Shoebox Film Dev Kit

[Rogier]

I would like to develop my own film again. Unfortunately we live in a small condo with little room to spare.
I can load the film onto reels using a bag or tent and process on the kitchen counter. But the everything has to fit back into something the size of a shoebox 😱

What tank and reels are recommended to develop 2 rolls of 120 Film?
I prefer to shoot Ilford HP5, what developer is best to mix enough for that tank so there is no need to store a large bottle of premix?

Same for Stop and Fix bath...

 

[Florian1234]

My lab stuff is in a kind of shoebox, too. Fits in everything except from the larger bottles for the gallon of D-76. I use a Jobo tank for 2 rolls (either 35mm or 120, never did 120 though)

 

[Rogier]

Its the Gallon bottles I would like to avoid.

 

[charjohncarter]

I have to use a case of wine box.

 

[Rogier]

OK the wine box case might fit as well but what's in it ?-)

 

[lorenzo1910]

No gallons bottles?
Go "one shot" Rodinal and small bottles for stop bath and fixer...

Edit: this could be fine for 35mm film...maybe 120 needs more liquid 🙁

 

[Mcary]

OK the wine box case might fit as well but what's in it ?-)

The following will easily fit within a 12x12x12 inch space

Paterson #116 Multireel 3 Film Developing Tank without Reels - Model# 116 33.99 $33.99 Delete Arista Premium Hypo Wash
32 oz. (Makes 11 Gallons) - Model# 6732 18.99 $18.99 Delete Ilford Ilfotec DD-X Film Developer 1 Liter to make 5 Liters - Model# 1921599 17.99 $17.99 Delete Arista Premium Odorless Liquid Fixer
32 oz. concentrate to make 2.5 gallons. - Model# 6200 11.99 $11.99 Delete Arista Premium Odorless Stop Bath
16 oz. (Makes 4 Gallons) - Model# 6511 11.09 $11.09 Delete Arista Graduated Cylinder 1000ml - Model# 173100 9.99 $29.97 Delete Arista Flo Wetting Agent - 16 oz. - Model# 6173 6.99 $6.99 Delete Arista Air-Evac Bottle 1 Liter - Model# 5141 6.99 $27.96 Delete
Store all the bottles in the box and get a plastic tub that will slide down inside to act as a lid and place the tank, reels mixing graduates in that.

Note: of course any chemicals in similar sized bottles can be used 🙂

 

[Kristopher]

You don't need a larger patterson tank to process 2x 120 films.

A tank that uses only one reel 120 (or 2 135) will suffice.

You simply have to load the two film one after the other, like if it was a 220 film. There is two methods to do that:

1- You wind the first one, then push it again and again with your fingers until it reaches the end of the spiral, then you load the second one as usuall.

2- As for the second method, you have to keep the little piece of tape that was retaining the film on the backing paper. You wind the first film almost completely, then you stick the tape at the end, stick the start of the new film on it and wind completely. Bascally you are making a 220 from a 120.

However, as for the second method, you have to align film properly so that they don't jam in when winding the reel and you put the tape EMULSION side. This way, if it unstick a little, it will touch only the film base and will have no adverse effect on developpement. Also, agitate with inversion, to avoid putting too much stress on the films.

It's not very hard, you just have to practice a little in the dark first, and I never had real issue with any of the method. The only time I got it wrong, was that by using the method 1 and I didn't pushed it far enough, so the last frames were overlapping.

Usuall disclamer and all.... and all...

 

[Rogier]

Mike,

Thanks for all the information!

What developer do you recommend that I can mix just enough to fill that tank for a one time use only?

 

[FrankS]

HC-110 is a liquid concentrate one shot developer that has a great shelf life and gives great results with HP5+.

 

[Mablo]

HC-110 or Rodinal are both liquid one shot developers. Both are very good. Rodinal bottle is a bit smaller. Btw. you don't need stop bath. Plain water does it. Get a set of beakers you can stack to save room and you can almost fit your set into a shoebox.

 

[imokruok]

Or if you want to use a stop bath, make it with white vinegar from the kitchen - then it doesn't count as part of the shoebox. 😉

 

[wgerrard]

I would like to develop my own film again. Unfortunately we live in a small condo with little room to spare.

