OmegaB600
Newbie
Ive seen people get usable negatives from that caffenol stuff, i couldnt at all.
Ive seen people use that cinestill monobath as a film developer. I could develop film, but the results were bad.. lots of odd highlights, etc on things that had no highlights..
Now I developed a roll of kodak 5222, aka double XX. Now i have only shot 3 home rolls of it now. first roll jammed in the camera and i had to kill it to get it out. camera is more important than a roll of film. Second roll i developed in ilford HC. it did not go well, wrong time i guess.
Today i shot a roll, carefully exposed at 200 iso in my light meter. I got some nice macro shots on flowers and bees being bees on said flowers. New buds opening up, etc.
I developed it with rodinal 1:50. gave it 10 minutes as the recipe stated too, photrio post by their "do not disagree with this user or you account is deleted" person of authority. at 9:45 i started pouring the developer out, to get full empty. Then i poured in home made citric acid stop bath.
1 tea spoon in 500ml. The minute it was in the tank, the stop and tank went from no smell, to reaking of BOILING VINEGAR. I mean it was stronger then the smell of undiluted ilford rapid stop. I poured it out after fixing. The smell stayed.
I I fixed for 7 minutes with ilford rapidfixer. I got the first bath of water in, and had to help in the kitchen. And poured the 1st rinse out after a total of 20minutes. It came out like red koolaid.
The film turned out crap.. Barely see anything on it, have to hold it special way to the light, and it looks like crap.
wastd day wasted film, wasted time.
Did learn, no more home made stop bath
Ive seen people use that cinestill monobath as a film developer. I could develop film, but the results were bad.. lots of odd highlights, etc on things that had no highlights..
Now I developed a roll of kodak 5222, aka double XX. Now i have only shot 3 home rolls of it now. first roll jammed in the camera and i had to kill it to get it out. camera is more important than a roll of film. Second roll i developed in ilford HC. it did not go well, wrong time i guess.
Today i shot a roll, carefully exposed at 200 iso in my light meter. I got some nice macro shots on flowers and bees being bees on said flowers. New buds opening up, etc.
I developed it with rodinal 1:50. gave it 10 minutes as the recipe stated too, photrio post by their "do not disagree with this user or you account is deleted" person of authority. at 9:45 i started pouring the developer out, to get full empty. Then i poured in home made citric acid stop bath.
1 tea spoon in 500ml. The minute it was in the tank, the stop and tank went from no smell, to reaking of BOILING VINEGAR. I mean it was stronger then the smell of undiluted ilford rapid stop. I poured it out after fixing. The smell stayed.
I I fixed for 7 minutes with ilford rapidfixer. I got the first bath of water in, and had to help in the kitchen. And poured the 1st rinse out after a total of 20minutes. It came out like red koolaid.
The film turned out crap.. Barely see anything on it, have to hold it special way to the light, and it looks like crap.
wastd day wasted film, wasted time.
Did learn, no more home made stop bath
Horatio
Masked photographer
Sorry to hear of your troubles. I had good results with caffenol and DF96. Stand development with Rodinal? That's another story! Don't give up.
Ko.Fe.
Lenses 35/21 Gears 46/20
If you need pictures, use only well known chemical and use them as in the instructions.
You don't really need stop bath, btw. Just water is enough.
And here is no need for fartio (ex-apug) if you need more than instructions, use massive dev chart web page or app.
You don't really need stop bath, btw. Just water is enough.
And here is no need for fartio (ex-apug) if you need more than instructions, use massive dev chart web page or app.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
If you're a beginner, my recommendation is to get some normal B&W film. Kodak Tri-X or Tmax 400 are both good. Then get a standard B&W developer. D-76 is a good one to start with. Develop using the developing times the manufacturer recommends. Use water instad of stop bath. Fil the tank with water, pour it out, then fill and pour again; then put in the fixer. You should get good results. Don't bother with exotic processes or chemicals or homemade stuff when you're learning; that just introduces more complications and sources of possible failure.
Mcary
Well-known
Agree with Chris regarding D-76 and highly recommend ADOX D-76 due to fact that it can be mixed a much lower temp then Kodak D-76.
OmegaB600
Newbie
not a fan of powdered developr. I do have a packet of ID-11 but im waiting on using it.. Id like to figure out this problem with chemicals first.
Since I posted this originally, I just went back to the stop bath, and it no longer SMELLS of vinegar. And its cleared up. When i made it and poured it in the film tank, it was clear. When I poured it out it looked like Squirt.
Same appearance when I poured it ouf of my paper tubes the last 3 times i made a print.. I think it is something in the citric acid. Turns out the company used 2% silicon dioxide as anti caking agent. Perhaps the issue.
