Developing own films

[Ash]

Hey all,

I'm sorry I haven't searched for the answer to this already, and I feel a right idiot for asking a silly question, but here goes:

I've developed quite a few films and prints in the darkroom at college, but I got myself all the materials to develop films at home (container, etc etc).

Only problem is the developer.

Its: JESSOPS PHOTOCHEM 'econodev universal 2'

The front says "1+49" but what the fudge is the plus there for?!
I'm used to a universal developer at 1:4 (60ml dev, 240 water)... so what is this ratio?

Is it actually 1:49 ??? This seems a little odd to me. Or maybe this developer is super-strong?


Any help would be appreciated!

And also, for placing the film on the reel, has anyone ever made their own changing bag?

And has anyone used this and found the correct times for pushing a FP4 (125) film so that it acts as a faster (200, 400 etc) film? I cant remember the class notes for that!


Thanks!

 

[pesphoto]

Yeah, just consider it to be 1:49. I dont like using changing bags, too confining. Do you have a dark closet somewhere? In the old days I would just wait until nighttime and load my reels in my bedroom closet.

 

[jrong]

Quick one.
1+49 simply means 1 part developer + 49 parts water. So yes, it is very dilute. Developers like Rodinal are commonly used in 1+50 dilutions, or sometimes even 1+100.

There are instructions online for making your own changing bag but I don't have the URL offhand, perhaps googling might help.

For developing times for film etc. at different speeds, one good resource is www.digitaltruth.com (ironically named 😉 ). If film is pushed or pulled and the times are not available, then a good start might be, i.e if you pushed the film to twice its ISO, to double its development time. If you don't like the results, you can fine tune the developing times/techniques the next time.

Good luck!

 

[markinlondon]

Hi, Ash.

Changing bags are pretty cheap ~£15 from Silverprint, could be cheaper on Evilbay.

The usual rule of thumb for pushing is 25% extra time for the first stop, 40% extra for 2 stops. When pushing, all hard and faast rules are off and it pays to do your own testing. As for pushing FP4 two stops I think I'd rather use HP5 at that point. Personally I like FP4 best between 64 and 100.

Mark

 

[Andy K]

1+49 means exactly that, one unit PLUS fortynine units. For example 50ml of mixed solution would comprise one milliliter of developer and fortynine millilitres of water. So whatever quantity of developer you need you divide the total by fifty, that will give you the size of one unit. So one litre of mixed developing solution would be twenty millilitres of developer and 980 millilitres of water.

 

[Fred]

Welcome, another bod in Wiltshire.

Ash, the cheapest changing bag is probably the quilt or thick sheets on your bed. But for the cost of a designed bag I'd just pay the 15 pounds or so and get it. If you want a better changing bag Calumet in Bristol do one that expands like a latolite reflector giving you a lot more freedom to load spirals.

For the Dev, the easiest way to work out the amounts is to tak the 1 + 49 (add them together makes 50) Divide the amount of solution you need by 50 and use that amount of dev and top it up to the full amount (and stir). So for the Patterson plastic tanks the total quantity of solution is 300ml, divide by 50 is 6 so use 6ml of dev and 294ml of water.

For pushing films I have to agree with Mark, go for HP5, a cracking film with good exposure lattitude. To push film though you could try the Massive Dev Chart (Jessops dev is not on the list though but should you migrate to others it might help)
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

Have fun!

 

[Ash]

Excellent! Thanks for the help - only been a few minutes to and from the post office and you're all a brilliant help!

I really want to get this film done, my only concern was that it wasnt a bright enough day. I was using aperture at 22, and shutter at 1/500 for pretty much the whole thing to check out the depth of field, and I wasnt standing still a lot of the time*, so I didnt want a slower speed than 1/500... I'll push it a little and hope for the best I think!

As for changing bags, I was spoilt with actual dark-boxes in college, but until I can afford something better I'll have to make do with my record bag (thick, opaque) in the darkest room in the house I think!

*I was trying to catch people in the high street without making it obvious I was taking photo's - hence moving, with the camera below my chest.

 

[markinlondon]

Stealthy street photog, eh? What focal length are you using that you need f22 for adequate DOF?

Tony's right, the cheapest changing bag is under the duvet at night. A windowless room could be the answer if you've got one.

Mark

 

[Ash]

I used my record bag, under the duvet, in one of the rooms. So if any light got in, I got plain old bad luck.

Just put the fix in now....

i was using the 50mm Jupiter 8 on my new/old zorki4k. I used f22 to make sure as much of the foreground was in focus as possible, since I wasnt able to fiddle exact distances as people moved around me, if that makes sense.


another 15mins or so and I'll have the film fixed and washed.

if any prints even come out then I'll scan em and sign up for a flickr.

Thanks again.

 

[markinlondon]

I think this is our first instance of first-time home developing live as it happens. I'm quite excited 🙂

Mark

 

[Ash]

bit of an anticlimax here then!

As I feared, I should have pushed the film a ridiculous amount to get any good images. Being too impatient I developed for 7 (rather than 6) minutes, and the images are faint on the neg - in future I should definitely go for 10 minutes, or actually bother with a faster film!

But I can safely say the camera works! This was really only meant to be a test film to check the camera's operation, so in a sense the venture is a success.

The film is drying in the airing cupboard, and theres probably 4 or so images actually visible. I'll photoshop them up to a more exposed "print" once all the drips of water have evaporated.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[titrisol]

It means 10ml of developer + 490 of water = 500 ml
or 12 + 588 =600
and so forth

Its: JESSOPS PHOTOCHEM 'econodev universal 2'

The front says "1+49" but what the fudge is the plus there for?!
I'm used to a universal developer at 1:4 (60ml dev, 240 water)... so what is this ratio?

Is it actually 1:49 ??? This seems a little odd to me. Or maybe this developer is super-strong?


Thanks!

Fp4+ as 400? if you were doing 500/22 when you should have been doing 125/8 you are pushing 4 stops so FP4 at 1600 or so....
You'll need to give it 15-20 minutes probably
If the images are faint, they may scan correctly but will be a PITA to rpint.

Why don't you use 125/8 or 250/8 instead of 500/22????
Most lenses have their hyperfocal distance at f/8 so it should be enough for DOF and 125 or 250 should be enough to stop movement

 

[Ash]

It was really out of laziness that I even had the fp4 in the camera in the first place. Usually I'd be using the HP5 etc, film grain is larger but I prefer faster film.

Below are two images. The high vantage point was from the top of a multi story car park, slight crop. The police at car has been significantly cropped, and photoshopped a little lighter. I was too far away when taking the original shot.

Not the best photo's I've ever taken, but thought I'd share.