Beginner's Black & White developing questions

*chris

*chris

Established
Local time
12:57 PM
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
84
Location
Southern California
View My Gallery
hi everyone i am a new member and recently acquired my first rf camera. well that camera is the oly 35 rc and from what i've read i hear it takes great b&w pictures. i just bought a stainless steel developing kit from a seller on ebay. it included 2 35mm steel spools from adorama, 1 8oz, 2 16oz tanks and a lid marked Simmon Omega. i got these in great condition for $33 shipped. i also plan on getting a changing bag.

so that is the kit i will be working with. i am going to buy a bag of kodak d76 for 1 gallon, 1 liter of Formulary TF-5 to make 4 liters, and some Arista Premium 400 (tri x) to test out and develop

my question is i have read and watched many tutorials on how to develop and i have found charts for times, but i am unsure of how much of these chemicals need to be used when developing. does it make a difference if i use the 8oz to only develop 1 roll of film vs using the 16oz tank with one reel loaded on the bottom and an empty one on top? would i use the same amount of solutions? if anyone can chime in that would be really helpful. thanks in advance and i can't wait to start developing on my own!
 
If I'm reading you correctly, it shouldn't matter what tank you use as long as there's enough developer to fully cover the reel. Having that empty reel on top of the loaded one will make sure the loaded reel doesn't shift out of the developer, and there will be enough developer present in any volume large enough to submerge the film to do the job.
 
Noll said:
If I'm reading you correctly, it shouldn't matter what tank you use as long as there's enough developer to fully cover the reel. Having that empty reel on top of the loaded one will make sure the loaded reel doesn't shift out of the developer, and there will be enough developer present in any volume large enough to submerge the film to do the job.
Click to expand...

What he said. You can use the measurements for developing one roll, no matter how big the tank is, as long as the reel with the roll on it stays at the bottom.
 
thanks guys. is their somewhere i could look to get these measurements? i just want to be exact when i try this for the first time. i have kodaks instructions for developing but they never mention how much volume wise to put into the tank for 1 reel of 35mm film. here i come google...
 
*chris said:
thanks guys. is their somewhere i could look to get these measurements? i just want to be exact when i try this for the first time. i have kodaks instructions for developing but they never mention how much volume wise to put into the tank for 1 reel of 35mm film. here i come google...
Click to expand...

Kodak doesn't mention it because it can vary slightly from tank to tank.

Try checking the bottom of the tank, perhaps it's listed there?
Edit: or the inside of the lid? I've had both.
 
Generally 8 oz for a metal reel and tank and 10 oz for a plastic reel based on my past experience. But you can load a test roll onto a reel and see how much fluid it takes to cover it completely.
 
KenR said:
Generally 8 oz for a metal reel and tank and 10 oz for a plastic reel based on my past experience. But you can load a test roll onto a reel and see how much fluid it takes to cover it completely.
Click to expand...

wow thanks that should work perfectly. and after that all it is, is simple measuring/conversions
 
I use 8 oz in my 8-oz tank and 16 oz in my 16-oz tank, just to be sure. I don't see the need to use the big tank to soup one roll if you have both. I use D76 diluted 1:1 and discard after use. 10 min at 68 degrees. I like the Hewes reels better than the spring type. I agitate 15 sec at the beginning, then two slow, gentle inversions at the minute and half-minute marks. Keep all temps close to equal. Sacrifice a roll of film to practice loading the reel. Practice til you can do it with your eyes. Good luck and be patient. Nobody hits a homer the first time up.
 
Keep in mind that you use more developer in the 16 oz tank if you are doing normal development (as opposed to stand development).

If you use d76 1+1 (which is probably the most popular dev/dilution) then you would provide one part water and one part developer. So for your 8oz tank, that is 4 oz water and 4 oz developer or 8 oz water and 8 oz developer for your 16 oz tank regardless to how many rolls you have in there (1 vs 2 for the 16 oz tank).

I follow massive development chart.
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php

If you are really into it you should "test" your film yourself but I'm happy enough with my results. I believe the mdc for tri-x is 9.75 minutes but I just do 10 minutes because it is close enough for me and I like my results. I find it difficult to mess up a well-exposed film.

