neghead
Member
I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but NT Photography in the UK are selling a Bellini ECN-2 kit for processing Kodak Vision films. I just processed my first roll of 250D last night and thought I'd share my first impressions.
First of all, if you buy bulk short-ends or recans, the film is cheap - £2 a roll or so. I bought 200ft and then picked up an Alden 200ft bulk loader. Easy peasy. I was planning on mixing up my own chems when this kit came out. The chemicals are not cheap, but this is a proper ECN-2 kit, and no one else that I'm aware of offer this.
This is the first time I've developed color at home. I think I did pretty well in regards to temperatures, etc., but I'm sure it will go smoother next time.
The prebath that they provide is great. I soaked it for about 10 minutes, shaking vigorously now and then poured it back into the bottle. Put some hot water in and the Remjet came out. I flushed it some more, but the prebath got most of it.
There were only times, no other instructions with the kit, so I used a c-41 like regime with agitation etc. After fixing, I took the film off the roll and rinsed it a bit by hand to make sure no Remjet remained.
I scanned the result on an Epson V500. My negative holder seems to be missing the lid, so I have to use tape to keep the negatives down on the edge. I need to improve this as the negatives still don't lie flat, perhaps with some glass.
Anyway, they were test shots were rather mundane - I just shot colorful things.
The film is low contrast, and I didn't have much time, so I used the Epson default settings. What surprised me is that it scans great. I've tried scanning Portra before and had a devil of a time matching the colors to a corresponding commercial scan of the same negative.
Excuse the dust on the scans, but I've attached a couple images so you can get the idea. The pictures of the ducks - the one with the tamer colors is a straight scan, the other one, I messed with a bit (probably too much). Camera was Bessa T, Canon 35mm F2.8 (chrome Serenar). Anyway, hope this is of use to someone.
-Tom
First of all, if you buy bulk short-ends or recans, the film is cheap - £2 a roll or so. I bought 200ft and then picked up an Alden 200ft bulk loader. Easy peasy. I was planning on mixing up my own chems when this kit came out. The chemicals are not cheap, but this is a proper ECN-2 kit, and no one else that I'm aware of offer this.
This is the first time I've developed color at home. I think I did pretty well in regards to temperatures, etc., but I'm sure it will go smoother next time.
The prebath that they provide is great. I soaked it for about 10 minutes, shaking vigorously now and then poured it back into the bottle. Put some hot water in and the Remjet came out. I flushed it some more, but the prebath got most of it.
There were only times, no other instructions with the kit, so I used a c-41 like regime with agitation etc. After fixing, I took the film off the roll and rinsed it a bit by hand to make sure no Remjet remained.
I scanned the result on an Epson V500. My negative holder seems to be missing the lid, so I have to use tape to keep the negatives down on the edge. I need to improve this as the negatives still don't lie flat, perhaps with some glass.
Anyway, they were test shots were rather mundane - I just shot colorful things.
The film is low contrast, and I didn't have much time, so I used the Epson default settings. What surprised me is that it scans great. I've tried scanning Portra before and had a devil of a time matching the colors to a corresponding commercial scan of the same negative. Excuse the dust on the scans, but I've attached a couple images so you can get the idea. The pictures of the ducks - the one with the tamer colors is a straight scan, the other one, I messed with a bit (probably too much). Camera was Bessa T, Canon 35mm F2.8 (chrome Serenar). Anyway, hope this is of use to someone.
-Tom
Attachments
mainoo
Newbie
Thanks so much for this - exactly what i was looking for and fantastic esults for a first go. I have some questions though:
Did you mix up all the original chemicals?
What are the keeping properties of the chemistry and the mixed (stock) solution?
when you say you used a C41 like regime, how long did you develop for?
any more tips regarding using this kit?
Thanks very much - very useful indeed
Did you mix up all the original chemicals?
What are the keeping properties of the chemistry and the mixed (stock) solution?
when you say you used a C41 like regime, how long did you develop for?
any more tips regarding using this kit?
Thanks very much - very useful indeed
znapper
Well-known
Thanks for posting.
i haven't heard of such kits, available for consumers before.
How large is this kit? Is it a one-shot thing, or is it a kit, meant for 15-20 rolls, similar to the commercial c-41 consumer-kits?
I really want to try to develop my Vision3 films in proper ECN-chemistry.
i haven't heard of such kits, available for consumers before.
How large is this kit? Is it a one-shot thing, or is it a kit, meant for 15-20 rolls, similar to the commercial c-41 consumer-kits?
I really want to try to develop my Vision3 films in proper ECN-chemistry.
neghead
Member
more info
more info
Hi,
I've now developed my second roll and will try to answer your questions. FYI - the kit is made by Bellini Photo in Italy. I'm not sure how good their English is, but they might be able to provide some more details, as well as NT Photoworks.
>>Did you mix up all the original chemicals?
Yes. I considered making smaller quantities but decided not to. Everything is mixed to a final volume of 3 litres except for the final rinse which is 6l.
