C41 processing: PITA or worth it?

The trick with C41 is to keep the temperature at a constant 38C - the tolerance is minimal. If you can't keep the chemicals and the waterbath at exactly 38C your negatives will suffer. If all you do is 35mm, you are much better of letting your lab do the job - and it is cheap too! B&W and C41 are two very different processes - B&W is perfect for development at home, C41 not so.

I'm still pretty new to film, and I enjoy processing B&W myself, but my photo prof says that in his opinion,

processing C41 at home simply isn't worth the hassle.

I want to hear opinions and assessments of how much more tedious/difficult/finicky C41 processing is

over B&W, what things to look out for, etc.

 

Basically, I'm a n00b and I want to know what the score is on C41 processing.

It isn't so much of a hassle. As it is non creative, standardized procedure. Unlike B&W silver based films, where the time,temp and developer combos are virtually endless. Color film gets the same time/temp/development everytime. There isn't any way to alter development/contrast.

Do a search on this forum, it's been discussed many times. The exactness of temp is really only for the developer, after that, you have more leeway but it's still a more controlled process than B&W. The specs and the real tolerances are not the same.

 

The big disadvantage IMHO, is that it's so easy to screw-up and you probably won't know how far off your process control is until you can't make good prints. By then, you've ruined your shots.

 

The lack of creativity in process turns many off, but for the people who enjoy challanges and strange results, the process can be altered quite a bit. I find it more fun on the computer though.

 

Doug

Hi,

 

As of now, PITA!... in about 10 years (maybe longer) when C41 is MUCH more expensive on the high street it might be worth it..maybe

 

cheers Steve.

Control of time and temperature is paramount to consistency. Temperature tolerance is tight (+/- 1/4 deg C), but easy enough. Fill an insulated container, large enough for your chemical bottles and developing tank, with water. Temper the water by adding hot or cold water as needed, with mixing. Once you have the temperature right, it will hold for the 20 minutes or so needed. For rinsing, I just use cold water.

 

The best chemicals are the full Kodak or Fuji kit. Some components are considered "hazardous" for shipping, so not all companies will ship them (notably, B&H). The developer should be used 1-shot (don't bother with replenishment) for best results.

 

The two-bottle kits (e.g., Tetanol) use a combined bleach-fixer (BLIX), which tends to leave undissolved silver in the emulsion. This makes scanning an printing difficult. You are instructed to increase the development time as the developer is exhausted. This leads to inconsistent density and color. Avoid these kits if possible.

I forgot another important part. The full kit will cost you about $2.75/roll of 35mm (36 exp) or 120 film. I can have them processed commercially for $3.95. For 8 rolls of film (an evening's work) you would dave about $16 - or $3/hour, including prep and cleanup. IMO, this is NOT something I prefer to do myself, tying up yet another evening.

 

35mm is an easy choice - Walgreen's can do a good enough job. You may have trouble finding a nearby 120 processor, and there are not many places in the country that do 4x5 and larger any more. It might be preferable to do you own MF and LF C-41 rather than FedEx your film across the country. In any event, it's a kick to do it yourself - the first few times anyway.

E6 is more of a prospect as at least in my town there's a grand total of 1 lab that does it. There you might actually save some money.

PITA. Temperature control is only a small part of it. To get the solutions to settle down and produce decent control strips (i.e. to meet the specs for the process), C41 requires solution volumes, film throughput, replenishment, and chemical adjustments that are beyond the reach of the single user. If your idea of fun is pointless hours trying to correct colour curve crossover, then go for it. C41 isn't rocket science, but it also isn't something that favours single use and single users.

I'm in agreement with most everyone who has spoken up on the subject already. C-41 processing is so cheap and commonplace that it does not pay to do it yourself for 35mm. It might start to make some sense for 120 and large format, but you still run up against the problems of precise temperature and chemical control. I've done it a few times just to say that I did. Suffice it to say that I'm not looking for C-41 chemistry any time soon.

I'll pretty much totally disagree with everyone that's posted.

 

I was in your conundrum a couple of years ago, but I went ahead and bit the bullet and

bought a JOBO CPE-2. Here's why I wanted -- and still do -- my own C-41...

 

1. I'm impatient, so I don't like waiting for film to be developed via mail order.

 

2. The only place around me that would cross-process is a 30 minute drive, round trip. I

also had to wait until the next day to pick the negs up.

 

3. I can finish shooting a roll at 10pm tonight and have it scanned by midnight.

 

4. I'm a process junkie, and I enjoy knowing that every step I take in the process is critical

to the outcome. I like the challenge, even though it really isn't that much of one once you

do it a few times.

 

5. Deving my own C-41 is just another facet of the hobby for me.

 

6. I'm not too concerned with cost, because the dev aspect of the hobby supersedes my

need/desire to save money.

