newbie advice needed

[amey]

Hello all!

I am about 80% newbie to developing film. I tried it years ago for B&W film in a tiny little flat. Then realised it was too much faff with the lack of space.

Now I have space and time 🙂

I only want to develop and shoot 120. And B&W to begin with. Ideally would like to do 3 rolls at once. I pretty much only shoot HP5. Depending on the season I rate it from 200 to 3200 iso.

I looked at Jobo CPE2, there are a couple of deals around me in London that seem good but then I spoke to a friend who develops his own film and he said I am better off with a 2nd hand Annova Sous Vide thing and a big box which kinda replicate the Jobo for temperature but not agitation. None of the Jobo I have seen (or can afford) have a lift.

I was wondering what advice would you give to someone like me? I haven't purchased anything but seen Annova for £50 going locally. Where do I start?

Thanks in advance!

 

[amey]

Also I should add, I will be digitising the film myself using a Fuji XT-20 🙂

 

[xayraa33]

I would not get overly complicated to develop B&W film...a quality plastic tank and adjustable reels like in the Patterson tank system can do the job very well or if you are more adept at loading stainless steel reels then a stainless steel developing tank of the right size will do....these can be found for sale used and Nikor brand tanks and reels were very popular with pros but the knockoffs can be just as good.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...A_Et84Jd-XmxXbemHNhq5uEaAuzUEALw_wcB&pcur=CAD

 

[Bill Clark]

I use Paterson tanks and reels.

I like simple.

 

[Andy Kibber]

Another vote for Paterson tanks and reels!

 

[Godfrey]

Hmm. Doing two rolls of film at the same time in a reel type tank (loading both rolls on the same reel, end to end) produces consistent results, doing three in a long stacked tank is less so simply because of the time it takes to fill and drain the tank. I generally process one roll at a time for the most consistent results.

Since I don't have a darkroom, I use daylight loading tanks ... either the classic Agfa Rondinax 60 or its modern equivalent, the Lab Box. Using these and a small kit of developer, fixer, and wetting agent (plus appropriate thermometer, graduated cylinders, etc etc), I can go from dry to wet-and-hanging in about 25 minutes. The Lab Box allows both continuous and still-periodic agitation. These tanks require minimal chemistry (200-250 ml for continuous agitation, 400 ml for still-periodic agitation) and do an excellent job.

I've eliminated all complexity from the process. I process all film identically (excepting Film Washi 120-W, which is actually more of a thin paper medium than a film) in HC-110 diluted 1:49 for 8 minutes at room temperature (72-75°F), fix for the same amount of time, use all chemicals one-shot, and scan using either the Leica CL (16Mpixel squares from 6x6) or Hasselblad 907x (39 Mpixel squares from 6x6), both fitted with a Leica Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm lens. The results are satisfying.

Voigtländer Perkeo II
Ilford XP2 Super​

Essentially: any decent tank will work fine (Paterson type plastic, Nikor style stainless, or one of the daylight loading type), a minimum of chemistry and measurement stuff, and a little patience and practice will do all you need for B&W film.

Color film (neg or positive) is more demanding ... mostly on time and temperature requirements ... but I have long since moved all my color work to digital capture; it's far far more sensible and productive, for me.

Good luck!

G

 

[charjohncarter]

I would not get overly complicated to develop B&W film...a quality plastic tank and adjustable reels like in the Patterson tank system can do the job very well or if you are more adept at loading stainless steel reels then a stainless steel developing tank of the right size will do....these can be found for sale used and Nikor brand tanks and reels were very popular with pros but the knockoffs can be just as good.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...A_Et84Jd-XmxXbemHNhq5uEaAuzUEALw_wcB&pcur=CAD

I agree completely.

 

[HHPhoto]

Hello all!

I am about 80% newbie to developing film. I tried it years ago for B&W film in a tiny little flat. Then realised it was too much faff with the lack of space.

Now I have space and time 🙂

I only want to develop and shoot 120. And B&W to begin with. Ideally would like to do 3 rolls at once. I pretty much only shoot HP5. Depending on the season I rate it from 200 to 3200 iso.

I looked at Jobo CPE2, there are a couple of deals around me in London that seem good but then I spoke to a friend who develops his own film and he said I am better off with a 2nd hand Annova Sous Vide thing and a big box which kinda replicate the Jobo for temperature but not agitation. None of the Jobo I have seen (or can afford) have a lift.

