developing times and chemicals

[chris_burck1]

i will be processing my own

film soon and have several

questions. (1)the issue of

developing times gas me

wondering how what they

mean. in other words, when

does the clock start and

when does it stop? i will

generally be processing 2-3

rolls at a time, so the tank

filling/emptying times could

be significant. (2) i will

probably be using a lot of

caffenol type chemistry, and

wondered what success, if

any, people have had

processing old film with it.

most old film/found film

stuff on the web seems to

be done using d76, hc110,

or rodinal.

[walter_degroot]

couple of things that can be GOTCHAS

it is a big pain to adjust the solution to exactly 68 deg f.

get a chart that lets you adjust times for 68, 70, or 72 deg. don't go a lot

cooler or warmer as it can peresent other problems.

 

35mm is not too hard to load on a reel, 120 can be difficult .

 

use one-shot not reusable like rodinal hc-110 or d-76 1:11

it is more consistant rather than resusing developer and "

extending" the time.

 

watch any great variation in temerture between develop.rinse, fix and wash. newer films usually have fairly hard emulsions. BUT a warm wash can cause the emulsion to "reticulate" and it will look like grain..

 

possibly 75 deg is the absolute max for developing B&W film.

 

B&W is not as "cut and dried" as c -41 film. whick is best done by machine.

 

you may find it necessary to fine tune exposure or development time

to get the best results. equpment varies,

if you are enlarging the negatives, even the type of light in the enlarger can require you to adjust things to make it easier to get high quality prints.

 

There are NO bad films and NO bad developoers.

but certain combinations may not work well together,.

when modern photography published development charts, there were several "NR" in the chart. it would work but was not suggested.

finally: keep a notebook. white down the results, and ask advice from those who have been there done that. enjoy!

[frank.schifano]

When the clock starts and stops is bound to generate endless debate simply because there is no correct answer. Some prefer to start the clock, then start the pour, then empty the tank when the timer stops. Others prefer to start the clock as soon as the initial pour is complete, and to start draining the tank a few seconds before the timer stops. Yet others perform a variation on one of those methods. I start the clock as soon as the initial pour is complete and drain when the timer stops. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how you do it as long as you do it the same way every time. Development times given by film and chemical manufacturers are meant as guides only, and many folks get their best results by deviating from these suggestions by a little bit (usually +/- 10%) one way or the other. So, like everyone else, you'll need to fine tune your process to suit your needs.

[edward_vargas1]

For the fun of it try a divided developer. I use Cachet AB55. Here are some links.

 

Good luck.

 

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/twobath/

 

http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Using-two-bath-developers

 

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-7388.html

 

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=5583

[russ_kerlin]

While I am a fan of two bath development and have been experimenting with this method, I do not suggest this for a beginner.

 

"35mm is not too hard to load on a reel, 120 can be difficult" I diasgree. I find 120 to be much easier. I shoot primarily 120, but developed a 35mm roll the other day for the first time in a while. I had forgotten how touchy loading 35 mm can be.