tips for the beginner?

mooge

Well-known
Local time
1:48 AM
Joined
Nov 16, 2008
Messages
1,023
Location
Austenite Bay, Canada
call it obsolete (you guys presumably won't), but hey, I got ALL the equiptment for free.

so...
what are some common mistakes and how to avoid them?
any suggestions for the beginner?

and the other issue:
as mentioned, I have all the stuff. but I read through the labels and apparently the developer calls it quit after 4 months (!) with an open bottle. well, it's taken me 4 months (!) to burn through a single roll of kodak B&W (not terribly much to take pictures of. and plus, the Canon F-1 isn't your take-everywhere camera.). how can I save my money if I don't take that many pictures and don't want to keep spent film for months on end?

cheers,
dragunov
 
call it obsolete (you guys presumably won't), but hey, I got ALL the equiptment for free.

so...
what are some common mistakes and how to avoid them?
any suggestions for the beginner?

and the other issue:
as mentioned, I have all the stuff. but I read through the labels and apparently the developer calls it quit after 4 months (!) with an open bottle. well, it's taken me 4 months (!) to burn through a single roll of kodak B&W (not terribly much to take pictures of. and plus, the Canon F-1 isn't your take-everywhere camera.). how can I save my money if I don't take that many pictures and don't want to keep spent film for months on end?

cheers,
dragunov

Not all developers are spent after a short time being mixed up. Consider HC-110, Rodinal, etc, as one-shot alternatives. They keep for years, you mix (dilute) them as you need them. Good luck, have fun.
 
If you use a medium syringe (one from the pet shop perhaps, no needle needed) to draw up just enough HC-110, etc, as needed you'll find it easy to mix just what's needed every time. Just don't mix up the stock solution and keep the bottle in a cool place with the lid on tight.

Consider buying some bulk film and reusable cassettes and load your own. You don't need a loader, arms reach will do, but you must have a clean, light tight room to do this in. Keep your long rolls and store bought film in the fridge until a few hours before it's needed. Look around here and you'll find threads how to do all this stuff.

I've use the Canon F1, of one sort or the others, for a go-everywhere camera for many years and once you're use to it, it's no biggie, but then, I don't know your circumstances so what works for me might be a miss for you.

If you have or can get, a Canon Macro 50 as a prime carry lens, you may just find yourself taking lots more pics as the lens is fantastic for small stuff all around you and not bad as a normal in average/good light. What lenses do you have now?

If you have one, carry and learn to use a monopod.

Don't buy lots of gadgets, most aren't needed and divert your attention.

Use a lens hood all the time, the one exception being the Canon Macro 50, it's not needed, and keep a sacrificial UV or (light yellow or light yellow-green filter with b&w film) on your other lenses to take the shock of drops. A filter is a lot cheaper to replace than a lens, even a free one.

Filters will also keep you from cleaning your lenses, something some photographers do way too much of. Use a rubber bulb to blow dust off and leave it at that. Do get lens tissue, don't use shirts or bandanas.

Never put lens cleaning fluid on glass, only a drop on lens tissue if needed at all.

Everything I've written about cleaning and not cleaning a lens goes double for the camera glass. Don't touch the mirror and never spray canned air on it! Buy a spare battery and keep it with the camera.

Likewise keep the camera manual with the bag so it's there when needed.

Don't store lenses in bags, cases or airless drawers for mold to grow on glass, and don't use a moldy zoom lens unless you want to put spores in all your lenses. Zooms act like bike pumps as they are pulled to and fro and force spores inside your camera.

Use one b&w film only for the first year, I suggest Tri-X in the form of the less expensive Arista 400 Premium, it's the same film, at 200 iso with one developer, HC-110 dil. H, just to see what things look like in b&w.

Don't bother with stop bath and use the Ilford fill, agitate and dump method for washing, it'll do the job properly and save on water cost.

I like distilled water for chem. and keep gallons of tap along side for washing film, it's all the same temp. to start and finish with.

Do use Photoflo, you don't need hypoclear for film and hang the wet negs in the shower to dry, AFTER you've run the shower with hot water to settle any dust in the bathroom.

DON'T store Photoflo solution, it'll grow critters and you'll wreck your film.