>>What are the keeping properties of the chemistry and the mixed (stock) solution?
No idea, since I've only started using it. I've tried to keep oxygen out as much as possible. According to the ntphotoworks web site, it should store for 2-3 years, but I have no idea if that's accurate.
>>when you say you used a C41 like regime, how long did you develop for?
any more tips regarding using this kit?
What I meant was C41 regime in terms of agitation. The instructions gave no advice WRT agitation. I think I did 30 seconds initially and then 10 seconds every 30 second. I developed for three minutes exactly. There are also some interesting notes on the Kodak website with regard to push and pull development:
https://www.kodak.com/us/en/motion/Support/Technical_Information/Processing_Information/Push_Pull_Processing/default.htm
One thing I noticed the second time around is not to reuse the prebath. It still worked, but the remjet did not pour out the same way. I ended up have to wipe it off and mishandled the negatives a bit.
>>How large is this kit? Is it a one-shot thing, or is it a kit, meant for 15-20 rolls, similar to the commercial c-41 consumer-kits?
The kit makes 3l of all solutions, except the final rinse. NT Photo say 12 36 exp. rolls per litre. I'm reusing everything, but as I said I may dump the prebath next time. I did filter the chemicals on returning them to their containers, but it didn't look like it made much of a difference.
I've also done a bit of research on how to make this stuff yourself. I'd be happy to elaborate in another post, but I've worked out how to source the ingredients in the EU and it comes to about £90. This is more than the Bellini kit but you would be able to make lots of the chemicals.
Finally, here are some pictures from the latest roll. 2 caveats - I was playing around with film filters in GIMP so these have been manipulated. PM if you want to see straight scans. Also, I'm color blind, so that's my excuse for anything that looks dodgy
One converted to black and white:
Hope this helps. Regards,
_Tom
more info
Hi,
I've now developed my second roll and will try to answer your questions. FYI - the kit is made by Bellini Photo in Italy. I'm not sure how good their English is, but they might be able to provide some more details, as well as NT Photoworks.
>>Did you mix up all the original chemicals?
Yes. I considered making smaller quantities but decided not to. Everything is mixed to a final volume of 3 litres except for the final rinse which is 6l.
>>What are the keeping properties of the chemistry and the mixed (stock) solution?
No idea, since I've only started using it. I've tried to keep oxygen out as much as possible. According to the ntphotoworks web site, it should store for 2-3 years, but I have no idea if that's accurate.
>>when you say you used a C41 like regime, how long did you develop for?
any more tips regarding using this kit?
What I meant was C41 regime in terms of agitation. The instructions gave no advice WRT agitation. I think I did 30 seconds initially and then 10 seconds every 30 second. I developed for three minutes exactly. There are also some interesting notes on the Kodak website with regard to push and pull development:
https://www.kodak.com/us/en/motion/Support/Technical_Information/Processing_Information/Push_Pull_Processing/default.htm
One thing I noticed the second time around is not to reuse the prebath. It still worked, but the remjet did not pour out the same way. I ended up have to wipe it off and mishandled the negatives a bit.
>>How large is this kit? Is it a one-shot thing, or is it a kit, meant for 15-20 rolls, similar to the commercial c-41 consumer-kits?
The kit makes 3l of all solutions, except the final rinse. NT Photo say 12 36 exp. rolls per litre. I'm reusing everything, but as I said I may dump the prebath next time. I did filter the chemicals on returning them to their containers, but it didn't look like it made much of a difference.
I've also done a bit of research on how to make this stuff yourself. I'd be happy to elaborate in another post, but I've worked out how to source the ingredients in the EU and it comes to about £90. This is more than the Bellini kit but you would be able to make lots of the chemicals.
Finally, here are some pictures from the latest roll. 2 caveats - I was playing around with film filters in GIMP so these have been manipulated. PM if you want to see straight scans. Also, I'm color blind, so that's my excuse for anything that looks dodgy
One converted to black and white:
Hope this helps. Regards,
_Tom
mainoo
Newbie
Hi Tom
Thanks very much for your response - very helpful.
Congratulations on the results - they look wonderful.
How old was the 250D? I picked up a bunch of long expired (seller says 12 years old) and have shot some of it and am waiting nervously for the result. I decided to make ecn-2 from raw chemicals and am just waiting for them to arrive. Plan on using borax solution to remove the remjet. Will post results here, eventually. Would be very interested in the details of your experience aking and using your own ecn-2.
Thanks again for posting.
mainoo
Thanks very much for your response - very helpful.
Congratulations on the results - they look wonderful.
How old was the 250D? I picked up a bunch of long expired (seller says 12 years old) and have shot some of it and am waiting nervously for the result. I decided to make ecn-2 from raw chemicals and am just waiting for them to arrive. Plan on using borax solution to remove the remjet. Will post results here, eventually. Would be very interested in the details of your experience aking and using your own ecn-2.
Thanks again for posting.
mainoo