E-6 at home, holy %^#$ it worked!!

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Just did my first run of Tetanal E-6 three-bath. Wow! I can't believe it--strips of Velvia and Provia are drying beside me right now, and they look great.

This kit is rather harder than C-41, as development takes much longer, and so it's tougher to maintain temperature. But it's easier to mix up in the first place, as it comes in pre-measured bottles (LIQUID, not powder, thank god!), and there are wash cycles between each stage, so you have a little breathing room and time verify you've got the right temp for the next bath.

The manual doesn't refer to any kind of hand-tank method, so I was just going to use the times marked "rotary discard" (??), but then I found this link:

http://www.davidrichert.com/3_step_e-6.htm

Not sure where he got that, but I did it, and it worked. I will extend the CD time for the next couple of reels.

The one-liter kit is not very economical ($50 for 12 rolls), but the 5-liter (60 rolls) is only $92, so if you do a LOT of slide film, it's definitely worth it. Indeed, even the 1-liter's worth it for me, I end up spending $8 plus shipping at 4photolab.com...and it's so exciting to see the positives coming off the reels, holy crap!

Will post scans later.

 

[Ronald M]

There is a shelf life after mix so be careful.

If you think hose are nice colors, do a side by side with another roll which you send to someone who uses separate bleach & fix. This will shock you as the colors will no longer be dull.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

There is a shelf life after mix so be careful.

I've got them in airless containers, so they should last a little while, anyway.

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

Ah yes, a shame about those dull colors...😉

 

[nikon_sam]

Nice colors...
I have about 40 rolls of the original Velvia 50 (35mm) in the frige...I was paying about $10/roll for developing back in the day...
I've been thinking about buying a kit to do it myself...I've done E-6 but that was when I was in high school...I've heard there is an easier 3 step kit but was wondering if there was any difference...
I just need to get some of those rolls out and shoot them...
Thanks...this just might get me off my butt...and shooting some color...

 

[Dave Wilkinson]

What's the start-to-finish time, for a film with this kit?
Dave.

 

[rxmd]

Did you process this in a hand tank?

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

What's the start-to-finish time, for a film with this kit?
Dave.

Roger's done it a lot, so he's probably a better guy to ask. But I would block out an hour. First dev is 6 or 7 minutes, color dev is 4 to 6 minutes, blix is 6 minutes, with washes in between, and making sure your temperature is good. Then a quick stabilizer bath. And you have to agitate once every 15 seconds, so make sure there's something good on the radio.

You gotta go zen while you're doing it...with B&W I usually agitate every minute while browsing RFF, but I actually had to pay attention to this.

Did you process this in a hand tank?

Yes, a couple of Hewes reels in a little steel tank.

 

[Trius]

You gotta go zen while you're doing it

I highly recommend at all times. 😀 😀 😀

 

[Roger Hicks]

Congratulations on successful development (and shooting). The colours certainly don't look dull to me! I particularly liked SALE.

Yes, I'd agree that about a hour is right. A lot depends on when you start your timing: from mixing the chemicals and loading the tank, or from a loaded tank and read-mixed chemicals.

Cheers,

R.

 

[jslash6]

mablesound, congratulations!

i don't mean to steal your thunder but i too just completed my own first at home E6 run. it turned out a little milky right off the reels, but that should vanish as it drys. i didn't skip any steps or swap any baths, so there are definitely images visible.

i ebay'd 20 rolls of expired astia. i know that they all have a bit of a cyan/blue cast from other rolls i've dropped off at a lab. so i wasn't entirely too anal about temperature control. the water bath was actually a bit warmer then called for. i really just wanted to refresh my processing experience. first time using metal reels; one strip ended up with a few kinks along the edge. other than that it was much easier than anticipated. i just need a better working space. the old lady didn't want me processing in the kitchen sink, so i relegated to our cramped, little bathroom. once these dry i'll start scanning. i'm psych'ed to process more now.

cheers,

jeffrey

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

No, you're not stealing my thunder, I was hoping this would become a home-E6 thread in general. I'll be trying out some E100G next week...wanted to shoot it this week but had too much work-work to do. I'll post results when I soup it though, as should you when you're done...

 

[jslash6]

of course. they're already dry. quicker than expected. i just finished mixing up another batch for tomorrow. i have at least a dozen more rolls to process. i'll start the next four tomorrow. this evening i'll scan a few.

 

[cnphoto]

I'm very interested in doing E-6 and C41 myself, I have to date only done B&W and $12 a roll for colour is just annoying compared to how cheap I can dev B&W for at home.

What tanks is everyone using and how are you regulating temperature? I think I'll start with some C41 and cross-processed slide to begin with 🙂

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

I'm very interested in doing E-6 and C41 myself, I have to date only done B&W and $12 a roll for colour is just annoying compared to how cheap I can dev B&W for at home.

What tanks is everyone using and how are you regulating temperature? I think I'll start with some C41 and cross-processed slide to begin with 🙂

C41 is easy, just a sink and thermometer! Here's my tutorial page:

http://www.jrobertlennon.com/articles/c41homedev/

Complete with video. Except you're not supposed to wash and photo-flo at the end, that was an error.

 

[cnphoto]

C41 is easy, just a sink and thermometer! Here's my tutorial page:

http://www.jrobertlennon.com/articles/c41homedev/

Complete with video. Except you're not supposed to wash and photo-flo at the end, that was an error.

GREAT! thanks so much 🙂

 

[tenderobject]

C41 is easy, just a sink and thermometer! Here's my tutorial page:

http://www.jrobertlennon.com/articles/c41homedev/

Complete with video. Except you're not supposed to wash and photo-flo at the end, that was an error.

would you have a video tutorial for e-6 too? 🙂

anywhere i could get the e-6 3 bath plus kit that will ship overseas?

thanks for sharing!

 

[batterytypehah!]

I was paying about $10/roll for developing back in the day

Holy cow, where was that? Fuji E-6 mailers are $27 for 5 at B&H. Am I missing something?

I love chrome but E-6 home dev is just too much for me, given my no darkroom/one bathroom house, long intervals between rolls, and nonchalant adherence to times and temps.

"Hon, I'll need the bathroom for the next hour, OK?" That's going to go over real well...

So don't all rush out to buy E-6 kits, folks. I need Fuji/Dwayne's to stay in business 🙂

 

[squirrel$$$bandit]

would you have a video tutorial for e-6 too? 🙂

Not yet---I should do that, though. Maybe over my fall break in a couple of weeks I will.

You can do it pretty much the way you do C41, but you need to monitor the temperature a little more aggressively. If you scan your positives, which I think most of us do, you'll have a little more leeway, since they're so easy to adjust in software later, and the casts/exposure problems you might encounter due to poor QC will not be as important.

 

[tenderobject]

Not yet---I should do that, though. Maybe over my fall break in a couple of weeks I will.

that would be awesome. i just subscribed in this thread just incase 🙂.. thank you!

i checked 4photolab.com but i can't find the kit plus i'm not sure if online stores would ship chems abroad 🙁