Everyone has their own agitation scheme but I agitate for the first 30 seconds continously then for 5 seconds every 30 seconds after.
 
thanks guys. so it seems like their are two views. i can a) fill the respective tanks up with 8 oz or 16 oz of diluted developer or b) fill either tank up with enough solution to completely submerse the reel of film regardless of what tank it is in.

i still have till during the week to keep researching so i'm not in a rush
 
I read things more carefully and what noll had suggested is fine. I wanted it to be clear that you don't add X amount of developer and fill the rest up with water. The parts should be consistent no matter how many reels and size tanks you use.
 
msbarnes said:
I read things more carefully and what noll had suggested is fine. I wanted it to be clear that you don't add X amount of developer and fill the rest up with water. The parts should be consistent no matter how many reels and size tanks you use.
Click to expand...

correct. well thanks for clarifying.

i should be ordering my chems this week. ill post back after i do my first roll😎
 
i'm just curious but what do you guys use to store your chemicals in? glass amber bottles are a little pricey on ebay so i might try local thrift stores or goodwill. i was thinking about using some milk jug or plastic orange juice jugs but the orange juice leaked slightly from the cap when i was testing to see if it was water tight and i don't think i want to be leaking developer when i mix it initially.is there a big difference between plastic and glass and does the color really mater for b&w chems or developing chems in general?i also need to check out local stores for some graduated cylinders and a thermometer -_-

cost for my developing gear so far is at $57.87

so my developing supplies entail so far:
-Bower 27" x 30" changing bag
-1x 8 oz SS developing tank
-2x 16 oz SS developing tanks
-2x 35mm SS reels
 
The color of bottles should not matter much if you keep the bottles in a dark cupboard. I don't think most conditions will bother fixer, but some developers need to be kept away from oxygen. (Others, like Rodinal, may not care.) You can Google this all night, and people have posted extensively about schemes to do this. I store Ilfosol dev in a random old jar and evacuate it with a vacuum pump ("Foodsaver" type meant for vacuum sealing food for the freezer) and its proprietary lid. Others fill the air space in the dev bottle with marbles, or parcel out the dev into smaller and smaller bottles (each always full), or use the accordion-folding bottles (pricey I think), or use the foil bag from boxed wine and squeeze the air out each time, or use the argon spray that's sold for keeping opened bottles of wine fresh...
--Dave
 
thanks for the info^

i will be storing the developer and fixer in my closet so it will not be exposed to light in there. i think for now i will check out some thrift stores and see if they have cheap containers or anything like that. if not i will just use plastic jugs from home until i feel the need to get nice glass containers
 
I just started learning to develop as well, on my 10th or 11th roll now, one thing to share if I may, is to keep records of each developing sessions, so you know what works and what doesn't. In any case, Tri X and D76 should give you very good results. Have fun! D
 
*chris said:
thanks for the info^

i will be storing the developer and fixer in my closet so it will not be exposed to light in there. i think for now i will check out some thrift stores and see if they have cheap containers or anything like that. if not i will just use plastic jugs from home until i feel the need to get nice glass containers
Click to expand...

Be careful with flimsy jugs in closets. Especially if you are living with others who are not careful about shuffling through the closet's contents. I recently leaked a good pint of fixer on the wood floor of my closet because someone shoved some stuff around and caused a pinhole leak in my fixer jug. Now it stays under the sink.
 
Here's the simplest way for you to know EXACTLY how much developer to pour in your tank:

Put your reel in the tank - pour water in the tank until the reel is completely submerged. Pour water in measuring beaker and make note of volume measurement. Do the same thing if you intend to use TWO reels in the tank.
 
No traces has the correct answer. ^^ I use Patterson tanks and they have the volumes for each film on the bottom. 290ml for 35mm and 500ml for 120.

Don't worry-it'll be fine!
 
Whatever style of bottle you end up using, it is prudent to store them standing in a tray or bowl in order to minimise damage from leakage This also has the secondary benefit of isolating the containers from general cupboard abuse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom