B&W chemistry for C-41 film?

[crawdiddy]

I did a dumb thing. (OK, it's not the first time I've done dumb things.)

What I did was to mix up 2 film cartridges-- one exposed, and one not exposed. I tend to not rewind cartridges fully, because I process my own B&W.

I've checked the leader on both films, and I cannot tell which one went through the camera already. No difference in bend of the film, or sprocket damage, etc.

If I want to save the photos already exposed, I could process both rolls. But then, I would waste one roll.

What if I clipped the first couple of frames on one roll, and developed it in B&W developer (i.e. D-76). That will work, right? How much dev time do I need to give it (for D-76 1+1, @ 20 C, and ISO 400) ??? Then, I would know if that was the exposed roll, or the "wrong" roll.

Does this sound like a viable plan?

 

[johannielscom]

At least developing exposed C-41 film (what type and speed?) in B&W developer would give some kind of image, so I guess it would work.


To make sure I do not confuse exposed and unexposed rolls, I always make a couple of zigzag folds on the leader of any exposed roll. Real handy to make sure the leader does not slip in accidentally and to tell them apart!

 

[htimsdj]

It's just one roll - get both processed.

 

[brainwood]

I think I would sacrifice the unexposed roll and develop both.
I have made the same mistake myself and now always tear the half width part of the leader off the film as soon as I remove it from the camera so I know it's an exposed roll.

C41 and E6 is easier for me as I don't process myself so I always wind the leader into the cassette

Chris

 

[crawdiddy]

The film is Portra 400. And I guess I'm cheap, or else I'd just process both rolls. The lab won't charge me for the roll that's unexposed, so I would only lose the cost of film.

But, owing to my frugal nature, and also because I like the problem solving process, I will plan to develop a couple of frames of one of the rolls.

And your suggestions are all spot on-- I could have easily crimped the leader before I set it down next to the other roll, and avoided this problem. In the future, I will.

Johan, I'm assuming that I'll get some kind of image from Portra 400 developed in D-76. Enough to confirm or eliminate that this was the exposed roll.

Thanks again for the inupt.

 

[Stuart John]

Yep you will get some kind of image if you develop C41 film in regular B&W chemistry. Remember to clip the film in the dark and remember which film you clipped from if you clip both rolls and don't forget to fix. I've done a few rolls of ilford XP2(C41 B&W film) in rodinal over the years and that worked OK even printed them on B&W paper. Maybe 10 in D76 1:1 would be a good middle of the road time.

 

[gsgary]

The film is Portra 400. And I guess I'm cheap, or else I'd just process both rolls. The lab won't charge me for the roll that's unexposed, so I would only lose the cost of film.

But, owing to my frugal nature, and also because I like the problem solving process, I will plan to develop a couple of frames of one of the rolls.

And your suggestions are all spot on-- I could have easily crimped the leader before I set it down next to the other roll, and avoided this problem. In the future, I will.

Johan, I'm assuming that I'll get some kind of image from Portra 400 developed in D-76. Enough to confirm or eliminate that this was the exposed roll.

Thanks again for the inupt.

This is Fuji 160nps in Rodinal

 

[Nomad Z]

You don't need to process both rolls, or take clips from both rolls. If one has images and the other doesn't, you only need to do one to work out what each of them are.

 

[falleri]

This is Fuji 160nps in Rodinal

Wow. I didn't even think it was possible. What are the effects besides the color cast? How about grain? I can see something on the image you provided but I'm assuming it's from scanning, some digitalization pixels or something?
And contrast?

Interesting. Good to know it's actually possible..!

 

[kennylovrin]

May I ask why you guys don't rewind the film all the way into the cassette? Is it to avoid cracking it open when you develop the film?

As a side note, I developed some Portra 400 in b&w chemistry (FX-39 with times for TRI-X 400 I think) because I couldn't be bothered with sending it in (120 film from a holga). Here's what it looks like scanned:


img019 by kennylovrin, on Flickr

 

[falleri]

Impressive, I did not expect this!

 

[crispy12]

It develops well, but the negatives are always very dense because of the orange colour cast so they can be quite difficult to scan properly.

 

[Ed Weatherly]

I processed some color film in D76 and got very good results. i did it as an experiment with some generic film I used to see if the camera functioned properly. I processed in D76 for 9.75 minutes with agitation every minute. The negatives look underdeveloped to me but they printed nicely with great tonality. i just had to use a long exposure time. I used f 8 at 45 seconds to get enough light through the negs. I found some evidence that about 14 minutes with agitation every 30 seconds may be more appropriate. I have not tried it yet.

Best,