Darkroom bear necessities

[dreilly]

I was at a photo shop in Schenechtady yesterday and took a gander at the wall of developing chemicals. It got me thinking about developing my own black and white negatives. Here's my question: what's the bear essentials that I need to do this?

I'm supposing:

A tank and two reels
A thermometer
A few beakers

Developer
Stop Bath
Fixer

A dark place, a place to hang the negs and a sink in the basement (check on all three--I'm part way there).

Is powdered developer more advantageous if I was only going to develop every once in a while, and in batches?

I'm sure there are tons of websites about how to start this, any ideas about the best (and simplest?)

I won't even ask yet about what developer to use, but if you give me ideas, I won't reject them.

 

[plummerl]

For B/W, I have never bothered with a Stop Bath. A water bath (3 to 4 exchanges) is really all that is needed.

If you plan to do it infrequently, a liquid concentrate developer (such as Rodinal) would work, otherwise when you mix the stock solution, store it in small, dark glass. A powder type developer requires one to mix the entire batch to a stock solution. I use 500ml Grolsch type beer bottles for Xtol.

For fixer, you can reuse the same solution for quite a number of rolls. A small bottle of test solution (or simply keep track of how much film you run) can monitor the quality.

Have fun!

larry

 

[traveller]

I think you got everything, maybe add photoflo and destilled water to the list.

Some information you can find at Ilford and developing times at Digitaltruth.

Have fun!

 

[RML]

Instead of a darkroom you can use a changing bag to put the film on the reel(s). Works fine for me, really.

 

[peterc]

Is powdered developer more advantageous if I was only going to develop every once in a while, and in batches?

If you're only going to develop occasionally, I'd recommend a developer such as Rodinal or HC110. They're liquid developers and easy to mix when you need them. They also have excellent shelf life.
Once mixed, most most powdered developers don't keep well.

Peter

 

[Xmas]

Borrow wifes washing line clothes pins (pegs in uk?) if they are plastic spring loaded, otherwise buy pukka photo article.

A film squeegee really works if you can keep it clean

Filing envelopes

Whole sheet contact printer and 10x8" trays (or 10x8 glass sheet or fast scanner)

Noel

 

[plummerl]

Instead of a darkroom you can use a changing bag to put the film on the reel(s). Works fine for me, really.

I'd second that suggestion, this is all I use for film dev (at least until my enlarging darkroom is done).

 

[RicardoD]

Lots of similar thread in the Darkroom forum, do a search, you can start here

some money saving tips:
*you don't need film hanging clips, just use a clothspins
*can use your fingers instead of a squeegee
*if you don't have a completely dark room get a changing bag
*stop bath not necessary
*film cutter = scissors
*Diafine is reusable, time and temp insensitive, keeps for a year or more
*need bottles, you can buy bottles of clorox bleach, dump the clorox, wash bottles and use those.
*Jetdri ($3 a bottle) can be substituted for Photoflo ($6-7)

 

[BudGreen]

I recently took the plunge into developing at home myself. As has been suggested, I'd skip the stop bath and add the photoflo. For my setup I added a small wall-hung collapsible film dryer, but that is far from necessary. There are lots of choices for developers, and part of the answer will depend on what type of film you're using. I get great results with Xtol and Tri-X. It's easy to mix and has reasonably good shelf life in full tightly closed bottles.

 

[doubs43]

The claw is always useful when opening cans, film boxes and cassettes.

The biggest problem with bear necessities is watching where you step! They're very difficult to potty train! 😀

Just kidding, of course.

Walker

 

[titrisol]

Excuse the capitals, but I answered your questions in them... not shouting... just differentiating

A tank and two reels YES
A thermometer YES
A few beakers YES (Measuring cups work as well, plastic are cheap)

Developer YES
Stop Bath MAYBE (2 or 3 changes of water is normally enough)
Fixer YES
PHOTOFLO OR LFN (Wetting agent)

A dark place, a place to hang the negs and a sink in the basement (check on all three--I'm part way there).

Is powdered developer more advantageous if I was only going to develop every once in a while, and in batches?
I'D RECOMMEND YOU USE A LONG SHELF LIFE LIQUIDM SUCH AS RODINAL OR HC110 (GET A 10ML SYRINGE TO MEASURE THOSE)
WITH POWDER YOU HAVE TO MIX 1 GALLON OR SO AND IT MAY GO BAD BEFORE YOU USE IT ALL

I'm sure there are tons of websites about how to start this, any ideas about the best (and simplest?)
ILFORD, OR THE KODAK PDF ON LEARNING TO DEVELOP FILM

I won't even ask yet about what developer to use, but if you give me ideas, I won't reject them.
THE ABOVE MENTIONED ARE VERY GOOD STARTING POINTS

 

[dreilly]

Doing a little reading about Diafine...would that be a good option for a newbie? Seems extremely flexible and easy. How would I choose between Rodinal and Diafine?

Is there anywhere a resource that shows how various emulsions are effected by various develolpers?

 

[kmack]

Doing a little reading about Diafine...would that be a good option for a newbie? Seems extremely flexible and easy. How would I choose between Rodinal and Diafine?

Is there anywhere a resource that shows how various emulsions are effected by various develolpers?

From my experience I would say no.
20 some years ago I did a lot of Tri-X and Plus-X in D76. Only last year did I start souping my own again and I started with Diafine. Diafine has a lot going for it but I was never able to get consistent results. Likely the problem was not Diafine but something I was doing. I switched to HC110 stuck with it and FP4 and Tri-X until I could get predictable and consistent results with my equipment. I have recently been using Clayton F76+.

Rodinal, HC110 or Clayton F76+ may be a better choice for beginners. All are liquids that keep well. Rodinal and HC110 have a lot of information available as to starting times and agitation for a lot of films. The Clayton is not as well documented but if you are going to be using any of the Ilford or Kodak films they are pretty well documented.

I will be revisiting Diafine specifically for pushing Tri-X, my experience with HC110 allowed me learn more about developing film to the point that I think I now know what I need to do to use Diafine.

Check the gallery, see what kind of look you are going for then choose. I particularly liked GeneW's photos so I choose HC110. I later wanted some finer grain, so I tried the Clayton.

 

[alansoon]

You don't really need a squeegee. Just air dry it (after photoflo or equivalent). No marks or streaking. Nice and clean.