Selling up

[android]

Well, after the frustration of ruining yet another film while trying to load it into a development tank I've decided enough is enough. I'm going to sell my Zeiss ZI and Biogon 2/35 lens.

Do you guys have any recommendations on price and best place to sell (I assume here)? The camera is around a year old and still in near mint condition (as is the lens). I have the original packaging for both items too.

I sell the kit with a heavy heart as I do love using it but I just can't handle the disappointment of ruining another film in the changing bag - darkrooms were so much easier to work in than home conditions and I'm just not cutting it any more..

Many thanks
Andy

 

[Mcary]

Well, after the frustration of ruining yet another film while trying to load it into a development tank I've decided enough is enough. I'm going to sell my Zeiss ZI and Biogon 2/35 lens.

Do you guys have any recommendations on price and best place to sell (I assume here)? The camera is around a year old and still in near mint condition (as is the lens). I have the original packaging for both items too.

I sell the kit with a heavy heart as I do love using it but I just can't handle the disappointment of ruining another film in the changing bag - darkrooms were so much easier to work in than home conditions and I'm just not cutting it any more..

Many thanks
Andy

Andy,

Does your house or apartment have an interior bathroom or large closet? If so just turn off the lights in the bathroom/closet and ajoining room and stuff a couple of dark towels under the door. If you're still worried about light leak then just do all your processing late at night 🙂

 

[bmattock]

With regard to the development crisis, I can only suggest that if you were willing to have another go, the Kodakcraft 'aprons' in place of reels end the pain of ruining film forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_TDLaufDw

Unlike reels (plastic or stainless steel), you cannot misload it. Arista (Freestyle) sells a cheap Chinese version, or you can buy the original 1950's Kodacraft tanks and aprons on eBay for next to nothing. Seriously, you can't mess it up.

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

 

[arseniii]

... or you can pay 4$-5$ more and send it to the lab! Don't sell anything with Zeiss written on it!!!

 

[Zero Nakajima]

Clark Photo and York Labs (same company) still process B/W film (non C-41) via mail for about $6 per roll WITH prints.

Google them for their websites, then look at the price list.

On the other hand, dump the junk if you don't like it. Stop being a luddite and get a real camera.

 

[Zero Nakajima]

Oops, sorry, I see you're in the UK. Rip-off Britain doesn't have a cheap lab.

 

[android]

Andy,

Does your house or apartment have an interior bathroom or large closet? If so just turn off the lights in the bathroom/closet and ajoining room and stuff a couple of dark towels under the door. If you're still worried about light leak then just do all your processing late at night 🙂

Thanks for the advice Mike,

All of the rooms in this flat would take a lot of shoring up to block out all of the light and central London streetlights probably rule out night-time work.

ATM, I'm so frustrated with things that I just want to sell the kit and wait until some digital camera that I actually want comes along.

--Andy

 

[mgd711]

I can only assume you are using poor quality reels.

You have a couple off options,

1. As Bill said use the Apron's

2. Try a different type of reel.

3. Buy a Harrison Tent. (Standard size is more than enough). I have a darkroom but still prefer to load film into tanks in the comfort of my office using the tent.

DO NOT give up just yet.

 

[android]

... or you can pay 4$-5$ more and send it to the lab! Don't sell anything with Zeiss written on it!!!

I was using a pretty good lab here but the high price just didn't make sense. I also found that my own developing produced better results.

 

[android]

I can only assume you are using poor quality reels.

You have a couple off options,

1. As Bill said use the Apron's

2. Try a different type of reel.

3. Buy a Harrison Tent. (Standard size is more than enough). I have a darkroom but still prefer to load film into tanks in the comfort of my office using the tent.

DO NOT give up just yet.

I had a cheap Jessops (UK camera store chain) dev tank that I couldn't work with. I then replaced that with a Patterson set that seems to be highly rated. Still I struggle.

It took me about four weeks to complete this last roll of film so losing it while trying to load it for development is not a pleasant experience.

Thanks for the support though - I may sleep on it but expect that I'll end up going for a digital solution.

