New and Old Portra Processing + Jobo ATL

[morback]

Hi,

my work has slowed down to almost stand still since fall of last year. Switching to the new portra has been a huge pain so far, not because of the film, but because it's become almost impossible to find someone to process it properly around my neck of the woods.

I lost 60 rolls from my last trip. And since then I managed to only get decent ones here and there while trying new labs. What seems to happen is that they thoroughly over-develop the rolls. My Nikon 9000ED is having a hard time scanning anything from it. I'm guessing it's at least 2 stops over-developed.

Question 1:
+is processing NC and new portra radically different?
++are there any times I could give to my guy?

Question 2:
+can I handle it myself with an ATL 1000?

Question 3:
+anyone got an ATL 1000 to sell?

This is getting so frustrating I catch myself checking X-Pros and Merrills...

 

[brbo]

I process the new Portra same as any other C-41 film in a 100 EUR Jobo CPE-2.

I was too late to the film party to shoot a lot of Portra NC, but I did a few rolls of expired 400NC in 135 and 160NC in 120. I established that I had to overexpose (in camera, processing was still standard C-41) the old Portra NC at least one stop. But I attributed this to the fact that I was using expired film.

Maybe you were also used to give NC more exposure and the new Portra doesn't need it?

 

[Kenj8246]

Agree, processing is the same as any other C-41 film.

 

[morback]

Interesting. I shoot the new exactly as I did the old. Some labs gave me perfect (exposure) results but this pro lab keeps giving me unusable negatives back.

I guess I need to talk to my guy. He didn't used to screw up my NC. Maybe he changed some adjustments in his machine.

According to you then, there should not be any adjustment necessary? I'm not familiar with color processing.

 

[Jan Pedersen]

C41 is a standard color process for color negative film. Same time for all film 3 minutes 15 seconds at 38C or 100f.
Are you sure it is not your camera/shutter that need some attention?

 

[brbo]

Just curious, how do those negatives look like compared to the good ones?

 

[MartinP]

Theoretically, C41 is C41 is C41. A standard process. How any particular machine is setup, or how it is maintained for possible failure of a thermostat or something, could be different.

For do-it-yourself, how about trying something like this . . .

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum40/116501-macgyvering-tempering-bath-color-development.html


It might be more reliable than using inconsistent labs at least, and the chemicals could come from one of your local shops we saw during the Euromeet, or from one of the German online suppliers.

Good luck 🙂

 

[morback]

I can reasonably extract myself and my gear from the equation:
On the first batch of 60-70 films, 2 operators, 4 cameras and 3 light meters were used. Yet 95% of all frames came 2-3 stop over.

I don't use a built-in light meter, I guesstimate half the time, the other is incident on a Gossen Digisix. My exposures are fine, I extremely rarely used to get a frame so over-exposed it would be a problem for the scanner (1 frame out of 10 rolls maybe?).

A crappy lab 5mn from me gave me my trial film back, perfectly developed, but scratched to hell. I sent 5 of them to Germany, again, perfect development, but 3 weeks turnaround...

The negatives look overall denser. Even the edge markings instead of the brown from the old portra NC are now 90% black.

I don't want to do this myself 🙁 I want to be out shooting...