I wanna soup my own!

CuS

CuS

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Okay, I need some advice.

I have a very dark, very little room to use. I plan to batch about 5 rolls a week - strictly black and white (been running alot of efke 50, Kodak 125 PX and Fuji Acros 100).

Given the small amount of workflow, what would be simplest and best way to develop my own.

I am thinking a tank or two, a couple of SS spools, and chemistry to match.

Give me your ideas.

Thanks!
 
To develop you dont even need a dark room. You just need a place to load the film onto the reels. You could use a changing bag for that one, even.

Anyway, I would just suggest buying a developing tank with reels (I've never used stainless teel tanks myself.... so I would probably go for plastic reels for now).


For developer I would stick with something simple if you've never done it before.

You might try sprint chemistry, D-76, or even rodinol (i'd buy it in a concentrate liquid so that you dont have to mix the powder into water on your own, etc).



Rodinal might be a little too risky for someone who's never souped their own before. Might want to try with something a little less forgiving such as sprint developer or maybe d-76 even.
 
go for it. if your only want to develop the film, you don't need the darkest of room, a changeing bag for spooling the film onto the Hewes reel and into a can, then develop at the kitchen sink, i use Distilled water for all chemistry. the KB50 and the Acros are fun with Rodinal. Rodinal and HC110 are dilutable syrups, so easy to small batch. i also like the Xtol, but its a two part powder mixed to five liters, but i like it with the Neopans, and recently mixing 200ml of Xtol + 200ml of H2O + 4ml of Rodinal for one roll of 35mm. just to experiment.
it is a easy transition to soup your own, just practice a bit. the Hewes reels are pricey but are the best for 35mm, i started with some cheap stainless reels, and it was no fun, Hewes well worth it.
 
I do it all the time.
i switched from a blinded toilet to a changing bag. I use a three reel patterson tanks but are searching for 5 reel tank.
As soon as the film is in the tank it is a no-brainer at the kitchen sink. Very fast, very cheap, total control and you're the only one who can **** up the film:)

Cheers,

Michiel Fokkema
 
There's always Diafine. I just finished souping a roll of 120 film (not taken with a rangefinder, sorry. It's temperature and time tolerant. Not the finest grain, not the contrastiest of results, but it works for a lazy Sunday.
 
I would recommend using the bathroom. No matter how careful you are you wouldn't wan't to risk having photo chemicals near your food.

Good luck!
 
Go for it! It's easy to soup your own- as others have pointed out, all you need is a changing bag and, ideally, a dedicated space to process- photo chemicals should be kept away from food and food-prep areas. I used to soup in my kitchen, but it involves a lot of care while working and a LOT of careful cleaning after each use. Not worth it. Process in a bathroom, or again ideally, in a dedicated space.

One thing I will suggest is to get good, high quality reels. Personally, I use and prefer stainless steel over plastic. I know others prefer plastic; whichever you choose, get good quality reels- they will make a big difference. They are easir to load, stay in alignment longer, (and so give far less problems of film sticking together) and just generally make your fim processing life easier. This is especially true for SS reels- I am less familiar with plastics ones, but I am told the principle holds true. Anyway, with some experiece, it's easy to pick up a reel and know if it's a solid, quality reel or a cheap, flimsy one. There's a real difference, both in the short- and the long-term. Invest in good ones and it'll save you frustration- and money! (Cheap reels will need to be replaced far more frequently. Anyone who's dropped a cheap reel even once will know what I mean.)
 
I have just started out myself and can't believe how long it took me to getting around to doing it. I was convinced it was going to be much more complex than it has turned out to be and kept procrastinating something shocking! :p

I got a system 4 Paterson tank which does two 35 or one 120 film and was recommended to use D-76 as a starting developer. I do my final rinse in fitered water which I believe is important and use a rinse aid ... and so far out of the dozen or so films I have done there has been absolutely no real dramas ... only fun! I'm enjoying the process so much that it's encouraging me to use more film and take more photographs.

You'll love it ... the sense of achievment when you produce your own developed negatives has to be experienced to be believed in my opinion! :)
 
See if you can play around with both plastic and steel reels. It appears to be a very personal and subjective choice. I cannot manage to load 35mm onto steel so use a Paterson reel for that; 120 I find steel reels much easier and quicker to load.

Also, sacrifice a roll or two and practice loading until you get the hang of it.
 
Cmedin gives good advice. If you have an old roll of some stock you won't miss lying around, break it open and practice until you feel comfortable doing it with your eyes closed. (Cheap color film is great for this!)

One last word about reels, and I'll shut up. For 35mm steel reels, I like the heavy duty Hewes ones with the tabs that grab the sproket holes. The tabs make them really easy to load- no fumbling trying to get the leader into a silly clip- and they also ensure perfect film alignment going on the reel. Loading them is basically fool-proof. Plus, they are made of heavier guage wire than the cheapie reels, and this makes a difference, both in longevity and in ease of use. If you're even thinking about steel reels, get these. Cmedin- you should try these reels, even though they are expensive- you'll be convered to steel for all your film.
 
