john_lorang

<p>Kudos on Kodak! Ektar is a great negative film for products and landscpe! It also cuts down on the quantity of ND filters I need to carry. When velvia just isn't slow enough......</p>

<p>Yes digital is here to stay, and yes film sales are declining as amateur pic clickers trade in their 35mm vivitar P&S for the latest and greatest 500 megapixel / square inch P&S. I don't think that film will ever disappear in its entirety though. The love for film is experiencing a resurgence, so much so, I can no longer count on two hands how many film emulation plug-ins there are for photo shop. </p>

<p>Sometimes the arguments get so silly on the forums over technical minutia, I wonder what it would have been like in the days of Rembrandt, 10 old guys gathering in a circle debating which paint offers a finer brush stroke. For those of you, and you know who you are, your punishment is to go buy 10 rolls of Ektar, take out your tripod, and go sit in the rain and take beautiful pictures.</p>

<p>John</p>

<p>One problem with the stainless tanks is the small orifice (relatively small) at the top to pour chemicals into and out of. Not a problem with single 35 mm rolls, but three rolls of 120 are likely to take 1500 ml of chemicals. I too like the patterson tanks, the funnel makes it easy to pour chemicals into and they drain really fast. And although I prefer stainless reels in 35mm, I can't stand them on 120 film. By and far, the patterson reels are the easiest to use and the best quality plastics I have seen. Stainless tanks are sensitive to ambient temperature and should be dropped in a temper bath between inversions for consistency.<br>

I usually use diluted chemicals at 68 degrees so I can keep the development times between 8 and 10 minutes. This will help with the consistency lost from pouring chemicals and draining chemicals ( you may be off a couple of seconds batch to batch). The other thing I notice is that a 4 reel tank is a bit unwieldy, the three reel tank fits quite nicely under the tap for film rinse.<br>

As for being a beginner, you can use one reel quite easily in a multi reel tank, you will just put in less chemical. You may or may not have to put in a dummy reel depending on the tank.</p>