Newbie B+W Development Questions

[raduray]

Never done this before, but I've got my first rangefinder, a Canon 7, on the way and have started doing some research on film development. Thinking about starting out with HP5 and the first thing I need to do is test out the camera within the 30 day return window. I've got an old Epson V500 scanner to digitize the negatives. Lots of question:

There are lots of choices of developer chemicals. What are the pros and cons of various options?
Can you reuse the solution and how do dispose of it responsibly when it's no good?

MassiveDev site has multiple entries for each film/developer/ISO combo. How do you decide dilution-time tradoff? Cost of chemical vs cost of time?

Chemical stop bath or water rinse. Reuse/dispose?

Fix bath seems like you can reuse. How do you dispose if expired

What about monobaths? CineStill Film DF96 has great reviews on BHPhoto.

And finally, I've got a room that is totally dark. Can I use a dim red flashlight so I don't fumble around with loading the tank?

Thanks in advance.

 

[38Deardorff]

Film needs to be loaded onto reels in complete darkness.
It is only during making prints that one uses a safelight.

 

[Godfrey]

I've been processing B&W film at home since shortly before the dinosaurs were scared away by an asteroid... 😉

In my errant youth, I spent a lot of time carefully mixing all manner of different developers and reading time/temperature scales, and hoping to see nirvana appear on my negatives from their differences. By and large, nirvana remained elusive...

For at least thirty years I've processed my film (any/all of my film...) the same way.

- I use a daylight loading tank, some variant of Agfa Rondix 35 or Rondinax 35 or 60. A modern equivalent is the Lab Box by ars imago (available from B&H Photo). No need for a dark room, no concerns with safelights or anything like that. I do my tank loading and film processing on the kitchen counter.

- The standard developer I've used for all this time has been Kodak HC-110, which has been through three reformulations and is now discontinued, and ADOX now makes a syrup HC-110 replica. I've seen a hundred different threads claiming subtlety and nuance differences between various films and various developers, and I've never seen it in any of my negatives when I tried. I have had to learn how each film responds, and how to expose it properly, so maybe that's masking the differences. But... eh? who cares if the photos look like what you want?

- I make a working solution of HC-110 at 1:49.
- I use a non-hardening fixer, Ilford is the current one.
- I don't use stop bath, I use a water rinse.

- When setting up to process film, I fill a 2L bottle with clean water and get all the solutions, and the water, to be 68-70°F.

- Film is loaded into the tank. I develop the film for 9-10 minutes. I do a water rinse. I fix the film for 8 minutes. I save the developer and fixer ... every batch of developer and fixer processes 5 rolls of 135-36 film (or five rolls of 120 film, IF it gets done within a month. If I don't process for a month, I dump it and mix fresh.

- I wash by doing 6 full water changes in the processing tank, with modest agitation for about a minute with each change. The last of those wash cycles, I use a few drops of wetting agent in the water so that it runs off the film evenly and quickly while drying.

- The film is hung to dry in my shower stall and weighted at the bottom so that it doesn't curl up as it dries.

The whole process takes about 25 minutes or so, and the film takes typically an hour or three to dry.

G

 

[johnf04]

I load the tank inside a dark bag. The only solution I control for temperature is the developer - I live in a temperate climate, with a moderate ambient temperature range, and I've seen no ill effects from this. I use Rodinal 1:50 at 20 degrees C to develop - Rodinal won't deteriorate with long storage, and these days I don't develop a lot of films.

 

[MNS]

I've been processing B&W film at home since shortly before the dinosaurs were scared away by an asteroid... 😉

🤣

 

[wlewisiii]

As a beginner use the simplest old fashioned system. HP5 is a reasonable starting point.

Kodak D76. Use it as a one shot. Mix it up as directed, use the times and temperatures from MassiveDev, pour it down the drain after. Rinse. Use fixer. Pour it down the drain. Rinse. Open your tank and keep rinsing. Hang to dry and inspect.

The reason I say dump is that when you are first starting it's cheaper to always be sure your chemicals are fresh than to make mistakes with reuse. You can get into efficiency later. Once your negatives have dried you can learn how ugly scanning with the V500 (or any flatbead) is.

In the end, I take all my film to my local lab for both dunk and scan.

 

[MNS]

the first thing I need to do is test out the camera within the 30 day return window.

I'd be tempted to say, with the 30 day return window on the camera, I would buy a cheap 24 exposure film, shot it and get it sent of for processing.