 

7. The "1-hour" places around me frequently tear, crimp, bend, and scratch negatives -- I

don't.

 

8. As far as the temp and mix "control" goes, if you can't mix the chems right, then there's

something wrong with your ability to measure and follow directions. I don't see how many

people could have a problem here. Getting mix temps can be bothersome, but it's just like

hooking up the wet/dry vac when I clean my truck -- it's part of the process. I can typically

get all my process chems mixed in about 30 minutes.

 

The processing temp is also easy to control with my JOBO unit. Does it stay 110% the same

all throughout? Of course not, but I've deved hundreds and hundreds of rolls and all have

been just fine.

 

 

All that said, the bottom line should be whether or not YOU want to do it as part of

exploring the hobby, as well as whether or not your patience and local shops meet your

needs and timing. It's not rocket science, and it's totally doable.

 

Lastly, nothing beats coming in late form a shoot or night on the town, warming up the

JOBO while jumping in the shower, then deving all your film at 1:00am -- for me, at least.

=)

You can do it on your own, but do some searching. I finally got a Jobo with a lift and it makes things very easy. Also, do a search for freezing dvelopers as mixed chemicals don't normally last very long at all (only a problem if you don't do lots and lots of rolls). The freezing really works. You can also do as Edward suggests without the whole jobo apparatus. Ive done it. IT works. The Jobo just makes life A LOT easier.

I'd like to ask Maury and Aaron whether they run control strips when they're doing C41? Do they have colour densitometers to read the strips? Keeping the process within specs involves a bit more than temperature control and chemical mixing. Just because you can produce something that looks like a proper negative doesn't mean you've actually done it.

 

I agree that many 1-hour labs tend to treat film like garbage. Still, I think you're way better off looking for a lab that runs a clean, controlled process. I live in rural Nova Scotia and found that the in-house lab at my local super-market actually does quite a good job for just $2.00/roll uncut. Even though I am professionally trained as a photo tech, I found that controlling C41 was just too difficult with relatively small solution and film volumes. I'm sure there are a few who can do it, but the PITA factor is high.

Waldo;

 

I have been processing C41 films before it was released to the public, and have designed some of the products that you all have used, (Kodacolor Gold 400).

 

It is a very very stable film and process so that by using fresh chemistry in a Jobo and tossing what you use after every run, there is no seasoning. Using this method, I have found that control strips are not necessary.

 

I have literally thousands of rolls of film here and thousands of contact sheets that show virtually the same color balance over 30+ years of work with no problem.

 

Ron Mowrey

Wow, I didn't realize how expensive the chemistry was per roll! I can get a 36exp 135

processed for $2.50 at the local pro photo place, so there's no contest.

I might print my own at some point, but since my main exhibition medium is Flickr, not

having prints is not critical.

Thanks for all the responses!

Having processed my own C41 film in various equipment ranging from a commercial deep-tank processing line with temperature controlled circulation, to a Unicolor film drum to a standard Nikor stainless steel tank kept warm in a water bath, I can assure you that the C41 process is amazingly forgiving, as measured by results---printing filtration needed for color-balanced prints, consistency from roll to roll, pretty much regardless of the age of the chemicals, etc. As others have noted, temperature is critical only for the developer, and even then, a drift-by means of temperature control will be OK if the average temperature is as specified by the process. When I would occasionally send out some rolls for commercial processing, the results likewise did not vary, as measured by the appearance of my final prints or the filtration needed to get a good color balance.

 

Keeping qualities of the C41 chemistry were also pleasantly surprising---I replenished my chemistry and used a floating lid to keep oxidation to a minimum, but it did not seem to matter whether the batch of developer was new or several months old (!)---results were the same.

 

As for the economics of doing your own C41 processing, much will depend on your source of chemistry. Here in St. Louis, we have a local producer of various professional photographic chemicals, and they have been quite helpful over the years by selling me small volumes of whatever I need. ("Small volumes" means a 10-liter to 25-gallon supply of chemistry, compared to the truckloads they usually produce and ship.) If you have to buy your color chemicals in amateur-size quantities from Kodak, or have to pay for shipping chemicals from out of town, you might well question the economics of doing your own C41, unless you have a lot of work to process or have some other reason to do your own.

No, I don't run any control strips. Can I guarantee that my mixes are 100% accurate? No, I

can't. Can I develop film and get wonderful frames -- equal or better than those I've

gotten from a lab? Yes, I can.

 

Again, the PITA factor is totally relative. I don't mind the mixing (I just mixed all new

chems yesterday) and I have the JOBO. The cost per roll isn't an issue for me, so the

expense of home processing is not a factor to me.

 

The convenience and fun of doing it all myself outweighs any "pains" there may be in the

process, whether that's procedure or cost.