Negatives only

[underground]

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I haven't done my own lab work in 18 years or so, and want to do it again.

Im interested in color and B&W. does anyone Lead me in the right direction

as far as a kit that someone sells, to provide me with everything I need.

Or at least one store that has everything That I would need so I could buy from one place.

 

Thanx much.

Dave

[tobey bilek]

Sammys

 

Camera West

 

B&H photo and video

 

T-Max 100 & 400 Plus D76 , fix, and PhotoFlow. I never use stop or water stop.

 

Glass storage bottles. Store the D76 in small one time use quantities. It does not like air regardless of what Kodak says. I use 4 oz bottles for 1:1 dilution.

 

Air and water filters to keep things clean.

 

Keep the contrast low if you will scan. Scanners can not deal with high contrast.

 

Paterson Super System 4 tanks are idiot proof. Takes 10 oz chemicals.

 

Nikor stainless tanks are the best, takes 8 oz, perfect for 1:1.

 

Kinderman makes the best stainless available new today. May be a special order from B&H

 

Specialty Bottle company.

 

Home | Plastic Tanks | Plastic Buckets | Plastic Bottles | Labware | Plastic Tubing | PVC Pipe | U.S. Plastic Corp. has sturdy lab grads etc plus tons of handy stuff Also sell glass bottles. 24 120 ml boston rounds for $25. Page 4 if you order a catalog. Also smaller and larger sizes.

 

Photographers Formulary and Art Craft sell raw photo chemicals

 

The Chemistry Store sells sodium sulfite and sodium in hugh quantities a reasonable prices.

 

I will leave you to look up websites.

 

Best of luck

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[underground]

Thank You Very Much!

 

This is very helpful, and I can't wait to get started again.

[underground]

This is what I ended up with today. This is what I was told to use for Pan-F 50

at the local camera store.

Concentrated 76 Developer (liquid)

Clayton RF19 rapid fixer

Kodak professional indicator stop bath.

A tank that holds 2 reels

A thermometer W/2" dial

1/2 Ltr. or 17 Oz. measuring cup

1.85 Ltr. or 64 Oz. plastic sealable container.

 

Tobey I went strait to one of your suggested stores.

Do you guys think this is an ok start?

[Jeff S]

Lots of relevant threads...here's but one using search...http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/film-forum/105245-film-processing-what-do.html

 

Tons of info also available by books and online for recommended processing methods...temp, agitation, use of photo flo, drying, etc.

 

Not hard to do...just pick one film and developer, get a system and stay consistent so you learn how it responds. Only then try another film or developer, or processing method...one variable at a time. Keep good notes initially (agitation time, temp, etc.) Otherwise, you'll never know why something changed.

 

Good luck and have fun.

 

Jeff

 

PS I never used rapid fixers...don't see the point...the process is quick enough, and millions of negs have gotten processed just fine without the rush.

Edited April 11, 2010 by Jeff S

[tgray]

Alternate take:

 

XTOL, rapid fix, photoflo are the chems you need. Instead of XTOL, you might like a liquid dev like TMAX, HC-110, or one of the Ilford equivalents. One really nice thing about XTOL is that its tech sheet pdf has decent times for a bunch of different films at different ISOs, temperatures, dilutions, etc., even non-Kodak films. I use Ilford Rapid Fix, but any of the liquid rapid fixes are good. TF-4 or TF-5 are also good, but a bit different, so I might not get them until you are more comfortable with things and understand the differences.

 

The cheap stainless tanks from freestyle or B&H are fine, but pay the $20/reel for the Hewes reels at freestyle.

 

Mix the XTOL up (mixes at room temp) and pour it into 10 .5 liter bottles (old bottled water bottles). This way no batch for more than .5 liters sits around exposed to air for too long. I've had it last 6 months easy with this setup. It also makes handling easier. I use XTOL 1:1, and dump it after I use it.

 

I dev, water stop (free and keeps the dev from carrying over to the fix), fix, wash. Rapid fix is a different chemical makeup than regular (ammonium thiosulfate vs. sodium thiosulfate). Not only does it fix faster, since your film/paper is in it for less time, it rinses out quicker too. It comes as a liquid, so it's easy to mix. I see no reason *not* to use it. I mix some up and reuse it according to the capacity on the bottle.

 

Photoflo in water for the final rinse. It will really help with water spots. I hang my film to dry in the shower.

 

I might try a different film than PanF+ as my first film. Just because it's somewhat sensitive to exposure. FP4+, Plus-X, or TMAX 100 might be better.

 

B&H and Freestyle Photo are the places I buy from. I have some other notes (mostly already covered) on my website. Lastly, APUG is a great website to go to for questions.

 

EDIT - Oh yeah, I forgot. I use Kodak's recommendations for developing/agitation. 5 seconds of agitation every 30 seconds. Be consistent with your agitation.

Edited April 11, 2010 by tgray

[FiZZ]

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I was going to suggest going for some chromogenic B+W film. I found it just a breeze. Shoot as many as you want, and drop it in a lab. Pic it up in 40 minutes with the negs and decent quality scans. Unless I'm doing something specific, like low light and I need the 3200, I just use Ilford XP2. I found developing film to be more tedious than it's worth. And the good thing about it, is that you can still print your photos in the darkroom by yourself.

[SteveYork]

Freestyle photographic in California usa has everything, and a very nice and easy website too.

[underground]

I know you all have responded a million times to these posts, and i appreciate

you taking the time to do so for me without blowing me off.

 

I have taken my negs to a local lab near my home for many years. He gives

me a great deal and even has my work up in his shop that people have bought

 

But beside that it time for me to have fun doing it again myself.

I've been a member at APUG for quite a while maybe it would be

best I go to that forum like you suggest.

 

Thanx again.

Dave Mac

[Jaws]

Here is some different advice, some possibly conflicting with the above:

 

I do not recommend Pan-F as a starting or familiarization film. I tis highly finicky on exposure and development and is very contrasty. I am not suggesting to throw it out, of course not, but if you want something simple and tolerant, try FP4+. Even Delta 100 is more flexible than Pan F. TriX, Neopan 400 and HP5+ are good bets in 400.

 

You have a fine developer. D76 and its variants will do you just fine. FWIW I recommend starting with 1+1 for general use with most films. It gives more film speed than undiluted dev, is cheaper and more economical and gives more bite to the images.

 

The equipment is fine too.

 

Do not develop wishy washy thin negs if you intend to print in the darkroom. These might be fine for scanning, but will give you inferior darkroom prints. Thin negs have less grain too, but will not give you the rich prints and flexibility in contrast grades you need for really juicy prints. If you use a condensor enlarger, aim for negs that print nicely on G2. With a diffuser/colour head, aim for G3 printing. With negs perfected for scanning and a colour enlarger head you will be printing everything right up at max contrast and then when you need to boost contrast in a print you wont be able to. Personally, I would rather have a dense or high contrast neg to work with and use various techniques to bring the highlights to print nicely.

 

If you are using D76 1+1 and an average camera in average light, aim for rating your film at 2/3 of the box speed as a starting point, so TriX would be 250 and FP4+ 80. This will help ensure plenty of shadow detail and if you need more for your prints.

 

I can recommend a superb forum for assisting you in traditional methods: www.apug.org

Oh, I see you are already a member!

[underground]

Jaws, Your awesome thank you Sir. I am really having a good time with this and,

I also am very great full that you and everyone else responded with such good

information thank you all.

 

Here is one that I scanned to share. I am very proud that they came out ok.

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[tgray]

Looking good!