Worry about developing your own film later, no point in rushing. 😉

 

[p.giannakis]

My suggestion would be to get a developer that doesn't expire. Rodinal and HC110 will stay potent for decades. I have developed HP5 in Rodinal and was... meh... HC110 is much better for my taste.

Here is what you will need. Croissants are optional.



This is how I develop HP5 in HC110.

Dilution 1:50. (6ml developer in 294ml of water)
Overall time: 8mins 00 sec,
Chemicals temperature: 20oc
30sec continuous initial agitation.
3 gentle invertions every minute

Here is a sample picture

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Never done this before, but I've got my first rangefinder, a Canon 7, on the way and have started doing some research on film development. Thinking about starting out with HP5 and the first thing I need to do is test out the camera within the 30 day return window. I've got an old Epson V500 scanner to digitize the negatives. Lots of question:

There are lots of choices of developer chemicals. What are the pros and cons of various options?
Can you reuse the solution and how do dispose of it responsibly when it's no good?

MassiveDev site has multiple entries for each film/developer/ISO combo. How do you decide dilution-time tradoff? Cost of chemical vs cost of time?

Chemical stop bath or water rinse. Reuse/dispose?

Fix bath seems like you can reuse. How do you dispose if expired

What about monobaths? CineStill Film DF96 has great reviews on BHPhoto.

And finally, I've got a room that is totally dark. Can I use a dim red flashlight so I don't fumble around with loading the tank?

Thanks in advance.

Forget the massive developing chart. The best developing chart for HP5 is the one provided by Ilford. Seriously. I'm always amazed how many people will ignore the manufacturer's instructions and go looking at unverified sources like the MDC. I can understand if you're using an obscure developer, but as a beginner you don't want to do that; you want to use a standard normal developer. Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 (they're nearly identical formulas) is the best one to start with. Its a standard, and has been for nearly a century. Probably the world's most popular developer. Its the standard for a reason: It provides excellent image quality, is easy to use, and its not terribly expensive. It comes as a powder you dissolve in hot water. Let it cool overnight and its ready to use. Dilute it 1+1 (use equal parts developer and water). Follow Ilford's developing time recommendation. Here's a link to the Ilford Data Sheet for HP5.

Plain water works fine for stop bath. Fill the tank with running water, dump it out, fill and dump a second time, then pour in your fixer. Its that simple, and it works.

For fixer, use only a rapid fixer like Ilford Rapid Fixer or Kodak Rapid Fixer. Kodak Rapid Fixer comes with a hardener (the Part B bottle); don't use it. Modern films don't need a hardener an it makes washing times longer.

I have been writing tutorials for photography for almost 20 yrs. Here's a video showing the complete film developing process.




And here's one showing how to mix the D-76 powder:




Here's a page with all of my film processing tutorials.

 

[Cascadilla]

Never done this before, but I've got my first rangefinder, a Canon 7, on the way and have started doing some research on film development. Thinking about starting out with HP5 and the first thing I need to do is test out the camera within the 30 day return window. I've got an old Epson V500 scanner to digitize the negatives. Lots of question:

There are lots of choices of developer chemicals. What are the pros and cons of various options?
Can you reuse the solution and how do dispose of it responsibly when it's no good?

MassiveDev site has multiple entries for each film/developer/ISO combo. How do you decide dilution-time tradoff? Cost of chemical vs cost of time?

Chemical stop bath or water rinse. Reuse/dispose?

Fix bath seems like you can reuse. How do you dispose if expired

What about monobaths? CineStill Film DF96 has great reviews on BHPhoto.

And finally, I've got a room that is totally dark. Can I use a dim red flashlight so I don't fumble around with loading the tank?

Thanks in advance.

If you're concerned about testing the camera within the return period, then shoot a short roll of film and have it developed and scanned or printed by a reliable lab to evaluate it. If you haven't developed your own film before then there are plenty of mistakes to make and that might cause you to think that the camera is at fault when it might not be. Also, do you already own an accurate light meter? The Canon 7 has a selenium meter that may or may not have aged well, so you will want to check that against a reliable meter. If the camera checks out the by all means developing your own B&W film is pretty easy and economical--follow Chris's tutorials and you should be fine.

