E-6 Processing at home?

[dave lackey]

Seems that my local small lab is not doing slides anymore. Hasn't had an order in 5 months.😱

He has everything but the developer and I am wondering if it is feasible to process my own E-6 Slide Reversal Film at home. Any thoughts?🙂

 

[imokruok]

It's absolutely feasible. You're in the US, so it is easy to get the Kodak or Tetenal E-6 kits through the mail, and also easy if this lab has a bunch of (un-expired, unopened) chemicals they're going to give you and you just need to replace one or two.

I have gone through one Kodak E-6 kit in my kitchen sink and it works fantastically. You pull those chromes out of the tank, and it's like "man, I can't believe I did that at home!"

 

[nikon_sam]

I have gone through one Kodak E-6 kit in my kitchen sink and it works fantastically. You pull those chromes out of the tank, and it's like "man, I can't believe I did that at home!"

I haven't done it in years but the quote above is exactly how one feel when you pull the film out...
It's worth it if you use the E-6 kit to it's fullest...make sure you have the film backlog as to not waste any of the chemicals...
I have plenty of Velvia to justify getting the kit...I just gotta shoot it first...:bang:😀

 

[atlcruiser]

I do it all the time...try searching "meth lab" here

 

[mervynyan]

I am researching this subject also,have 50 rolls of undeveloped e6, need to find least expensive way to get them out.

 

[Spyro]

Ι do everything at home E6, c41, B&W. All I do is follow the instructions on the box, it's not rocket science.

 

[Ronald M]

Developer goes bad fast. Just replace it as it is cheap. The rest have longer shelf life.

How are you going to mount them? Can you get the mounts.

Get a slide cutter from Hamma. Scissors do not cut it for accuracy required.

You need a really good thermometer as the first developer is temp critical.


The full 6 step as opposed to blix ( bleach/fix combined) gives far superior color. Same for color neg.

Get some glass bottles from specialty bottle co. Cross contamination is deadly and you will never figure why it went grong so be VERY careful.

 

[martin s]

How critical is temperature for each of the chemicals with e-6? With C-41 I only have the developer at a precise temperature, the other chemicals are usually around 35°C.

Developer goes bad fast. Just replace it as it is cheap. The rest have longer shelf life.

How are you going to mount them? Can you get the mounts.

Get a slide cutter from Hamma. Scissors do not cut it for accuracy required.

You need a really good thermometer as the first developer is temp critical.


The full 6 step as opposed to blix ( bleach/fix combined) gives far superior color. Same for color neg.

Get some glass bottles from specialty bottle co. Cross contamination is deadly and you will never figure why it went grong so be VERY careful.

Thanks for the tips. Do you typically wash between chemicals to avoid cross contamination? Is it only the developer that has to be spot on temperature wise?

martin

 

[atlcruiser]

The critical temp is in the 1st developer. Too cold or hot will cause all sorts of shifts and light/dark issues.

I have done this a bunch as well as C41 at home using the arista kit. The reality based on my experience is that you get 2-3' temp variation with no real issue. I had gone through 20 rolls or so until I found out by thermomenter was off by 3'! All were fine.

Chemical reuse is an issue as well. Pay very close attention to the number of rolls through each batch. I can easily double the "box" capicity by longer times.

How critical is temperature for each of the chemicals with e-6? With C-41 I only have the developer at a precise temperature, the other chemicals are usually around 35°C.



Thanks for the tips. Do you typically wash between chemicals to avoid cross contamination? Is it only the developer that has to be spot on temperature wise?

martin

 

[MichiganBill]

About a year ago I was alternating C41 and E6 processing at home. Somehow I got things mixed up in the tank and 2 rolls of C41 negatives got stuck together and formed a gummy red mess.

Then I did 2 rolls of E6. When I took the first roll out of the tank, it was red-red-red. Oh no, I thought. Another gummy mess. So I hung it up to dry. As it dried, I realised that they were photos of my wife's "Burning Bush." The colors were gorgeous! There is nothing quite so satisfying as seeing the colors from a good slide film on the light box. So beautiful.

Try it! You'll like it!

 

[axiom]

About a year ago I was alternating C41 and E6 processing at home. Somehow I got things mixed up in the tank and 2 rolls of C41 negatives got stuck together and formed a gummy red mess.

Then I did 2 rolls of E6. When I took the first roll out of the tank, it was red-red-red. Oh no, I thought. Another gummy mess. So I hung it up to dry. As it dried, I realised that they were photos of my wife's "Burning Bush." The colors were gorgeous! There is nothing quite so satisfying as seeing the colors from a good slide film on the light box. So beautiful.

Try it! You'll like it!

Let's see the pix 😉