anyone ever use one of these gadgets?

[retro]

I've always been curious if these daylight "automated" tanks are
convenient or a pain to use. Kodak also made a similar contraption.

The idea is you insert the 35mm film still in its cassette and
wind it into or through the soup via an outside crank or dial.

Anyone ever use one? Just curious how well it worked.

 

[ElrodCod]

I used one to develope my very first roll of film back in 1968. Then I bought a tank. There isn't any sort of reel inside. To agitate you crank the handle one way then the other. I wouldn't recommend it for soft emulsions.

 

[Mr_Flibble]

I have one of the old Kodak daylight loading tanks...I never dared use it because everyone told me it was only fit for target practice.

 

[spyder2000]

I can't imagine how worthy such a device is. The film is pulled into and out of the cassette though the felt light trap. The potential for film damage is high.

 

[sevo]

The felt light trap is not the main issue - the film already goes past that twice in camera. The real problem is uneven flow, plus the extra chemical pollution that is carried downstream inside the fairly large loading area, which will mess with all more critical processes.

The Jobo daylight tanks were a bit better, but personally I consider them all a desperate workaround for people so severely challenged that they cannot use a loading bag.

Sevo

 

[Mudman]

I tried to try one when I was first getting into my own developing, the thing broke on me, screw threads just destroyed themselves. I think it was a sign.

 

[Tom A]

Long time ago I used one of these. The saving grace was that newspapers in those day operated on 80 dot raster filter and the scratches did not show as badly! It was supposed to be for the amateur market, but some pro's bought them to use "on the road". Not very good - cute idea though!
One time a fellow shooter and I had a 2 hour drive back and he decided he was going to use on of these. Into the backseat he went, various bottles with developer/stop/fix and a couple of bottles of water for rinsing. I dont think the smell of the stuff ever left that old Volvo!!! Liquids sloshing everywhere and to claim that the negs were acceptable is to be charitable!