Jobo CPE-2 experience?

[RaymondC]

Hiya

 

I have done some reading on this machine. Can someone comment on how

much chemicals it use if a person process one roll of 35mm film at a

time, how much chemicals does it use compared to a tank with one reel

- b/w film.

 

Can someone give me a general outline how the machine works. Taking a

simple process of b/w film. I mix up the developer, then the stop

bath and the fixer. Do I set the temperature on the JOBO and attach

the cans of liquid when required and it will do its thing. I can also

set how freq I want to agitate on the JOBO? Do I drain it and

reattach and then it does the stop bath then I drain and it rinses?

 

Those who has experience with this unit how does it compare to pro

labs? For C41 and E6 chemicals, will there be a difference in quality

if one chooses to use a different set of chemicals, if so, what are

they? I see there is Kodak products as well as Tetanal.

 

/////I have read up that pple say for E6 it spends about $3.50US per

roll. Eventually I want to do my C41 too.

 

I am trying to do my maths. I outside of the US thou I do have one

pro lab here that I like they are quite pricey. I USD terms, E6 cost

$8US to process without mounts, C41 cost $4US without prints. A set

of prints with development cost $22US here.

 

Thanks.

[jim_malone]

Ray:

 

I have a CPE-2 and have been using it for a number of years.

 

The amount of chemistry depends on the tank you are using, for the 2523 series, 300 ml is the minimum to ensure good coverage of two 36-exposure rolls of 35 mm. Larger tanks will require more chemistry, consult Jobo's website www.jobo-usa.com (you may be better off with the european website, but I don't have that address handy.)

 

You also need to consider exhaustion of the chemistry; 300ml takes care of that for all of the developer formulations I've used.

 

For information on exactly how the machine works, visit Jobo's website. I find that if you have the "jobo lift" attached, it makes filling and changing chemistries much easier.

 

Can't really comment on cost comparisons; I think the chief advantage is your ability to control the process and "fine tune" it for your film, your camera, your meter, and your preferences. Quality of the finished negatives (assuming no processing errors) is as good as or better than most commercial labs.

 

I think the chief advantage of the Jobo to me is consistant agitation. I use the "F" setting for film and that takes one more variable out of the processing equation.

 

Good Luck

Jim

[g._armour_van_horn]

Ray, any rotary-tube processor is going to use about half as much chemistry as an immersion tank. With the JOBO the chemistry used depends on the tank. The 1510, which holds a single roll of 35mm, takes 160ml of chemistry. The 1520 (two 35mm or one 120/220) takes 240ml. The 1530 TankModul, which extends either of the above tanks to hold three more rolls of 35mm, needs an additional 330ml.

 

I do not reuse the first four chemicals in the JOBO. I do reuse the bleach, the most expensive of all of them. You can keep it potent by using an aquarium air pump to bubble air through it.

 

I have no idea what your costs would be. I've had to throw out a fair amount of developer because it sat around too long after being mixed, which makes calculation hard. Assuming you always ran two rolls at once in a 1520, you could process 40 rolls of film with one Kodak 5-litre kit. (If you always ran one roll at a time in a 1510 you would get 30.) If you do a fair amount of this, you can probably figure out how to drive your chemical costs down.

 

Van

[robatsgh]

The CPE-2 is essentially an agitation motor and temp-controlled water bath, no more and no less. The current CPE-2Plus has one rotation speed - 75 RPM. The older CPE-2's agitate at 50 or 75RPM, though current documentation and most dev charts are based on the higher speed. Honestly, I wouldn't consider a Jobo processor unless also equipped with the Jobo Lift accessory - which makes filling/draining chemicals from the tanks a breeze.

 

Why? Because otherwise, you're required to manually attach/remove the tanks from a magnetized coupling, pop off the rubber seal, and drain/fill the tanks via the light-tight funnel and drain in the lid. The lift lets you keep the tank attached at all times, and you pour in your chemicals through the lift funnel, and drain/recapture via a dump tube. Much easier, much less prone to error, easier to recover chemicals, and much more consistent.

 

I recommend the 2500-series tanks with the rotary processors. A 2521/2523 tank will use 270ml minimum (although I always use 300 to keep the math simple) for either one or two rolls. With that chemical quantity, it costs me forty US cents worth of developer per roll for black & white using Ilford DD-X, and a mere 20 cents with Ilfosol-S. Using everything as one-shot (no reclamation), C-41 costs just shy of $1.70 a roll with Tetenal chemicals, and Kodak 6-bath E-6 is about $1.50 a roll.

[laptoprob]

Hi experts, I am new to this:

What happens if I only load one rees 35mm in a 2523 two-reel tank? I have no darkroom, so I will have to add developer in the changing bag?

I don't think the tank is light tight without the red lid on it.

Is it light thight with two reels? Then I must try to get a second reel.

 

thanks, Rob.

[jeremy_buxton]

Hi, I have just bought a CPE-2 on Ebay, but I think that the seller is in a bit of a sulk because I only paid less than half the price these things have been fetching recently - and he has ignored all my requests for information.

In a small plastic bag, I found six black plastic mouldings. Three look like spring pins, the other three are the same with notched triangular pieces on the side.

There are also seven white plastic mouldings in the shape of l_l. about 3" x 2", the arms being hollow.

Could anyone tell me what these two sets of bits are, and how to use them?

 

Jeremy

[dave_whoami]

Jeremy, go here for info on the CPE-2, http://www.jobousadarkroom.com/products/cpe2plus.htm and go here http://www.jobousadarkroom.com/instructions/instructions_manual_cpe-2_plus_00.htm for the online manual.

[janet_brosius2]

Are the instructions that you mentioned for the Jobo Lift CPE 2 that doesn't have a Plus written on it? I unpacked the one that my late husband used to use and am wondering if it would help me with printing in my new tiny darkroom?

 

I am now going to go to the Jobo site and see what I can see. Thanks for any help, Janet