Rehash(?): Difference between Jobo 1500 vs 2500 series

[roscoetuff]

So as I'm trying to figure Uniroller agitation and not as impressed that my Paterson's are going to get the job done without some issues - partially due to the way chemistry flows through the funnel into the cap area, I'm trying to figure out the difference between 1500 and 2500 series Jobo tanks and reels. Looks like a diameter size thing.

I'm seeing folks use both 1500 and 2500 systems. I'm shooting 35mm and 120 roll, and am used to one film per reel. I understand some Jobo reels will cram 2 120 films onto one reel. CatLabs site and Jobo site don't seem to give a whole lot of enlightenment on the differences. System ain't cheap, so there'd seem to be a premium on "getting it right" the first time. THoughts?

 

[Nokton48]

Here is my JOBO Multitank 6 and #2502 reels. It covers 120, 35mm, and I even modified one to fit the wider 70mm bulk film. Also shown is a 16mm JOBO reel so this tank does it all; even 6x9cm, 9x12, and 4x5 sheet film. I also have the Multitank 5, which is the shorter version of the Multitanks. And Yes it works with a Uniroller with no issues for me.

As long as the #2502's have the little red clips on them, you can run two rolls of 120 per reel. Which makes sense cause they also do 220. So eight rolls of 120 per Multitank 6 run which is darn good production in my eyes. 🙂

Jobo 2502 70mm Reel Modification by Nokton48, on Flickr

You can see the marks from the Uniroller on my tank.

A Multitank 5 or 6 and #2502 reels is what you would need. Patterson long tanks I have used on the Uniroller but that was back in the '70s.

I think the 1500 series is the older stuff and I have no interest in that.

 

[Nokton48]

Here's some JOBO #2502 reels for a fair price IMO. In fact I just bought three of them myself. This Guy has many more to sell. Not affiliated with the seller :/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jobo-2502-R...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

[roscoetuff]

Nokton: Do you have the "Inversion Top" or the "Geared/Cog Top"? Not sure there's a difference that matters for this process... so long as you have an inversion cap; or does it matter?

My issue has been that I'm getting a reverse square vignette on my negatives. Not sure why. Don't get it with hand agitation / inversion. So I'm wondering whether there's a way these tanks assure either that the reels don't revolve within the tank in a reverse direction (countering the intended rotation), or clip together, or what. Since the Paterson's really aren't designed for rotation, there really is not a built-in design to overcome this potential for error.

Thanks for your reply. This is quite helpful. Will check out the reels. Thanks!

 

[Nokton48]

When I get a JOBO lid with the cog, I always convert it to the orange inversion lid. Instructions are simple, easy to do. The orange tops are fifteen bucks brand new and easy to find.

Make sure you get a tank with a center column. The reels do not slide around inside the tank, they are tightly fixed down.

See here to knock out the cog lid. Takes about a minute, you need a screwdriver and rubber mallet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGWEGjoWNmQ

 

[roscoetuff]

Nok: Thanks! The NOT rolling around thing seems essential. Am going to get into these! Thanks!

 

[roscoetuff]

Sooooooooooo.... have ordered 4 reels and a Mutlitank 5 to give it a whirl. We'll see what happens in a week or so. Thanks!

 

[giganova]

I absolutely love my JOBO 1500 system. But I wish they had made one tank that holds 4 or 6 135 reels, not just the 1530 or 1540 "extension" tubes.

 

[sevo]

It is merely a matter of diameter. The 1500 series are narrow, the 2500 series wide. For many purposes they are interchangeable, as they are modular, and either can take a CPx/ATL processor cog cap or hand processing lid.

The 1500 are the size and volume of most small hand tanks (Patterson, Nikor etc., about 250ml per roll), so they fit most common hand processing recipes. The 2500 tanks are primarily intended for rotation processing (where the chemicals volume of the former laying on the side would be too small - on a processor the 15xx take only about 170ml/film before spilling over, and a mere 145ml for agitation to spec).

Personally I do not use the 1500 on the processor (they are too small volume for consistent E6 and one shot developers), but they are my main tanks for black and white (HC-110 etc.) hand development. I do use the 2500 for all things colour on the processor, and for hand development whenever the volume of the narrow tanks is below spec - e.g. for 1+3 XTOL. And of course for sheet film (sheet film reels only exist in 2500).

28xx are paper drums from the same series - the base drums are actually the same as the longer 25xx drums (so they have completely mixed up in my set), but they come with the wrong (cup) lid, no funnel and no reels. There also are oversize 30xx "expert" drums for sheet film and paper, but I always found them cumbersome to (un)load. The entire Jobo 15xx/25xx/20xx/30xx series are "new" style - that is, snap on lid, compatible with the Jobo Lift and ATL automatic processors. The predecessors (built from the fifties to mid eighties, only compatible where the reels are concerned) were screw lid tanks, the 10xx/12xx/20xx/22xx series.

 

[roscoetuff]

sevo: All I can say is that I am very much looking forward to receiving a new 2500 tank and a bunch of gently used reels. Seems like I'm quickly moving to settle the remaining processing issues wtih this move and that's a very good thing.

Next up is solving a few scanning issues, zone testing, long exposures, creative use of flash, etc. But heck, I'm just enjoying the heck out of the whole film process... to such an extent that while I think digital is interesting, good, and convenient... and even useful at times, film is fun and I love how it challenges me to up my game. Returning to film is one of the happiest decisions I've made in a long, long time.