 

[agentlossing]

DF96 Monobath is a pretty good developer, but once you open it the clock starts to tick. I've gotten mine to last a fairly long time (maybe six months, maybe longer, can't remember) with minimal oxygen exposure, but if you only occasionally develop, it's probably more efficient to get some Rodinal, and fixer (I recommend Eco Pro Neutral Rapid Fixer). Those two chemicals are really all you need (a final rinse solution is nice to have, but distilled water with or without the slightest drop of dish soap works in a pinch).

 

[Ko.Fe.]

If you value your tine, no developer will save it.

Take it easy with bw you don't have to be very precise.

Make sure film is bathed in PhotoFlo and you use rocker blower with soft gloves to handle negatives while scanning.

Film is never about saving time. It is time wasting. If you want save money use bulk loading and Kentmere. Arista.
Here is no huge difference.
Do not get caught in emulsion differences.

For easy developing use HC-110. and rapid fixer.

Devlop in two reels tanks.

This will save some time, but it is still waste of it.

 

[steveyork]

I echo the choice of Rodinal or HC-110 as developers. They're liquid, you don't have to mix them, and they have a long shelf life. I would use Rodinal since it's such a classic look. 1:50 is sort of standard, 1:25 concentration is shorter development times and more contrast. But really, you just need to get it and experiment. A fixer TD-4 or TD-5 and you can skip the stop bath. Develop, fix, wash. Fixer can be reused. Use a dark bag to load film onto the developing reels.

Watch some YouTube videos. It's really very simple. I used to be pretty pedantic and detailed about film developing but mostly now I just wing it. You'll develop a sixth sense, sort of like cooking.

So, don't overthink it. It's very hard to screw up. If your measurements or temps or off a little -- or even off a lot -- you'll still get very useable negatives.

Just make sure your chemicals are adequately fresh (Rodinal and HC110 last a long time), and don't open the development tank before the film is developed (I did that once or twice). Have fun, experiment, find what works for you. No one correct answer.

Having said that, it's probably good idea to follow someone's formula when starting and keep notes. Just realize, the formula is not woo, woo magic. If you're off a bit, no big deal. You'll still get printable negs.

 

[DownUnder]

My suggestion would be to get a developer that doesn't expire. Rodinal and HC110 will stay potent for decades. I have developed HP5 in Rodinal and was... meh... HC110 is much better for my taste.

Here is what you will need. Croissants are optional.

View attachment 4870680

This is how I develop HP5 in HC110.

Dilution 1:50. (6ml developer in 294ml of water)
Overall time: 8mins 00 sec,
Chemicals temperature: 20oc
30sec continuous initial agitation.
3 gentle invertions every minute

Here is a sample picture

View attachment 4870681

Croissants are never ever optional!! Ideally with good French jam. (My preference is fig, followed by apricot.)

Over the decades I've played with almost every conceivable film developing method, including see-sawing 616 and 116 emulsion in a tray in my darkroom - in total darkness of course, with my kid brother outside in the hall with my watch, carefully timing until the developing ended and he would screech "stop now! stop now!" and I would plunge the strip of film in a bucket of vinegar and water, usually several degrees colder than the developer (this was in Canada after all where summer day temperatures are close to that we like to drink water) and then in a tray of fixer for at least five minutes of more of the same see-sawing. It's a miracle my fingernails didn't fall off.

In 2003 I lucked into a sale on Job Duolabs which were being dumped in Australia by Jobs due to no interest from pros. Bought two (I've sold one) and all my film processing woes, notably inconsistent contrast, ended from that day. They take about 15 minutes to set up and an hour for the water bath and chemo to warm up but otherwise they are dirt-easy to operate - I'm told the heating system was derived from that used in home coffee makers of the day - and they keep the chemo at an even and stable temperature, which makes all the difference. Three slots for processing paper were more difficult for me to work with so I quickly went back to the tray system, but I've really not made anything other than 4x5 (one 8x10 sheet of enlarging paper cut into four pieces) since I retired in 2012, I now scan everything and if I want prints to give away I get them done on one of the Fuji printing machines at Harvey Norman's in the CBD Melbourne.

As for developers, I've tried them all. Agfa Atomas was my favourite for several decades until it went out of production in the late '90s. Those I've stayed longest with were the Thornton two bath, Beutler's, the old Agfa Ansco MQ, and of course D76/ID11. I mix them all at home from basic chemistry which I have a seemingly bottomless supply of.

I also use a three minute water bath before processing, which may or may not mean anything. Jury is out on this.

Just one old guy's film processing methods. Tried and tested since 1961. Now and then I sell a B&W image so I must have been doing a few things right all along (self pat on the back)...