squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
Today is hazardous waste dropoff day at the dump, so I am going to be bringing in all of my exhausted chemistry I've been saving up for the past year. This will clear out my cabinet, and I'll be mixing up some new stuff, and I'm thinking I will return to color film, which I haven't shot in a while.
The Tetanal C41 kit has become pretty easy for me, so I was going to get a brick of Ektar and shoot that for a couple of months. But while looking at the B&H site I came across this E-6 kit. There is a 1-liter as well, but it's much more expensive per roll ($50 for one liter vs. $92 for five).
Has anyone used this kit? Is it any harder than C41 at home? The temperature (100 degrees F) is the same, but it supposedly takes rather longer (35 minutes). My concerns are 1) the necessity of keeping the temperature absolutely precise for half an hour--is it extremely sensitive to small temp changes, or is there a bit of flexibility, as with C41?, and 2) if I get the 5-liter chemistry, what's the shelf life of the undiluted liquids? If they will last the way, say, Rodinal lasts, then I'll get the 5-liter, but if not, I will probably just pony up for the 1-liter. 3) How long does the diluted mixture last in airless containers? and finally, 4) how many rolls can you get out of one liter's worth of diluted mixture?
One advantage of this stuff seems to be the ability to mix up small batches at a time, since the concentrations are in liquid form, not powder. Mixing up the chem is, in my experience, the most irritating thing about the C41 kit, and that part would be easier here. But if this kit is going to require a big learning curve, I will buy more C41 dev now and save this experiment for my winter break, when I'll have more time to futz around.
The Tetanal C41 kit has become pretty easy for me, so I was going to get a brick of Ektar and shoot that for a couple of months. But while looking at the B&H site I came across this E-6 kit. There is a 1-liter as well, but it's much more expensive per roll ($50 for one liter vs. $92 for five).
Has anyone used this kit? Is it any harder than C41 at home? The temperature (100 degrees F) is the same, but it supposedly takes rather longer (35 minutes). My concerns are 1) the necessity of keeping the temperature absolutely precise for half an hour--is it extremely sensitive to small temp changes, or is there a bit of flexibility, as with C41?, and 2) if I get the 5-liter chemistry, what's the shelf life of the undiluted liquids? If they will last the way, say, Rodinal lasts, then I'll get the 5-liter, but if not, I will probably just pony up for the 1-liter. 3) How long does the diluted mixture last in airless containers? and finally, 4) how many rolls can you get out of one liter's worth of diluted mixture?
One advantage of this stuff seems to be the ability to mix up small batches at a time, since the concentrations are in liquid form, not powder. Mixing up the chem is, in my experience, the most irritating thing about the C41 kit, and that part would be easier here. But if this kit is going to require a big learning curve, I will buy more C41 dev now and save this experiment for my winter break, when I'll have more time to futz around.
Last edited:
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Yes, I've used it, and yes, it's excellent, and it's no harder than C41. You can even fine-tune colour balance via pH. Except the stuff I had processed in Beijing a few years back, all my E6 has been done with this stuff and a CPE-2 for the last 6 years.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
Ah, great! Have you ever done it in a sink, though, Roger? I don't have the Jobo and so need to maintain the temps manually, which is easy for the ten minutes C41 requires, but might be more challenging with this kit. Can I start it at, say, 102, and expect it to get down to 98 at the end? Or are the tolerances too tight for that?
Roger Hicks
Veteran
I do 'fly by' even with the CPE-2, so yes, I'd guess that 102>98 or even 103>97 should work fine. Ed Buziak used to do this too and his CPE-2 once packed up in mid-first-dev so he picked it up and sloshed it manually and the pics were still fine. It's less critical than you might think.
The inital dev temp is the REALLY critical one -- +/- 0.5F allegedly -- then it's +/- 1F for second dev and +/-5F for bleach-fix, stabilizer around 70F.
Cheers,
R.
The inital dev temp is the REALLY critical one -- +/- 0.5F allegedly -- then it's +/- 1F for second dev and +/-5F for bleach-fix, stabilizer around 70F.
Cheers,
R.
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
Excellent, I can keep it at 100 for the first dev no problem I think. And how long do the undiluted chemicals last in their bottles?
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Opened concentrate: 24 weeks.
Half-used working solution: 2 weeks first dev, 4 weeks others.
Cheers,
R.
Half-used working solution: 2 weeks first dev, 4 weeks others.
Cheers,
R.
Trius
Waiting on Maitani
I used the Tetanal E6 kit ages ago, and if you have enough water for a water bath, it's not a problem; I used regular SS gear.
However, were I to do my own E6 again, I would go with EK ... one of the Kodak chemical engineers told me that the three-bath kits can suffer from crossover, and that stability can be an issue.
But I did love the job it did on Agfachrome 64; very true colours, and the best blues I have ever seen!
However, were I to do my own E6 again, I would go with EK ... one of the Kodak chemical engineers told me that the three-bath kits can suffer from crossover, and that stability can be an issue.
But I did love the job it did on Agfachrome 64; very true colours, and the best blues I have ever seen!
squirrel$$$bandit
Veteran
What is this EK?