Home Film Developing Setup for First Timer

[matthew_nistor]

<p>Hello,<br>

I'm in need of some advice on where to start as far as components and chemicals for B&W film developing, both 35mm and 120. I've looked through older forum posts as well as other resources around the net and it's a bit overwhelming. I'm in need of a starting point and was wondering if someone can recommend a good set of "starter" chemicals as well as recommendations on tanks/reels? Right now I'm thinking of getting the Paterson Super System 4 Multi-Reel 3 Tank and some plastic reels. The question mark for me is where to start with chemicals, for now I shoot mostly tri-x 400. I've like to expand to color processing as well but thought B&W is a natural starting point. I won't be printing at this time, just developing. Any help is appreciated!</p>

[martin_dake]

<p>You need Developer, Stop Bath (you can use water) and Fixer.<br />For a Developer you can't go wrong with D76 from Kodak or ID11 its Ilford equivilant.<br />Any Stop Bath will suffice, but you can use water.<br />Any Fixer will do, just get what ever your store carries. Kodak and Ilford Fixers should readily available.</p>

<p>Paterson plastic reels are fine, although you will get suggestions either way for Stainless Steel or plastic reels.</p>

<p>Here is a link to a nice article from Ilford to help you figure it out....<br /><a href="http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=31">http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=31</a></p>

<p>Also, check the Ilford site for lots of other good info.<br /><a href="http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=16">http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=16</a></p>

<p>good luck</p>

[robert_landis]

<p>Great question! I have an addition to the question; I have an inner room with no light - is ventilation an issue? And, how does the red light fit in, how and when is it used, etc. I know this is rock bottom basic stuff, but the thought of watching the magic happen intrigues me, if it is not so complicated I'm ready to take the plunge. I send stuff to A & I now, but saving money and gaining control would be great.</p>

[martin_dake]

<p>The original question was about developing film.<br>

The red light does not fit in.<br>

35mm and 120 Film is loaded in to a lightproof tank in complete darkness then developed in the light. The loading of the film can be done in a totally dark room or a lightproof changing bag. So no magic to watch only when viewing the finished results.</p>

<p>The red light is only used for developing prints, an entirely different subject.</p>

<p>Developing film is not complicated it just takes a little patience and practice. The most important thing is consistency.</p>

<p>Please do read some of the documents on the Ilford website above they are very helpful.</p>

 

[allen_friday]

<p>Find the book "Into Your Darkroom Step by Step." It gives detailed instructions on developing film, including a complete list of chemicals you will need, and illustrates the way to do it, step by step.</p>

[evan_goulet]

<p>I'd also add distilled or deionized water for the final rinse of the film. This will prevent water stains from minerals that are typically dissolved in tap water. You can also use a wetting agent in the final rinse like Kodak Photoflo or Edwal LFN to aid in draining the water off the film after the final rinse.</p>

[matthew_nistor]

<p>Thanks everybody for your input, I greatly appreciate it. I live in NYC so for better or worse, usually better, I have both B&H and Adorama to choose from, the paradox of choice! With so many choices offered by each it can be hard to figure out where to start. I'll be using a changing bag as I live in a relatively small apartment, not affording me the luxury of dedicated space for a darkroom. My bathroom also has a window so it's probably just easier with the changing bag. Thanks for the links, I'll read that over as well as check into that book you mention.<br>

Thanks again!<br>

Matt</p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>My favourite developer was Kodak HC110, primarily because it comes as a syrup concentrate that I could dilute directly to working strength. I used dilution B, which for a single steel tank for 35mm required 1/4 oz of HC110 concentrate, and water to make up 8 oz.</p>

<p>Stop bath concentrate (Kodak Indicator Stop Bath for example) is likely the cheapest chemical you can buy, and a bottle will more-or-less last a lifetime. It's advantage over a water stop bath is it's acidity will stop development dead.</p>

<p>Fixer (I used Kodak Rapid Fix, last time around) dissolves unexposed emulsion and the film backing. It comes with a separate bottle (hardener) which you can opt to throw in, or not. I did, but I'm not sure of the pros-and-cons.</p>

<p>Worthwhile after fixing, especially with the T-Max films is a Hypo Clearing Agent (Hypo being sort of slang for fixer). It helps to clear the blue tint in particular.</p>

<p>After a water wash step, a final wash in distilled water with a drop or two of photographic Wetting Agent will help hanging film dry with less spotting.</p>

<p>My favourite reel was a single reel stainless steel tank. I'd suggest to get a sacrifice roll of cheap film and use it for practice, both for extracting the film from the canister and for loading on the reel.</p>

[walter_degroot]

<p>there is a hc-110 page that has a lot of useful tips<br>

the advantage of HC-110 is that it keeps a long while and that it is used " one shot"<br>

meaning you mix what you need and dump it afterwards ( the fixed can be re-used several times)<br>

here is one page<br>

http://mysite.verizon.net/fowler/photo/hc110.htm<br>

here is the other page<br>

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/</p>

<p>you cannot go wrong using d-76, it is as about a universal developer as there can be.<br>

and you need to get your head around the proper dilution of HC-110.<br>

or iginally they wanted you to make a "stock solution" and dilute that for use.<br>

the suggestions on these sites and the previous poster are much simpler and better.<br>