--Andy

 

[f16sunshine]

Sorry for your frustration. I agree with Nikonwebmaster here. It is really not very difficult to lightproof a closet or bathroom. There must be over a million bathroom/darkrooms out there. If your set on getting out of film. I'll trade you a lightly used 5D and 50mm for your ZI and Biogon 😉 Take that as an offer or challenge. Whichever inspires you.

 

[android]

With regard to the development crisis, I can only suggest that if you were willing to have another go, the Kodakcraft 'aprons' in place of reels end the pain of ruining film forever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7_TDLaufDw

Unlike reels (plastic or stainless steel), you cannot misload it. Arista (Freestyle) sells a cheap Chinese version, or you can buy the original 1950's Kodacraft tanks and aprons on eBay for next to nothing. Seriously, you can't mess it up.

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

Thanks for the advice Bill. I've not seen the 'Kodakcraft aprons' before. I'll have a think about things for a day or so and if I decide to keep the kit then I may see if I can pick one of these up. It is only the film loading step in the whole process that I struggle with so if I could get that working then I'd be happy to carry on using film.

--Andy

 

[android]

I have to jump in with a "don't give up yet" as well.

Take a roll of film and sacrifice it. Load a reel out in the open, in the daytime, sitting on your sofa twenty times - or until you get the hang of it. It's really not that hard and once you nail it, you can do it in the dark, blindfolded, in a changing bag. 😉

The thing is that I used to be able to do this easily. It's just that I don't shoot as much as I used to and I think the infrequency is causing me to struggle nowadays.

 

[mgd711]

The Patterson reels are good but you need to practice with a sacrificed roll off film. Just buy a cheap roll of colour and play with that.

I started with the 'AP' type plastic reels which are probably easier to learn with as they have large plastic tabs to start the film on the reel.

 

[android]

On the other hand, dump the junk if you don't like it. Stop being a luddite and get a real camera.

Heh, any recommendations then? What does one replace a Zeiss Ikon ZI with. That's the other dilemma..

 

[35mmdelux]

One word: learning curve.

Once you acheive the learning curve your prints will probably fantastic. It took me 3 years to get the proverbial handle on my Leica. Piece of cake now.

 

[android]

Well there you go. You KNOW you can do this. You just need practice - and like I said, do it sitting on your couch. Start with your eyes open so you can see what's going on. Then close your eyes and practice some more.

I know you're right ;-) I'm just fed up at the moment..

 

[mfunnell]

I have to jump in with a "don't give up yet" as well.

Take a roll of film and sacrifice it. Load a reel out in the open, in the daytime, sitting on your sofa twenty times - or until you get the hang of it. It's really not that hard and once you nail it, you can do it in the dark, blindfolded, in a changing bag. 😉

I'll endorse that approach. I have a practice roll that I use out in the open, then in the changing bag, each time I've not developed for a while. I find that helps me and my fingers remember how things work, and also builds confidence.

The other thing I've found is that if a film isn't feeding well, patience and persistence, and doing it over again from scratch until it "just feels right" have always repaid the effort.

...Mike

 

[android]

I'll endorse that approach. I have a practice roll that I use out in the open, then in the changing bag, each time I've not developed for a while. I find that helps me and my fingers remember how things work, and also builds confidence.

The other thing I've found is that if a film isn't feeding well, patience and persistence, and doing it over again from scratch until it "just feels right" have always repaid the effort.

...Mike

The loading seems fairly simple but I find that the film fails to 'catch' about half way through the process. At that point the only approach seems to be to remove the film completely and restart. All the time the bag gets hotter and the film more tacky. That seems to be about the way it always goes..

 

[peripatetic]

Hmm, unfortunately my camera fund is rather depleted at the moment - otherwise I'd meet you and take it off your hands. 🙂

If you fancy trading in for digital then a nice Nikon D700, Canon 5D or 5D2, or even a Sony A900 would all work quite nicely. You'd probably want to choose your lens first then get a camera to match. They're bigger though!!

There is an alternative however - use one of the BW C-41 films, and get it developed at a high-street lab then scan. That's what I'm doing and it's working just fine. 🙂 I'm very partial to the Kodak BW400CN and you can get it pretty cheap online from 7-day shop.