Do you develop your own B&W film?

Do you develop your own B&W film?

  • Yes - I'm still addicted

    Votes: 727 89.3%

  • No - I opt for convenience

    Votes: 87 10.7%
  • Total voters
    814
Yes. I don't want to pay the equivalent of 8 dollars for each roll, and get very contrasty, over-agitated negs on top of it.
 
Can you guys recommend good chemicals to process 35mm film with. I want to do it in my bathroom of my own home but don't know exactly which chemicals to get. Is Rodinal a good brand? Also any kits to recommend using will be great.
 
-Rodinal is a great developer. It's easy to use and very economical.
-You need a bottle of fixer. Any fixer for film will do. I use Ilford Rapid Fixer.
-Washing agent helps a lot with dust and chalk splotches from tap water. Ilford Ilfotol is as good as any.

That's it as far as chemicals are concerned. Fixer runs out much faster than developer and washing agent so you might just as well get two bottles of fixer to start with.

The developing process is described here: http://www.jasonbrunner.com/videos.html
 
I shoot and develop my own b+w thank you. I find that I am too flighty to stick with one camera, film or developer too long, but if I had to settle down and work with one thing I would likely choose Arista EDU films and Rodinal.

I do wet prints as well but recently I scan and print on ink jet way more frequently. I guess that's my nod to convenience.
 
Tri-X in D76 1:1. As I don't have a darkroom anymore I use a black cloth change bag, double zipper with arm holes. I bulk load into re-usable cassettes, then, using the change bag, I load the exposed film into a stainless steel Nikkor tank, develop the film in the kitchen, hang the film to dry in the laundry room, then scan the negs with a Plustek 7200 attached to my computer. This system allows me to keep shooting b/w film.
 
I wished I could have voted for "Yes! I opt for convenience." I think developing my own film is WAAAAAY more convenient than paying a lab for, and waiting for someone else to do it for me. Much quicker and cheaper to do it myself. Then I print the proof sheets and the prints in my tiny darkroom. It's magic for the soul.
 
No Space, no time, and can't be bothered to develop myself when the lab here does a nice job for $5.

Maybe someday when I have my own apartment and don't have to share every room ,except my 3x4m bedroom, with 30 people, I might consider it. I think I am already managing well, considering I scan and print A3 myself in my tiny bedroom. Did I mentioned I even share that room with my girlfriend, we share a 1 person bed, very cosy :)

I have reduced my film shooting to the occasional 35mm BW roll, in favor of digital. Ironically, shooting less film might make me consider developing myself more. For the occasional roll, it might be fun and interesting.
 
Sometimes. There's a pro grade lab ten minutes away that will process negs in 30 minutes for $5 per roll. Takes me that long just to get set up, I'll only do it when I have plenty of time on my hands and severl rolls of film to do.
 
I developed my first roll of B&W in 1971 and have not stopped yet. There have been some breaks, a few years when family was in upheaval, but once things calmed down I started again. Still have the same stainless steel tanks and reels I started with 41 years ago.
 
It's great to have this capability. This morning I found a nice Pentax K1000 with 50/2 lens and case for $15 at the local flea market. After a quick check and clean I found a battery for the meter and loaded a roll of ERA 100 (down to my last few rolls). Half an hour later I have 36 exposures, and into the darkroom. Another 45 minutes and I have a strip of good-looking negs hanging to dry. That's convenience. :)
 
Sometimes I find myself thinking what's the point to develop b&w film when C-41 development process is actually easier to do. You just need a simple wash basin for warm water bath. I could do color and b&w films in the same tank if I wanted to.
 
Godfrey said:
Sometimes. There's a pro grade lab ten minutes away that will process negs in 30 minutes for $5 per roll. Takes me that long just to get set up, I'll only do it when I have plenty of time on my hands and several rolls of film to do.
Click to expand...
Dear Godfrey,

That's 50 minutes. How much set-up time to you need? I reckon I could have films hanging up to dry in a good deal less time than that, for less money, and retain full control to boot.

Cheers,

R.
 
my development time for a roll is 30 minutes if i have a batch of hc-110 already made up. 10 minutes to develop, 10 minutes to fix, 10 minutes total to wash, then photo-flo, then hang to dry. i usually take a more leisurely approach ...
 
It takes me about 10 minutes to set up and 10-15 to develop when I'm using HC-110 at dilution B (which I'm starting to really like). There are no labs around here that do B/W, but for color negatives, I've been satisfied with the processing at ASDA for about 2£ a roll if I remember correctly (I don't shoot a lot of color because I like developing film).
 
funkpilz said:
It takes me about 10 minutes to set up and 10-15 to develop when I'm using HC-110 at dilution B (which I'm starting to really like). There are no labs around here that do B/W, but for color negatives, I've been satisfied with the processing at ASDA for about 2£ a roll if I remember correctly (I don't shoot a lot of color because I like developing film).
Click to expand...

Ten minutes at dilution B? I follow the chart and it's more like five minutes at 20 C, and my negs are definitely not underdeveloped.

Speaking of times - I use Kodak rapid fixer for five minutes - Paul, which do you use? Do I need more time than I am giving it?

Randy
 
zauhar said:
Ten minutes at dilution B? I follow the chart and it's more like five minutes at 20 C, and my negs are definitely not underdeveloped.

Speaking of times - I use Kodak rapid fixer for five minutes - Paul, which do you use? Do I need more time than I am giving it?

Randy
Click to expand...

I think that is Soup to Fix total times...HC110 B
4.5m Dev. at 20c, 1m stop, 5m fix
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My Workflow:
  • 5-10 minutes to set up, includes loading a roll in a bag, 10-15min develop though Fix, (HC110 B),
  • 20 minutes wash, I get 4 changes of charcoal filtered water per minute,
  • 1.5 minutes Photo-Flo (1.5mL per 300mL),
  • 1.5hrs dry. If I am in a hurry, I will use a hair dryer on the cooler setting after 30m of air dry -- for 5min I guess. (Still warm air).
 
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