I like my old FR plastic tanks. easy to use, even after 20 years spent "forgetting how"<br>

35mm is a LOT easier then 120 that tends to kink when being loaded, and results in black cresents on the negatives.</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Yeah, use a changing bag to put the film in the developing tank reel. Practice loading a blank roll of film in the bag by touch until you've got it down. I think I may try the outside loading plastic reels as the stainless steel reels can be PITA.</p>

<p>Once the film is in the tank, it is protected from the light, so the rest of development is done in the light. No safelight is really "safe" with panchromatic film, so the old days when I developed 620 "ortho" film by inspection with a red safelight are pretty much gone forever.</p>

<p>I use D-76, it's relatively cheaper and works as well as anything. I mix up a whole gallon, use it at full strength, and discard it unless I am going to do some more within a day or so.<br>

I don't use a stop bath as such, since I got a "Archival Fixer" (e.g., <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Photographers-Formulary-Archival-Rapid-Liters/dp/B0001976XO">link</a> ) that does not need a stop. Just develop, rinse it for a minute, and then pour in the fixer. After washing, instead of distilled or filtered water, I just add a few drops of Edwal LFN Wetting Agent to the water in the tank and let it sit for a moment- nary a stain or water mark.<br>

The catch with the Archival Fixer is that it is really a paper fixer and has no hardener, but it has instructions on using it for film, and I am just careful in handling the film.</p>

[ed_lusthoff]

<p>Get the self loading tanks they are so much easier to use. I too love D-76, but have recently started using liquid developers. I do not need the storage of a lot of bottles. Dilution is usually 1:9 so 50ml will give you 450ml of working chemical. Plenty to do a roll of 35mm. S/B half of cap full to a full cap diluted to 500ml of water, fixer again 1:9. I used the rapid fixer about 2-3 min, rinse hypo for two min wash for five thern photo flo for two. In about 20 min your done.</p>

[randall_white]

<p>You also need a good timer, a stop watch will do, and a good thermometer.</p>

[jpo3136b]

<p>This may be obvious, but I didn't notice anyone mention a graduated cylinder. They are usually very cheap and are the easiest way of measuring out liquid volumes. </p>

[mendel_leisk]

<p>Graduated syringes (minus the needle) are good too. The skinniest you can find works good for drawing up 1/4 oz of HC110 syrup, for example. Pharmacists will sell them, without the needle there's no issues/questions.</p>

[johnmyers]

<p>You may want to go simple with the tank. A Jobo 1520 performs in an excellent manner and always gives me great and evenly developed negatives. It's plastic and the rotating reel is very easy to wind the roll onto. It also expands to 120/220 film size in case you buy a MF camera in the future. So, things you'll need:</p>

<ul>

<li>Changing bag (I prefer the larger ones, not so cramped and sweaty. 27x30" is a nice cavern to work in).</li>

<li>Developing tank (Practice on an unused roll in daylight until you can do it with your eyes closed, then do the real thing in the bag)</li>

<li>Bottle opener to pop the film canister top off</li>

<li>Scissors to cut the end of the roll from the canister</li>

<li>Good, fast, accurate thermometer</li>

<li>Timer (my $2 kitchen timer is a beautiful thing)</li>

<li>Beakers, cylinders, or mix-up cups that have definitive measurment markings are a must. They should be able to measure up to a bit beyond the amount needed for the tank (my tank takes almost 500 ml max, so a 600 ml tank is just fine for mixing). Graduated syringes are great for the smaller amounts of concentrates (like most stop solutions or wetting agents).</li>

<li>Developer (as others have said, D-76/ID-11 is a great starting point - and you may never even switch to another developer as both are quite good)</li>

<li>Stop bath</li>

<li>Fixer (Ilford Rapid Fixer works well, but is non-hardening - good for Pyro developers but works well with other developers too. Most modern films don't require hardeners but if you still want to use one then the old Kodak-in-a-bag fixer works great and will just need a longer wash time)</li>

<li>Wash water</li>

<li>Photo-flo (or some kind of wetting agent to help the film dry evenly without water spots)</li>

<li>A method of drying (I use film clips on coat hangers above the bathtub. I close the door to keep the circulating air out - never had a problem with dust.)</li>

<li>Some way of storing the negatives safely (Clear File Archival Plus pages work well. Put them in a binder and keep them in the dark for when you're ready to scan/print)</li>

</ul>

<p>Something to keep in mind: to get the most out of your developer, store it in full small bottles. Air kills developer very quickly. So for a 1 Gallon (3.78L) packet of D-76, you ought to keep the stock solution in 4 full one liter sized chemical bottles. Some people will say to go smaller, but I find 1L bottles store it just fine, certainly long enough for me to finish up the product before it goes bad.</p>

<p>I hope I didn't forget anything. At any rate, definately read through the "Processing your first BW film" as linked above. GREAT resource. Print it out and keep it with you. It's also a good idea to print out the information pages on each film your processing too. A lot of necessary information there!</p>

[matthew_nistor]

<p>Thanks to everyone who has helped out, here are the chemicals in addition to the necessary supplies that I purchased today:<br>

HC-110<br />Kodak Indicator Stop Bath<br />KodaFix Solution<br>

Last question, can I store all of these for next time, or do any of them need to be thrown out after use?<br>

Thanks again for your help!<br>

Matt</p>