Bankers clips will do for weighing down the loose end of the film to control curling. Wood cloths pins work for hanging, plastic ones don't.

A small Durst enlarger will get you started in the darkroom, it stores well, is cheap and give good results with a decent lens.

If you can't afford trays, and can make do with 6x6 inch prints or so for awhile, use large GladWare for developing and storing chemistry.

Really clean Ragu plastic jar, the ones with handles, will do for storing chemicals, except most developers Saran wrap between the lid and fluid and '40s' sized brown beer bottles work well, so do wine bottles.

If you print your own negs, use the same paper you want to a final print on, to contact print your negatives and develop all prints to completion in paper developer. That way you'll better see what a full sized print will look like value wise.

Use a normal lens for a loupe and a 8x10 piece of plate glass, or there around, for a contact printer.

Prop the glass plate up, put a piece of white paper beneath it and direct a low watt light on it and you've got a light 'box'.

I recommend Ansco 130 as a paper developer, it will keep in an open tray for weeks, even months, forgo stop bath again and use TF-4 fix for film and paper, both will save you money and give top-of-the-line results.

If you use fiber base paper, get some Kodak selenium toner and even when it's exhausted, don't pitch the solution, add more toner and distilled water to bring it back to volume and strength.

Number the paired contact sheet and negative sleeve at the same time, every-time and don't lay negatives on poodles, they have no sense of humor.

There's lots more these guys and gals can share but that my lot, probably said better already by others as I've written this, LOL.

Good luck and post often and with pics.
 
Last edited:
call it obsolete (you guys presumably won't), but hey, I got ALL the equiptment for free.

so...
what are some common mistakes and how to avoid them?
any suggestions for the beginner?

and the other issue:
as mentioned, I have all the stuff. but I read through the labels and apparently the developer calls it quit after 4 months (!) with an open bottle. well, it's taken me 4 months (!) to burn through a single roll of kodak B&W (not terribly much to take pictures of. and plus, the Canon F-1 isn't your take-everywhere camera.). how can I save my money if I don't take that many pictures and don't want to keep spent film for months on end?

cheers,
dragunov

My Nikon F5 is my take everywhere camera, and it's larger than a F-1. If you do not shoot a lot, why not use rodinal? I have a 5 year old bottle that still works well.
 
wow. I passed up a bottle of that HC110 stuff on the quest for a small bottle. grr... i'll get one sometime then. myth... busted?

well, just by-the-by, I opened that bottle of Ilford developer I got, and I saw brown chunks. not good.

at the moment, bulk film is a little too hardcore. perhaps i'll give it a shot.

the F-1 is too heavy if you lug it around for an hour or two and don't take any pictures. I do that. often.

IIRC, the macro 50 is a 3.5 lens. augh. slow. I have a tiny budget and two 50mm lenses and a macro tube, so I'm fine for now.

the high point finder is fun. borrowed as well.

i've got one battery for two cameras. sunny 16 it is.

Don't bother with stop bath and use the Ilford fill, agitate and dump method for washing, it'll do the job properly and save on water cost.
sorta lost me there...

no poodles round here to ruin mah negatives.
thanks for all the tips though....

and stop and fix... they don't expire like developer, do they?

thanks.
 
Ilford wash method: Fill tank 3/4 full with warm water, shake 5 times, empty, fill again, shake 10 times, then do that again and shake 20 times, then 30, then 40.

I haven't had fixer or stop expire. You don't need stop if you rinse between dev and fix
 
I lug a camera everyplace. It's either hanging from my left shoulder or hanging from a couple of wraps of the srap around my right wrist. You can't take a picture if the camera is at home. Get used to it.
 
sorta lost me there...
I'll second that. No need for stop bath in most cases. Only use it for very short dev times (<5min) when you want to stop development within seconds. These are not the typical combinations you would want to begin with (I only do it for Neopan1600+DD-X for 4.5 min; dislike the short dev time but still like the results). Otherwise, water is good enough.

and stop and fix... they don't expire like developer, do they?
No idea about stop bath. If it expires, you usually won't notice 🙂 But the Kodak or Ilford stop baths are designed with indicator color, so you can discard when their color changes.

Fixer stays for a long time, and unlike developer it is easy to test with any piece of film. Just stick it in and it see if it completely clears the emulsion off the film. If it doesn't, it is time to discard and mix a new bottle.
 
ok. i'll give that method a shot, so I don;t need to smell that 80% acetic acid. it's awful.

