Film Developing - equipment list

[Blooze]

So I'm looking at ordering some supplies to do B&W film developing and I wonder if someone could check my list.

Developer - Rodinal and Ilford ID-11 (I've looked at a LOT of photos out of the Yashica-Mat and ME Super this weekend and those with FP4+ are my favorites nearly every time).

Stop bath - Ilford Ilfostop

Fixer - Ilford Rapid Fixer

Wetting - Kodak Photoflo 200 (our water here is extremely hard - I've rinsed things with distilled water and still get spots)

Changing bag - Paterson

Developing tank - Paterson Universal w/ two reels (to do two 35mm or one 120) - an antique store here in town had a stainless with two reels for 35mm for $20, FWIW

Leader retriever - 35mm

Film squeegee

Thermometer

Various containers for chemicals - I can get these from work

Clips of some kind for hanging film

Scissors

Oh yeah, and a scanner!

 

[dpm802]

looks like you've got most of it covered ... you'll also need sleeves to store the negs in after they're developed.

And a dust-free environment to hang them up to dry ... maybe a HEPA air filter.

Make sure those chemical containers are opaque.

Are you doing your own printing as well?

 

[Blooze]

I don't plan on doing my own printing at this point. I just don't have the room.

Good call on the sleeves! I knew I was forgetting something important!

One of our bathrooms is pretty dust free as there is no air register in it. I've cleaned my dslr sensors in there quite a few times with no problem. Figured I just run the shower water for a minute or two before hanging them up.

Lots of brown HDPE bottles at work.

 

[Mick]

Here are a few tips.

Get the Patterson and forget the stainless cans. They look cool but they are a PITA and you will find that 1 out of every 5 or 6 loads you will have the film touching and you will ruin a great shot eventually. The plastic Patterson reels and cans are dummy proof (even I can work them).

Don't use a squeegee. Run your film back and forth through a tray of photo flow and hang it up.

Use a string across the room with old fashion cloths pens (the spring kind) strung on it (run the string through the center of the spring).

For storing mixed chemicals use old wine bladders that have been thoroughly rinsed. You can get small bladders and large ones

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_wine

The ends pull out (trust me) you fill the bladder, burp the air out and put the end back on. Then drop it back into the box and put a piece of masking tape with what is in the box and the date it was mixed. Your developer, stop, and fix will last 3-5 times longer if you keep it air tight and nothing keeps it as air tight as an old wine bladder

As a side benefit you get to drink the wine before you can use the bladders. You need 4 of them (film & paper developer, stop, and fixer) so you better start drinking

You can see the wine boxes and the string with cloth pins in this pic of the wet side of my darkroom

 

[Legion]

I'm going to say forget the Patterson, and get the stainless. Sure, they have a bit more of a learning curve, but they last forever, and work better once you get the hang of them. Compare it to a straight Vs a cartridge razor.

Don't get the squeegee, they just scratch film. Dip your fore and middle finger in the photoflo and use that.

You don't need a change bag if you are prepared to work in a dark room at night. Change bags are good in a pinch, but they make the job harder when not required, especially in summer.

Leader retriever not required. Just pop the top off with a bottle opener.

 

[Blooze]

Cool setup. I was planning on using the string and clothes pins. That's how my Grandfather and I used to do it. On that note all I ever used were the stainless containers. Never used the plastic ones, but liked the Paterson setup with this one.

To bad I don't drink. The wine boxes are a neat idea. Gonna have to find some wino friends!

 

[Mick]

Cool setup. I was planning on using the string and clothes pins. That's how my Grandfather and I used to do it. On that note all I ever used were the stainless containers. Never used the plastic ones, but liked the Paterson setup with this one.

To bad I don't drink. The wine boxes are a neat idea. Gonna have to find some wino friends!

You can also clip a cloth pen to the bottom of your film to keep it from moving around while it dries.

The Patterson reels are a snap to load. You start the film in the end and a ball bearing grabs the film. Then you rock the reel back and forth and it pulls the film down the spiral. Way too simple.

I have not used them in ages as I run all my film through a Jobo. You can see the 4x5 film tank on the top shelf (upper left) in the darkroom pic.

 

[Edcculus]

You might want to look at HC-110 as a possiblilty for developer unless you have already purchased. Like Rodinal, its a syrup and lasts nearly forever unmixed. I use it as a one shot developer. Mix just before developing and dump when done. My 2 reel tank takes only a few ml of the developer mixed with water, so the stuff lasts nearly forever.

I ended up going with the plastic tank and reels. People will argue all day over which one to use. In the end, they all help develop film. I'd skip the changing bag if I were you, unless you just dont' have anywhere you can temporarily completely black out. I think they are kind of a pain, and can be very restrictive when things start to go wrong! You don't need a lead retriever either. If you are careful when rewinding the film, you can leave a little bit of leader sticking out of the cartridge. Just feel for the tension to ease up, then wind just a little more. Or just pop the bottom off with a bottle opener.

Turtle, thats a GENIUS idea to use the wine bladder to store chemicals! I am absolutely going to start doing that! What do you do about getting chems back into the bladders? When I'm printing, I usually save the chems unless they are exhausted, especially if I'm printing the next day.

 

[fast14riot]

A clock or timer of some sort.


-Xander

 

[Legion]

Once upon a time you use to be able to buy ilford developer in wine type box/bags.

 

[Mick]

Turtle, thats a GENIUS idea to use the wine bladder to store chemicals! I am absolutely going to start doing that! What do you do about getting chems back into the bladders? When I'm printing, I usually save the chems unless they are exhausted, especially if I'm printing the next day.

I came up with the wine bladder idea the first week I saw the wine in the box (gee this was like ages ago). Before that I used floating lid storage containers. The air tight bladders are far better. I turned it in as a "tip" back when the old "Camera and Darkroom" magazine was in print and I got something for that tip (can't remember what it was now as it has been a while).

The bladder easily holds a gallon of stock and it lasts for quite a while since it is air tight. The bladder collapses as the chemicals are removed so no air gets inside to spoil the stock.

You should not pour used chemicals back in with the fresh as this will shorten the shelf life of the stock ones.

You can pour used stop and fixer into bottles and save them for a day or so if you are going to develop more film.

What I do when I develop film is to toss the film developer and take the stop and fix to 8x10 paper trays and cover those with a larger tray. I will be printing after I develop film, even if it is just to make some proof sheets, so the stop and fix will get used for print making in a day or so. When I stop print making for the day I will use another tray over the trays with the chemicals in them then uncover them the next day. An 11 x 14 tray over top of the 8x10 trays works very nicely to keep chemicals relatively fresh for a day. After the second day or when the developer starts to "brown" I toss everything.

Using an indicator stop bath will help you gauge your fixer life. I use the dual bath fix method for print making (2 fixer baths). I will toss the first fix and move the second one down and replace it with a fresh tray when I replace my stop bath. That way I always have a good fixer as the second bath of fix even if I "stretch" the first tray of fixer a little too far. Doing this with the bladders is a snap as you just take a tray under the spigot and give it a twist or push (depending on what type of stopper that bladder has).