Dark Room or Changing Bags?

<p>I'd like to develop my own BW 120 and 35mm. I am sick of the long waits and bad results of sending them out. I am wondering if most people do this with a big changing bag, or in a darkroom? I have potentially enough space in my garage to make a small DR, but if a changing bag works as well, that would sure be easier! I don't plan on wet printing, only digital printing from scans.<br>

When I read about developing, I see references to time and temperature. How do you measure temp in a bag?</p>

<p>You don't need to process film in a dark room.<br>

You only need the dark to put the film in a light tight tank. From there on, everything is done in the light.</p>

 

<p>You only need to be in the dark to spool the film onto the developing reels and getting them into your tank. Once the tank is made light tight you can do everything else in the light. If you're just going to be developing the negatives, a changing bag is all you need.<br>

Good luck and have fun!</p>

<p>I use a Photoflex changing room and Paterson tank. They work great and both are fairly inexpensive. The reel is adjustable so that you can use the same setup for 120 and 35mm. Like the others have said, you only need the bag to load the film into the tank. The processing is done in daylight. I use the kitchen sink. There are videos that will show you step by step how to process black and white film. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rROBVLNEb3M">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rROBVLNEb3M</a> Just do a search for "how to develop black and white film" and you will find about 15 million results.</p>

<p>Thanks fellas. Sorry for the rather obvious question there. I like that Photoflex bag. That looks like a nice sized piece.</p>

<p>The nice thing about the Photoflex is that it stands up on its own like a tent and you don't have the bag laying in a pile on top of your hands and equipment.</p>

<p>Tom--<br>

Yeah, I am putting together my shopping list now!</p>

<p>Oh, and BTW, thanks for that video link too. It let me to the prophoto site where I see lots of interesting DIY stuff. Nice site. The video seemed to make it simple enough that even I can do it.</p>

<p>I have one of those tent like changing bags I use for loading LF film on the road. I absolutely hate it! Not because it doesn't work extremely well, but because you start sweating almost immediately in there! I have also built 3 darkrooms now and have to tell you it is a lot of work to get them totally light tight if you are building the walls yourself. The biggest issue is around the door and at the floor, where light will flood in if you don't seal it up. A well ventilated room is a joy to work in, but if not, it would be a full body sauna instead of an arm sauna you get with the changing bag!</p>

<p>I use the same method as Tom, above, and it's just fine. For 4x5 film loading, it can get a little tight, IMO, for a Jobo tank, but it works. </p>

<p>The benefit of a film-tent/changing bag is that you can not only use it for development, but you can also use it in the field. This can be handy for large-format photography if you need to load your film holders in the field (and put spent film into a light-tight bag) because you just need to get "one more" shot. Or if you do any pinhole camera photography, you can reload the camera this way. Just put it in the open hatchback of your car by the side of the road, and you're set. </p>

<p>But for loading 135 or 120 film into a processing tank, a dark tent is overkill.<br>

A dark room (attic, cellar, toilet) will do.</p>

<p>If you have a room in your home you can make completely dark, this is more pleasant than a changing bag or tent, which do get horribly sweaty. This is not only unpleasant but the moisture also causes the film to jam on the reels. Bits and pieces also roll around inside the bag so you often need to search for that last roll of film.</p>

<p>An apartment I used to live in had a bathroom without windows. By blocking the bottom of the door with a towel, I could make it dark enough to load film. You have to make sure you have complete darkness, or pretty close to, or the film will fog. I then do my processing in the laundry, as after a while there will be some chemical stains. The bathroom is a good place to dry the film when you're done, the shower is often the least dusty part of the house.</p>

<p>Sweating is a problem when you're loading film. Your hands stick, you can leave fingerprints, and it doesn't slide through your fingers when loading a tank or holder. The solution is simple - wear cotton photofinishing gloves. It's not as nice as a cool darkroom, but it beats taping up the windows on your van or car ;-)</p>