I also carry a camera (or a kit, more likely) with me 'everywhere', except to school. nothing to see there.

thanks!
 
Have you considered using chromogenic b&w film? You can get it developed at any mini-lab that does film processing using the same C-41 process as color film. It's not as fun as shaking your own can though.

Btw, I take my best shots at school.
 
ok. i'll give that method a shot, so I don;t need to smell that 80% acetic acid. it's awful.

I also carry a camera (or a kit, more likely) with me 'everywhere', except to school. nothing to see there.

thanks!

I have a Olympus Stylus Epic that I carry in my bag everywhere [unless I'm taking another camera] loaded with tri-x.
 
Ilford wash method: Fill tank 3/4 full with warm water, shake 5 times, empty, fill again, shake 10 times, then do that again and shake 20 times, then 30, then 40.

I haven't had fixer or stop expire. You don't need stop if you rinse between dev and fix

Marko, the Ilford method you reported here is actually in contradiction with what my Ilford brochure (available on the net) says:

"After fixing, fill the spiral tank with water at the
same temperature, +/-5ºC (9ºF), as the processing
solutions and invert it five times. Drain the water
away and refill. Invert the tank ten times. Once
more drain the water away and refill. Finally,
invert the tank twenty times and drain the water
away."

While what you report about repeating the wash up to 40 inversions is just overkill, what you suggest about using warm water is potentially dangerous for the negatives; as well, your tip to fill 3/4 of the tank vs. filling it in full as per Ilford recommendations would probably diminish the effectiveness of your washing (maybe this is why you repeat the process up to 40 inversions? 😀 )

Just my .02, trying to help not to confuse the OP... 😀
 
My understanding of the Ilford wash method is as Vieri has it, though I do one more set of inversions with distilled.

Also, my 1 page guide to developing film is here: http://photos.kaiyen.com/pmwiki/pmwiki.php?n=Main.GettingStarted

You all have never had fixer get exhausted? How many rolls of film do you develop? Less than 20 a year...? I use a 2 bath fix to get 40 rolls per liter but I still go through multiple liters a year.
 
Last edited:
Great info in this thread!


I do all of my developing at school with freestyle chemicals, but very soon will be acquiring my own reels, tanks, and chemicals. Very informative thread.
 
If you set out gallon bottles of tap beside your distilled water and premixed chemicals, your wash water will be the same temp throughout, even if you need to set them in a bath to cool or warm together. Depending on my mood, I'll sometimes give a little extra wash but most of the time I just trust the folks at Ilford on this.

kaiyen, if you use Photoflo, mix that with distilled and just use tap for washing, same result, if any.

dragunov, you asked for advice on avoiding common mistakes, well, getting a handle on proper tank agitation, the set-down rap and pouring in and out of the tank are, IMO, some of the hardest things about film development for beginners to master, so read up on it if you're just starting out in the DR and if you can, get someone who knows what they're about to help you learn first hand.

There are plenty of threads posted here and elsewhere by people asking for and receiving advice on avoiding uneven development, sprocket hole streaks and under agitation. I can think of few things as aggravating as having film wrecked by sloppy technique.

Otherwise, spend the money on a lab, it'll be cheaper in the long run and you'll enjoy your photography more.

Eli
 
Eli
I have found a decrease in water spots and residue along the edge of the film when I do a final rinse in distilled, then do photoflow with distilled, too.

Different things work with different people. I realize you are making suggestions but remember that yours are just what works for you, just as much as mine is what works for me.
 
kaiyen, you're so very correct; I do know better and should have remembered not to assume on this topic.

Something as simple (or not so simple) as local water quality does have an impact on what happens in the DR. I've just started taking our good water here for granted; it's been a very long time since I've had to cope with any of those issues, knock on wood...

Cheers
 
My understanding of the Ilford wash method is as Vieri has it, though I do one more set of inversions with distilled.

...

So do I, adding Ilfotol in the final set too (5-10 inversions) 😀 I was just quoting the Ilford method verbatim to clean out the (possible) confusion that the OP would have incurred into following the slightly distorted version of the method that someone proposed.
 
Back
Top Bottom