My workflow

1. Load the film into the spirals in a dark room/closet/changing bag
That is the most difficult of the steps to learn.
2. Prepare you chemicals and measure the temperature
2A (optional) Fill the tank with water, agitate and tap it with your palm or against the kitchen sounter to dislodge air bubbles. Let the water stand for a minute and dump
3. Pour in the developer - start stopwatch
Agitate the first 30 secs then a turn or 2 every minute
4. Development time is over
dump the developer
5. Fill with water rinse dump... water rinse dump
6. Pour in the fixer strat timer
agitate once per minute as you did with developer
7. Time is up, dump the fixer or return it to the bottle
8. Give a rinse with water
9. Fill with water, agitate 30 seconds, dump
10. Fill with water, agitate 30 seconds let stand 1 minute, agitate, dump
11. Fill with water, agitate 30 seconds let stand 2 minute, agitate, dump
12. Fill with water, agitate 30 seconds let stand 2 minute, agitate, dump
13. For last wash and to avoid water marks use a Photo-flo solution or 2 rinses in distilled water
14. hang to dry, use a weight at the bottom (clothes hanger with some duct-taped-metal works fine)
To make the environment dust free you can use the bathroom and run the shower for a minute or 2 to steam the room.
15. After an hour or 2 check that the neagtives are dry, then cut and put in archival pages
 
Hardware:
Freestylephoto.biz has the Arista deluxe development kit which has all you need and then some.
It included a Platic tank with 2 reels, thermometer, measuring cup, and other gadgets you'll need in a convenient packet.
Since you are in VA, there was a very good photo store in Alexandria, visited them only once but very friednly and helpful folks

Chemicals:
I prefer liquid concentrates for convenience, Rodinal, HC110, DDX, Edwal FG7, or a D76 clone such as Sprint.
For consistency try keeping your agitation the same all the time, use one-shot developers, and target development times in the order of 10 minutes
I firmly believe Rodinal is a great starter developer, also HC110. Long lasting, is used well diluted one shot, and there is lots of data available. [Use a syringe to measure the concentrate]

I have used step 2A as part of my standard but most people leave it out.

Fixer "rapid fixer" takes 3-5 minutes

Washing I use the method described above to save water and it is also quicker

Photo-flo I use the Amaloco alternative now, have used Photo-flo and LFN in the past (LFN rocks)
it is very good to avoid drying marks, but also a 2x rinse with distilled water does the trick by eliminating the dissolved salts

Times and data:
digitaltruth massive development chart
covingtoninnovations HC110 page
unblinkingeye Rodinal article

Now, just take the plunge and experiment but be aware that your results will improve with experience. Early successes are always welcome but do not be overconfident or a crew-up (and there will be many) will crush you ... [Mr kettle said to Mrs pot]

More on flow and basics:
google the kodak pdf of darkroom techniques, very good
Read, read and read!
The old upton photography textbook is good, excertoted from the TimeLife encyclopedia of photography
Hedgecoe's photographers handbook is also full of good info to star with
and you can find them for a buck in used bookstores


GOOD LUCK
 
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Thank you so very much!

Thank you so very much!

I want to say how very thankful i am for all of your detailed and sound advice.

As I get rolling on this I will post some results for critique!

Thanks!:)
 
Go for it, I'm very glad I did, after a few rolls you find it easy and will also be glad you did.

I will also add my vote for the Hewes reels and ss tank I used them to begin with because of a recommendation here and now you couldn't convince me to use anything else. After a little practice they are very easy to load.
 
now that you have the film developed how do you make prints. I am not sure I want to invest in an enlarger and that yet but for the inexpensive nature of development I am pumped to try it. I will be using b&w film. I have been using c41 black and white but I feel limited with it.
So once the B&W film is processed can I take it to a drugstore to have prints made?
 
CuS, you're thinking right. I started out in my bathroom at night with all lights off. I hang two dark sheets to the floor covering the doorframe if I HAVE to do develop in daylight. That's just for loading the reels and mixing the chemicals. Everything else I do in in my living room or kitchen.

Of course, that led to printing on my kitchen table at night, rinsing in the kitchen sink, and using the shower to hang them to dy. I do clean everything up like a kitchen inspector afterwards, but I've go a stop stain in my dining table :)
 
preferred stops and fixers

preferred stops and fixers

I plan to use only water stop baths (I want to avoid gas-off from pH swing) but what would you all suggest for a fixer as well as surfactants (fotofl, etc.)?

I primarilty use fuji acros 100, efke 100 and kodak 125px films.
 
Fixer can be any rapid fixer
Sprint and Clayton made pretty decent fixers that were not expensive but Ilford, Kodak or anyt other brand is good.

As the surfactant, Ethol used to make one that was wonderful.
Photoflo is as good.
 
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