<p>I still have a package of heavy black plastic bags for shipping sheet film. They work like a charm. They're also good for carrying exposed (or opened) roll film when you're on the road. They're transparent to X-rays, so they don't prompt hand inspections at the airport.</p>

<p>Any dark, windowless area can be used to load film at night. You don't need a bag or an actual "dark room". Typically closets, and small bathrooms have always been my favorites. Years ago, I used to staple black cloth against motel room bathroom windows and load my 4x5 film in their holders. And on occasion I'd soup it through developer this way too.</p>

<p>Yes, any room that can be easily blacked out will do nicely. I don't have such a room so, by the time I black out the window, stuff towels under the door and all of that, I would already have the film loaded in the tank if using the bag. I have also never had a problem with sweating in the bag when using it inside an air conditioned house. Come on, how long does it take to load a roll of film in a tank anyway. I could definitely see where sweating could be a problem if using the bag in the field but, in that scenario, what other choice do you really have anyway? I just make it a habit to always wash and dry my hands before going in the bag and it has never been any problem.</p>

<p>Tom, it probably depends on the person. I have actually only used the bag in A/C'd rooms, and some that were more like refrigerators. I don't sweat per se, but you just feel the humidity very quickly in those bags and it isn't all that comfortable--for me anyway. In reality, it would be a perfect solution for an in-home place to load film into a reel--unless you do have a real sweating issue--like mentioned before regarding the film sticking to the reels.</p>

<p>Attics, basements etc can be good, but rooms have more light leaks that you can imagine. I have used bathrooms in motels and you need not only seal under-AND AROUND-the door, you must cover the fans in the ceilings or you will begin to wonder why you think you are seeing your hands after about 5 minutes--you are. I always carried a box in the truck with large sheets of darkroom paper and several 8 foot x5 foot pieces of blackout cloth for the doors or windows. I even used the darkroom at Mesa Verde National Park to load film one day. The entire ceiling, right along the joint with the wall, started to glow-well it always was, I just couldn't see it--after about 5 minutes. It was the hand thing again, I looked up and expletive'd as I quickly closed everything up.</p>

<p>40 years ago I tried to make a bathroom light-tight. It was much harder than it was worth. I eventually got a small changing bag of some sort. My current bathrooms have skylights! I'm not even going to think about this.</p>

<p>I ordered the Photoflex and it ought to be here in a week. Chemistry too, which can only ship via ground. I live in a cool climate, sweating ought not be too big of an issue.</p>

<p>I use a changing bag. I just find it easier to sit at the kitchen table with the bag on it, load the film into spirals and pop them in the tank.</p>

<p>You can change film from camera roll to spool in a bag, but ultimately you will need a darkroom (I don't know about the tent). If I remember correctly from my experience about 8 years ago, the main question is what will you do once the film is in the spool? You have to place that spool in the developer jar/tank in complete darkness.</p>

<p>You don't need a dark darkroom - just a place to pour chemicals and drain them and wash film.</p>

<p>I load my reels in a changing bag and put the reels in the tank in the bag. After putting the top on the tank, everything else is done in the light.</p>

<p>If your hands are in the bag for too long, it does get a bit humid and you'll have some issues loading plastic reels. Metal reels aren't a problem in this regard.</p>

<p>To limit the humidity - a little - is to wash your hands really well and then run them under cold water and then dry them very well - wave them in the air after towel drying them. It gives you a couple of more minutes in the bag.</p>

<p>It also helps to practice loading the reels outside of the bag before loading for real. I have a a couple of old rolls laying around just for that purpose.</p>

<p><em><strong>""You can change film from camera roll to spool in a bag, but ultimately you will need a darkroom (I don't know about the tent). If I remember correctly from my experience about 8 years ago, the main question is what will you do once the film is in the spool? You have to place that spool in the developer jar/tank in complete darkness.""</strong></em></p>

<p>You simply need to place the reel,tank and lid, inside the changing bag. Once the reel is loaded, and lid placed upon the tank, you can go "white light".<em><strong><br /></strong></em></p>