what timer do you use for film?

[Ducky]

Digi kitchen timer from Amazon, abt $3.

 

[Ronald_H]

Just wondering what type of timer you use for film processing?

My mobile phone. Why do things complicated?

My stop bath is vinegar, my final was is with a teensiest bit of washing up liquid.

 

[sevo]

My mobile phone. Why do things complicated?

I keep mobiles strictly out of the darkroom. None of mine can be made not to light up if anybody calls, short of switching them off. Not a nice property, if someone calls while you have film or paper out in the open.

Sevo

 

[nikon_sam]

I have a Gralab 300 but then I would have to plug it in somewhere where I'm working and sometimes I do move around when developing...yeah I know that sounds weird...
I use a digital Paterson Triple Timer...it has three preset timers and also has a clock in it..
I use it while developing film and also for printing (paper in the developer not for the enlarger)
It can count down from 9:59:59 on all three timers and will time up to the same amount in a stopwatch mode...
Easy to use but sometimes hard to read in a darkroom...as it's not backlit...

 

[Cale Arthur]

I do that too but I´ve had the problem of people calling me while I´m at it 🙄

The 'reject' button is your friend, even if you're not developing film! 😀

--c--

 

[rogue_designer]

I use my wristwatch (analogue one)

For slower processing, ie. Semi-stand high dillution work, I use my wristwatch as well.

Faster processing, I use a small electronic cooking timer I can set in 30 sec increments.

 

[rogue_designer]

I rock the old school and just use the clock on the wall. The default software on the iPhone is less than ideal, so I'm looking into third-party apps. The problem with the default timer is that you cannot specify seconds, just minutes/hours. The stopwatch works, but I'm used to counting DOWN - not up. 😛

Look for iCountDown - I think that works for short term, as well as longer term counts.

 

[MartinP]

I use FotoTimer on an old Palm pda. It is programmable for the different stages and will bleep, when you tell it, to remind you to agitate. Different films, chemicals and processing styles can be saved and recalled, very handy.

 

[Tom A]

Gralab 300 timers - the pick up truck of timing devices! I have three of them plugged in to various appliances (rotary processor etc). The are virtually indestructible. All of mine are at least 20+ years old!
I had one that fell into the fixer tray once. I unplugged it and hosed it down and plugged it back in, still working! The buzzer on them is loud enough to cause a riot in a graveyard!

 

[pesphoto]

Gralab 300 timers - the pick up truck of timing devices! I have three of them plugged in to various appliances (rotary processor etc). The are virtually indestructible. All of mine are at least 20+ years old!
I had one that fell into the fixer tray once. I unplugged it and hosed it down and plugged it back in, still working! The buzzer on them is loud enough to cause a riot in a graveyard!

Same here. I turn off the buzzer. MAn that thing could give one a heart attack, even if you know it's coming.

 

[Nate Butler]

For developing film in my kitchen I use the timer on my light meter (DigiSix). In the darkroom I use the cheapie digital timer that came with my enlarger.

 

[tmfabian]

I use FNDmobile on my iPhone. By the way FND= film is not dead!

Been using that lately as well... especially since you can go in and edit the times (some of the times are a little off)

 

[DougFord]

i use the clock on my microwave oven; in the kitchen where i dev film in the sink. i guesstimate half minutes.

 

[bhop73]

I have a regular digital stopwatch.

 

[amateriat]

These, when I get the time for serious souping:

"New"-school on the left, old-school on the right.

Always wanted a "classic" GE lab timer (right), and, a few years back, hit paydirt on the 'Bay with a NOS model, still in the box, with price scribbled in thick pencil on the box side ($10.50). Found a "modern" GE timer NIB as well at roughly the same time, and got that one too. Feels good to use, practical, easy and fast to set, and unambiguous. (Self-powered, natch.)

Also have a few darkroom-timer apps on my Palm PDA, but these are just nicer to use.


- Barrett

 

[mh2000]

I have a GraLab in my darkroom covered with cobwebs... I develop in my bathroom now and use my cell phone... then off to the scanner... time moves on! 🙂

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Timer

Timer

Old analogue stopwatch for film (tank) processing and an RH Designs StopClock for enlarging.

 

[pesphoto]

BArrett, while I use a Gralab 300 for printing I have a very similat clock for my film. I love it but it is getting so old it stops working at times and I have to restart it.

 

[amateriat]

BArrett, while I use a Gralab 300 for printing I have a very similat clock for my film. I love it but it is getting so old it stops working at times and I have to restart it.

From my experience, at least, these GE timers were the standard for film processing in most any lab I found myself in (home or commercial), and since I have a thing for stuff horological and mechanical, I've loved these things for their aesthetics and seemingly-mundane practicality. Of course, the two examples shown here were practically as-new when I got them, so that's part of my smitten-ness over them (but they do get used...while I don't knock 'em about carelessly, they aren't mantelpiece-material in this house). I love them for what they do as much as for what they are...like most of my cameras.


- Barrett

 

[mirrored]

I rock the old school and just use the clock on the wall.

Me too! It's a Citizen Quartz, specially bought for darkroom use with white hands and numbers in black base.