pins - the whole shebang fits in a 7 gallon garbage can that resides under the bathroom sink.

 

[Solinar]

Seems rather complicated. .

The point I want to make - the more B&W film users and home developing options to choose from the merrier I will be.

I used a Rondinax 60 for 120 film for a couple of years - 46 years ago - They do work and it wasn't very complicated.

The one thing I've learned courtesy of the internet is that there are many ways to shoot and develop a roll of film.

If the availability of a film developing tank that does away without hiding in a dark closet or using a changing bag/tent will bring in more people into the D.I.Y film development world, then I'm all for it.

*****

Now a days, I'm stuck in my routine with HC-110 @ dilution H or Rodinal @ 1:50. I use Patterson tanks, of which I have three sizes. Also, I stubbornly shoot negative film at slightly less than box speed.

 

[madNbad]

Seems rather complicated. I use SS tanks & reels, a dark bag for loading the film. Tanks, reels, funnel, chemicals, dark bag, hanger with clothes pins - the whole shebang fits in a 7 gallon garbage can that resides under the bathroom sink.

The Rondinax is a gadget and if it makes developing film at home easier, then it’s worth the price. It was a lot cheaper and probably more useful than a lot of other gadgets I’ve accumulated over the years. I did add the few additional items for traditional tank developing so I can try both.

 

[B-9]

I actually found a Jobo tank recently. (On it’s way to me now)

Has one issue, a broken retaining clip. Going to try and either fix it or make a new one.

Apparently the Jobo model 4324 is the same as the 2400. Mine was cheap.

 

[ped]

Thread resurrection time!

I’m a big Rondinax fan. It suits me well and I really like using it. I’ve never had a problem and would even go as far as to say it’s actually quite relaxing.

Now - I’ve just seen the Agfa RONDIX tank, which until now had completely passed me by. It looks great, just a simplified system and even more compact. Easier to dry, too. So - what’s it like? I suppose the only worry is that the film comes into contact with itself a bit, but then it does in the camera and cassette anyway, so probably not an issue?

I’ve just put a bid on one as I’d like to have it anyway, and of course I’ll try it - but I’m interested to hear if anyone here has experiences vs the Rondinax

Cheers

 

[agentlossing]

I've used the Lab-Box for several years; it never occurred to me to look into the Rodinax and see how closely the two are in terms of design and function. Reading through the Rodinax instructions online, I noticed some details that translate to the Lab-Box, such as unwinding about 2" of film onto the reel and noting that the outside, trimmed edges of the film angle downwards to feed correctly onto the reel. Also interesting that they describe the method of turning to agitate as a jerky rotation about half-turn every 2 seconds. I've never been quite sure of what the most effective way to agitate the Lab-Box is, and most of the material made for it shows a constant, smooth turn of the wheel, rather than a quick, jerky half-turn. I might try that and see what the results are like.

I've never seen the RODINX tank. There doesn't seem to be much material on the web.