I'm in a similar situation. My stuff fits in a little plastic dish pan. Developer stays in the fridge. You can buy space by mixing things in small amounts, hence, small bottles. Dry developers, etc., take up less room than their liquid counterparts while waiting to be mixed

 

[wgerrard]

Its the Gallon bottles I would like to avoid.

You can buy small packages of D-76 that make one liter of stock.

 

[rxmd]

I was once travelling with a friend who had an entire medium format lab for film and paper processing in a small brown leather suitcase, sort of 1.5 shoeboxes. He used the following:

- Small Jobo tank with one 120 spool. Jobo makes spools that take two 120 films; you spool in one film, then you flip in a little plastic tag that prevents them from overlapping, then you spool in the second one.
- Rodinal as a one-shot developer.
- No stop bath - water does the job.
- Some kind of cheap hypo fixer.
- Mixing cup.
- A small glass frame for making contact prints of individual negatives.
- Print-out paper that doesn't need a developer. Basically it's a very slow photographic paper. You put a negative on the paper, put it in daylight, wait a few minutes, and when it looks good you put it in the fixer.
- A tray for fixing the print.
- Assorted small stuff: funnel, thermometer, clamp, tape (to stick the wet paper to a surface for drying) etc.

No enlarger of course, that would have been too large.

When he was travelling, he would make 6x6 contact prints in hotel rooms. You could even send them home as postcards.

 

[Mcary]

You can buy small packages of D-76 that make one liter of stock.

The following powdered developers are available in 1 liter packets

Ilford ID 11, Microphen, Perceptol,

The following powdered developers are available in 1 quart cans

Acufine, Diafine,

I'm sure there are others but these are the one's I could find listed on Freestyle and Adorama.

Note: Liter/Quarter= the amount when mixed with water.

 

[healyzh]

Using Ilford chemicals (DD-X Developer, stop, and fixer) will get you a pretty small package. A couple 500ml bottles for stop bath and fixer, something to mix your chemicals in, a small funnel, a patterson 2 or 3 reel tank with a couple extra reels, and you're good to go. Add in a bottle of Rodinal for additional fun.

I recommend extra reels as you don't want to try and load film on wet reels.

 

[Mablo]

I was once travelling with a friend who had an entire medium format lab for film and paper processing in a small brown leather suitcase, sort of 1.5 shoeboxes. He used the following:

- Small Jobo tank with one 120 spool. Jobo makes spools that take two 120 films; you spool in one film, then you flip in a little plastic tag that prevents them from overlapping, then you spool in the second one.
- Rodinal as a one-shot developer.
- No stop bath - water does the job.
- Some kind of cheap hypo fixer.
- Mixing cup.
- A small glass frame for making contact prints of individual negatives.
- Print-out paper that doesn't need a developer. Basically it's a very slow photographic paper. You put a negative on the paper, put it in daylight, wait a few minutes, and when it looks good you put it in the fixer.
- A tray for fixing the print.
- Assorted small stuff: funnel, thermometer, clamp, tape (to stick the wet paper to a surface for drying) etc.

No enlarger of course, that would have been too large.

When he was travelling, he would make 6x6 contact prints in hotel rooms. You could even send them home as postcards.

This sounds really interesting. What's this photographic paper and can you still buy it?

 

[rxmd]

This sounds really interesting. What's this photographic paper and can you still buy it?

Here it was sold as Print-Out Paper, although technically I hear it should be called Printing-Out Paper (or POP for short). Kentmere used to make one called Centennial POP. It was distributed by Albumen Works in Chicago (http://www.albumenworks.com/ - their site is under construction, but you could probably call them).

Here are some processing tips for POP, and here's a guide how to make your own. So if civilization ends, at least we know that POP will still be around. 😉

 

[charjohncarter]

OK the wine box case might fit as well but what's in it ?-)

32 oz of fixer, hypo, stop bath, then HC-110 and Rodinal in bottles, photo-flo. 3 1000ml measuring cups from Walgreens ($1), one 500ml measuring cup (freestyle). I have a Jobo tank, a thermometer, and 2 small graduated cylinders, and a timer from Radio Shack. I think that is it.