Fujihunt X-Press C41 or Digibase C41, say your thoughts (plus on the Fujihunt X6 kit)

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Jani_from_Finland

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Need some fast answers du to order.

Pending on the Fujihunt X-Press C41 kit and Rollei Digibase C41 kits, used Tetenal C41 before but due to the Blix and Stab with formaldehyde i want to use either the Fuji or Rollei.

I heard and read that the Rollei C41 kit isnt as good as the Fuji in as only Fuji and Kodak knows the real C41 formulae, but maybe compard uses the old agfa C41 formulae, well you see my point, what is better in terms of quality and longetivity and keeping proporities?

I think about equal amount is possible to take out on both sets (80x 400 speed film), so that is not an issue.
Tetenal gave out 24-32 rolls good on 1L sets, so both Fuji and Rollei would be ok for 80-120 rolls 50-100-160-200-400 speed films.


Also i would like to hear about experiences with the new 7-bath Fuji X6 slideprosessing kit (E6). Found here http://www.macodirect.de/fuji-hunt-chrome-processing-litres-p-2509.html
 
For home sink-processing 3-bath E6 is much easier though, but if you really want you can make it with 6-bath (7th bath is just a simple stabilizer/wetting agent).

I'm using both Fuji Hunt kits (X-Press for C41 and Chrome X6 for E6), can't be happier with the results. Both systems come out top notch with colors spot-on, I've used both simple home sink processing and also a JOBO processor recently. Both E6 and C41 kits are really top performers and fully deserve the "Fuji" badge if you ask me.

One warning though - the proper 6-bath E6 kit is very sensitive to water pH and additives though (can introduce slight color-shifts, especially on Fuji slides, ironically not so much on Kodak slides) - for at least color developer (CD) use distilled water, preferrably also for the first developer (FD), the rest you'll manage with any water. Also ALWAYS mix the critical solutions (FD, CD, blix & fix) at +35-40C and stir them for specified time, never mix with cold (less than +30C) water and heat up later (or you get messed up results like I did using the kit for the first time).

With this in mind arguably the proper 6-bath E6 will bring superior results (both in color/detail rendition and I'm also guessing on slide's lifetime) compared to the limited 3-bath kits in results, a little more expensive too, mind you.

Another good thing about those: both my Fuji Hunt E6 & C41 kit concentrates are more than year old after first opening and they're still going strong without any issues! I think Fuji had this in mind when there's not so much film-consumption by photographers these days. I'm filling up with a little Tetenal Anti-Oxydant spray each time I use the concentrates and keeping the concentrates in my dry cellar (around +10-15C), with those conditions I bet they're good even after 2 years.

Hope this helps,
Margus
 
I've used them all (X-Press, Rollei C-41 and Tetenal C-41). I've never noticed a difference in results (I scan). I mix 0,5L at a time and use it for 6-10 rolls, never more. So if you are looking for an answer which kit can process the most film I obviously can't help you.

I also use FujiHunt Chrome 6X kit. I use it single shot. It's a chore to mix but I'm very pleased with the results. I also used Tetenal E-6. Easier to mix and I can't say slides processed in Tetenal are any worse than those from FujiHunt. Maybe they are just a tiny bit less "punchy". But I'm 100% sure that I'm only imagining this. It would probably take a side-by-side comparison to notice any difference.
 
tsiklonaut said:
Also ALWAYS mix the critical solutions (FD, CD, blix & fix) at +35-40C and stir them for specified time, never mix with cold (less than +30C) water and heat up later (or you get messed up results like I did using the kit for the first time).
Click to expand...

Interesting. I always use room temp distilled water when mixing (20-24C) and never noticed any problem.

tsiklonaut said:
I'm filling up with a little Tetenal Anti-Oxydant spray each time I use the concentrates and keeping the concentrates in my dry cellar (around +10-15C), with those conditions I bet they're good even after 2 years.
Click to expand...

My experience, too. Concentrates easily keep for at least half a year (it rarely takes me longer to use 5L kit). Part C of developer will go bad in a few months if you don't use some sort of anti-oxidation measure.
 
brbo said:
Interesting. I always use room temp distilled water when mixing (20-24C) and never noticed any problem.
Click to expand...

I did get uneven color on my first test film. Maybe I didn't stir it enough as well but the manual clearly states you should mix the solutions between +30 to +40C and give them sufficent stir time, been following this more religiously now.

As of Tetenal C41 vs Fuji Hunt C41, I also don't have any direct comparisons, but my local lab uses Tetenal and I haven't been too happy on many occasions with the results while it works out just as expected with Fuji kit. I also scan.
 
I tried Rollei Digibase C41 twice and all the time I got Brown negatives (Kodak) and perfectly orange Fuji Negatives!! I don't know why!

Also, very strange noise on the deep shadow even Ektar and only in the shadow area.

I know tempreture were spot on and all my E-6 Tetenal developed very well.

I will give up on C41 Home development 🙁
 
jani: You know my view... Compard C-41 is by far the best kit as it can be replinshed with bleach and fix quite easily- Bleach lasts forever and it is the most expensive part of the process. developer is in three ( actually four- the starter...) components and last also forever until they are mixed. With one litre concentrate you can develop 400 rolls, don`t even bother to count the price. With guys claiming they are not getting clear negatives, they are simply not following the instructions. The time for bleach and fix in compard kit is 6-8 minutes 38 degrees centigrade. if less or you are working with slide film cross processed the times should be yet doubled, more than 10 minutes or double bath, to avoid a fenomenon caled LEUCO CYAN PROBLEM. You can google that. Pls note: Compard bleach and fix is lower dilution that the Kodak /Fuji formula. developer is about the same formula as Kodak.
 
brbo said:
Any chance you did a wash between developer and bleach?
Click to expand...