I was wondering what advice would you give to someone like me? I haven't purchased anything but seen Annova for £50 going locally. Where do I start?

Thanks in advance!

Keep it simple, but on high quality:
1. Forget about the JOBO CPE 2 and the Sous Vide. They are not necessary at all for BW developing for a beginner.
2. As you want to process three films at the same time, buy a JOBO 1540 tank. It is perfect for that. I am using this one, too.
https://www.fotoimpex.de/shop/fotolabor/jobo-1540-4x35mm-tank-entwicklungsdose.html
3. Buy a very good thermometer, it is worth it.
4. Buy a very good book about film development (if you can read German, I could recommend some to you).

Getting very good results in film processing at home is more about knowledge, and less about machinery/equipment.

Cheers, Jan

 

[Timmyjoe]

Keep It Simple Stupid (K.I.S.S.) is my motto. I've got a stainless steel tank and reel. And a 9" round cake pan. And a plastic photography (brown) bottle for the fixer, and a clean plastic milk jug for the Photo-Flo. The bathroom is close to my office. I put the cake pan on my desk, change chemicals in the bathroom and do all the agitation over the cake pan while working on the computer in my office.

Best,
-Tim

 

[Bill Clark]

Stainless, especially 35mm films are more difficult for me to load as they start loading from the center of the reel. Paterson, for me is just easier because of the loading. Tho stainless you can load if the reel is still wet but Paterson plastic reels no.

I use empty 2 liter soda bottles to store my solutions, both stock and working. The type of plastic used doesn’t react with the chemicals I use. And the cap can be used over and over and it seals the bottle really well.

 

[amey]

Thank you everyone! Looking for used paterson tank and reels on ebay etc 🙂

 

[retinax]

Tank and reels are some of the few things where I have some concerns buying used. Patersons can leak from the lid if the casket is worn out (one should store them with the lid off), they can crack and reels can have issues too. I hear the AP is just as good as the Paterson and the reels are a bit easier to load 120 on.
Thermometers for kitchen use work ok, may not be as accurate as those for lab use though. No need for a sous vide thingy for b&w, as others have said. Also I see no need for books, it's not hard to get started. Ilford has good instructions online.

 

[css9450]

I use the stainless tanks and Hewes reels. They're very easy to load. I have the medium tank which will hold two 35mm reels, and the large one which will hold four.... It will do two 120s (or maybe even three?) but I only have one 120 reel, but I have done a 120, a 127 and a 35mm successfully in one tank all at once. As Godfrey said, you have to think about how long it takes to pour the chemicals in and out. Another option is to pre-fill the tank, bring it into the darkroom, load the reels and then drop them into the tank (with it already full of chemicals) before you turn on the lights.

Sometimes getting the water and chemicals to the right temperature can be a struggle. I have seen people set up huge elaborate water tubs, etc, to keep their chemical jugs in. I think temperature management can be the biggest obstacle to successful development, at least it was for me back in H.S. when I had a semester of Photography at school and the water was almost always much too cold. We used to mix up the powdered developer in hot water, cool it in the refrigerator, then mix it with slightly-warm water before using it but it never came out how we wanted!

Nowadays, I just fill a 2-gallon plastic jug with water and store it somewhere where the ambient temperature is 68 degrees (or 20C). In the winter, here at home, the bathroom is the closest. Sometimes the kitchen. I am not opposed to adjusting the thermostat a day ahead of time if the house is too cool. In the summer, the house is much too warm so I bring the water jug and all the other supplies into work with me and do it there; I store the jug and chemicals on the floor in my office and the air conditioning keeps it very close to about 68 or 69 degrees (as long as it is on the floor).

Sounds like a hassle doing my development at my workplace but it really isn't inconvenient, because my "darkroom" is in one of the bathrooms there which has an inner room in it where I can shut the door, so I'm already using it to load my reels anyway. It's handy having keys to the building so I can go in there late at night when no one else is there.

 

[amey]

Thank you everyone for the advice.

I started, it all went smooth from first roll 🙂

Just an iphone scan, waiting on my Nikon macro lens.

 

[amey]

I also ended up buying a Jobo labn kit, quite happy with it