Since I posted this originally, I just went back to the stop bath, and it no longer SMELLS of vinegar. And its cleared up. When i made it and poured it in the film tank, it was clear. When I poured it out it looked like Squirt.
Same appearance when I poured it ouf of my paper tubes the last 3 times i made a print.. I think it is something in the citric acid. Turns out the company used 2% silicon dioxide as anti caking agent. Perhaps the issue.
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
Developing film isn't rocket science, but it requires, even demands precision. And discipline. Watch the temperatures, keep all your solutions at an even temp. Plan your workflow at 20C/68F if you can. If you can't, go online and work out how to adjust your processing time according to the temperature you process at. This is important, even crucial, for optimum results.
As someone else here has already posted - D76 as your developer. Rapidfix. Miss STRICTLY according to instructions. Avoid any impulsive experimentation.
There is no need for you to use stop bath. Thanks to friends who gave up their darkrooms I have a lifetime supply of the stuff (the Kodak brand), so I use it. At half the recommended dilution. A friend who gets the finest results I've seen on all his films, puts a scant teaspoon of domestic vinegar in one later of water in his after-developer rinse water. His results are, as I said, superb.
Start small, learn as you go, move up from there. And READ EVERYTHING that comes with the packet!
Before you process any valuable films, do a test roll. Expose at various ISOs, like two above the box rate, then two under. Process normally. Evaluate your results.
As someone else here has already posted - D76 as your developer. Rapidfix. Miss STRICTLY according to instructions. Avoid any impulsive experimentation.
There is no need for you to use stop bath. Thanks to friends who gave up their darkrooms I have a lifetime supply of the stuff (the Kodak brand), so I use it. At half the recommended dilution. A friend who gets the finest results I've seen on all his films, puts a scant teaspoon of domestic vinegar in one later of water in his after-developer rinse water. His results are, as I said, superb.
Start small, learn as you go, move up from there. And READ EVERYTHING that comes with the packet!
Before you process any valuable films, do a test roll. Expose at various ISOs, like two above the box rate, then two under. Process normally. Evaluate your results.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
We told you how to solve your chemical issues. Use a standard developer, not some homebrew crap. Skip the stop bath and use plain water. Use a normal film, not a repurposed movie film. Follow the manufacturer's recommended developing time for the film using the developer you choose. If you don't want to use a powdered developer, get some Tmax Developer. It works well for most films. It is expensive, but it is good and easy to use.
If you still don't get good results, then developing is not your issue. If a standard film like Tmax or Tri-X gives you results with barely any image even after developing the way I just told you to, then you're severely underexposing your film. Have your camera checked out to see if its meter is accurate and the shutter is working correctly.
By the way, Photrio does not have a "do not disagree with this user or you account is deleted" person. I've been there nearly 20 yrs.
wlewisiii
Just another hotel clerk
My best luck over the years has always been with basic films - PlusX when they still made it, HP5, FP4, PANF now - and the either D76 or Diafine. I use D76 as an old fashioned one shot, straight book times when I have something I don't know how it's going to work. I use it by the old Yellow father's directions and it goes straight down the drain when done.
Diafine, OTOH, is my preferred chemistry but it takes fiddling to learn. But once you do, it's a fun little bit of chemical magic. HP5 at EI800 is nice (nothing will ever replace PlusX at EI400 though...) and the negs scan delightfully.
Diafine, OTOH, is my preferred chemistry but it takes fiddling to learn. But once you do, it's a fun little bit of chemical magic. HP5 at EI800 is nice (nothing will ever replace PlusX at EI400 though...) and the negs scan delightfully.
Muggins
Junk magnet
Silicon dioxide is inert, that's why windows get made out of it (that and it's see-through). Your only issue with that is that you will have some insoluble powder at the bottom of your solution. Unless, of course, you are heating it hot enough to melt glass...
But, as Chris says, stop bath is an extra, not an essential. You can do without. He's right - go back to basics, get those right, when it all works you can play with homebrew etc (I know this, I've done it myself).
DownUnder
Nikon Nomad
After rereading all your posts, I second the thought put to you here by at least one poster, that your processing isn't your main problem. Obviously from what you've written, it's a part of it. But this can be simply dealt with by just reading the instructions of the chemistry packs you use, and following those.
Either your camera or your workflow is stuffing up your results.
The camera can be easily checked. Get two rolls of conventional film (either ISO 100-125 or 400 will do) and load your camera with the first roll. Set up the camera (ideally on a tripod) to take one scene only. Do not handhold the camera and aim it all over the place for this test as this will give you incorrect results. The scene has to be, must be, the same for all the images you take.