Only on my second try I did wash between baths! first try where as the instruction (Times and Temp)

Fuji Brand negatives came perfect, but portra (160-400) and ektar came brown and very hard to scan.
 
So if i have mainly Kodak CN films to develope, are others having problem with them? I cant print with color, its going to be scanning only for them and if they are difficult to process with Rollei chemie then its a problem. Jukka, is the only reason for bad negatives insufficient bleach and fix (thanks for the instructions btw)?
 
mob81 said:
Only on my second try I did wash between baths! first try where as the instruction (Times and Temp)

Fuji Brand negatives came perfect, but portra (160-400) and ektar came brown and very hard to scan.
Click to expand...

I don't know if brownish mask is Kodak-C-41-only phenomenae, but a wash between dev and bleach can give you that. If by hard to scan negatives you mean very dark negatives, it could mean bleaching wasn't sufficient.

I used Rollei/Digibase C-41 kit as standard C-41. 3:15 dev, 6:30 bl, wash, 6:30 fx, wash, 1:30 st (I extend bleaching and fix times with reuse). Times in the "manual" that came with that kit seemed very low for bleach and fix.

Getting good results with Fuji negatives doesn't mean that your process is OK. Don't wash between dev and bleach, extend bleach time and you should be fine.
 
I did a few hundred of C41 films from mainly Fuji 160NS , 400H pro and Kodak Portra 160/400 and some Rollei Digibase CN200 pro in the Rollei Digibase C41 chemicals. Cross processing Rollei Digibase CR200 (E6). But in a Jobo CPA-2 rotary development at 38C.
I did one extra wash between all steps with destilled water. Also the chemicals were made in destilled water. 3:15, 4:30, 6:30 wash 3x and then 1:00 minute in the stabilizer.
Digibase C41 chemicals are coming from Fuji Hunt BTW. I am also re-generating the chemicals.
So far good results with above mentioned films. 300ml chemicals in rotary for 6 films. (3x2 films).
 
brbo said:
I don't know if brownish mask is Kodak-C-41-only phenomenae, but a wash between dev and bleach can give you that. If by hard to scan negatives you mean very dark negatives, it could mean bleaching wasn't sufficient.

I used Rollei/Digibase C-41 kit as standard C-41. 3:15 dev, 6:30 bl, wash, 6:30 fx, wash, 1:30 st (I extend bleaching and fix times with reuse). Times in the "manual" that came with that kit seemed very low for bleach and fix.

Getting good results with Fuji negatives doesn't mean that your process is OK. Don't wash between dev and bleach, extend bleach time and you should be fine.
Click to expand...

Hard to scan because of the color shift and not dark at all, the negative looks good except not orange like the fuji ones but brown. Fuji scanned well. Anyway, both tries with developing c41 prove not worth it for me! I have a large stock of e6 film and will have to use it for the next years (mainly provia 400x and agfa ct precisa) 🙂

If I use ektar (I love this film) and portra, I'll send it to local lab and use ice on my scanner to remove scratches 🙂
 
The wash between bleach and fix just dilutes fix.. If you see your film base dense or opaque, just bleach and fix again with regenerated chemicals. You can do this even if you dried the film first. Just wash the final rinse away first...
 
I use digibase c-41 kit for color and tetenal 3kit e-6(4 baths with stab, but do not count that) for slide. Never had a problem with the kits.
There is a wash between bleach and fix in c-41, and the times for the washes can be extend. It helps also to spare the next cheamical and extend is working life.
Bleach and Fix times can also be extend, when the working solutions have been use a few times. Bleach with time begins to lose the "stop bath" proprities so it's good extending a few minutes more.
 
Rangefinderfreak said:
The wash between bleach and fix just dilutes fix.. If you see your film base dense or opaque, just bleach and fix again with regenerated chemicals. You can do this even if you dried the film first. Just wash the final rinse away first...
Click to expand...

Sorry to dig up an old post, but what is the process to regenerate the chemistry?

I have the 5L kit and I make up 1L quantities ion glass bottles, then use an ATL 1500 simply pouring the required amounts in and recovering the used chemicals at each stage (rinsing out the recovery hose thoroughly between steps).

I'm getting good life for dev, ~ 40 rolls/sheet equiv per 1L. And am still on the first litre batch of bleach and fix. Bleach getting swapped out soon.

Does regeneration extend the chemical life further or am I misunderstanding something?
 
brbo said:
I don't know if brownish mask is Kodak-C-41-only phenomenae, but a wash between dev and bleach can give you that. If by hard to scan negatives you mean very dark negatives, it could mean bleaching wasn't sufficient.

I used Rollei/Digibase C-41 kit as standard C-41. 3:15 dev, 6:30 bl, wash, 6:30 fx, wash, 1:30 st (I extend bleaching and fix times with reuse). Times in the "manual" that came with that kit seemed very low for bleach and fix.

Getting good results with Fuji negatives doesn't mean that your process is OK. Don't wash between dev and bleach, extend bleach time and you should be fine.
Click to expand...

I did as above (thank you for the tips) and got perfect result with (portra 160, 400. And cinestill) plus 400h was great too 🙂

Now I can say it's nice kit 😉
 
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