Set the camera's meter on the film's box speed. Then rrun the camera through all its speeds. For example, 1 second @ f/22, 1/2 second @ f/16, 1/4 second at f/11, etc etc, depending on your meter readings. You may miss one or two of the higher speeds, but well, who uses those much anyway? I seem to photograph everything at 1/250 at f/5.6 anyway, and I reckon all my cameras are now firmly stuck on this setting.
A small disclaimer here. Auto-everything cameras usually micromanage the shutter speeds. But I reckon you should still do this test anyway, if only for the experience of it. Set the camera on A. (= aperture). Maybe write down a list of the speeds the camera auto-sets as you adjust the f/stops. They should be exactly 2x up or 2x down the previous speed - I hope this makes sense to you. It does to me, but I really don't feel up to explaining it to you. Just trust me on this.
Process this film normally. Maybe mix up your packet of ID 11 (remember to FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS) and use it at 20C or close thereto. Evaluate the results.
If your negatives are all the same, your camera's speeds and/or the metering are fine. If any are underexposed or overexposed, then that one speed is most likely off. This will mean a repair, or if you are in a super-cranky mood, maybe a new camera... 🤬
If all is okay, load the second roll. Set the meter at box speed. Expose from one full stop under to one full stop over, which will mean seven separate negatives. With ISO 100 film, this will give you results covering ISO 200-160-125-100-80-64-50. You can then decide which speed suits you by giving you the negatives to make your best prints.
As I wrote before, it ain't rocket science. But it works. You may or you may not get something out of all this, but it's a fun way to use up two rolls of film, and indulge in a disciplined workflow in your darkroom.
You will learn a lot from this.
I will spare you any more lectures on your processing workflow. We have given you a lot of good advice already. It's now up to you to follow it, as they say in Aussie sports, strewth! mate, the ball is in your court.
Chris Crawford, who has replied to your posts in this thread, has many excellent essays on film and darkroom procedures and processes on his web site. Check out his tutorial on film processing. I haven't visited his site for some time but I did just now, and I will be returning to it to refresh my learning about many things, notably scanning. For all your good work on our behalf, Chris, many thanks!
Either your camera or your workflow is stuffing up your results.
The camera can be easily checked. Get two rolls of conventional film (either ISO 100-125 or 400 will do) and load your camera with the first roll. Set up the camera (ideally on a tripod) to take one scene only. Do not handhold the camera and aim it all over the place for this test as this will give you incorrect results. The scene has to be, must be, the same for all the images you take.
Set the camera's meter on the film's box speed. Then rrun the camera through all its speeds. For example, 1 second @ f/22, 1/2 second @ f/16, 1/4 second at f/11, etc etc, depending on your meter readings. You may miss one or two of the higher speeds, but well, who uses those much anyway? I seem to photograph everything at 1/250 at f/5.6 anyway, and I reckon all my cameras are now firmly stuck on this setting.
A small disclaimer here. Auto-everything cameras usually micromanage the shutter speeds. But I reckon you should still do this test anyway, if only for the experience of it. Set the camera on A. (= aperture). Maybe write down a list of the speeds the camera auto-sets as you adjust the f/stops. They should be exactly 2x up or 2x down the previous speed - I hope this makes sense to you. It does to me, but I really don't feel up to explaining it to you. Just trust me on this.
Process this film normally. Maybe mix up your packet of ID 11 (remember to FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS) and use it at 20C or close thereto. Evaluate the results.
If your negatives are all the same, your camera's speeds and/or the metering are fine. If any are underexposed or overexposed, then that one speed is most likely off. This will mean a repair, or if you are in a super-cranky mood, maybe a new camera... 🤬
If all is okay, load the second roll. Set the meter at box speed. Expose from one full stop under to one full stop over, which will mean seven separate negatives. With ISO 100 film, this will give you results covering ISO 200-160-125-100-80-64-50. You can then decide which speed suits you by giving you the negatives to make your best prints.
As I wrote before, it ain't rocket science. But it works. You may or you may not get something out of all this, but it's a fun way to use up two rolls of film, and indulge in a disciplined workflow in your darkroom.
You will learn a lot from this.
I will spare you any more lectures on your processing workflow. We have given you a lot of good advice already. It's now up to you to follow it, as they say in Aussie sports, strewth! mate, the ball is in your court.
Chris Crawford, who has replied to your posts in this thread, has many excellent essays on film and darkroom procedures and processes on his web site. Check out his tutorial on film processing. I haven't visited his site for some time but I did just now, and I will be returning to it to refresh my learning about many things, notably scanning. For all your good work on our behalf, Chris, many thanks!
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