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please help me getting started with film developing


junglehs

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Dear Film Specialists,

 

I have been shooting more and more black and white film with my M7. I had the rolls (mostly tri-x 400, hp4, Efke) always developed by a prefessional place in NY, close to my work place. I keep getting scratched and dirty film back. So when I am scanning the negatives in with my Coolscan 5000 it looks rather lame. I have to fix so much in photoshop and that's no fun.

 

Now I feel I want to try to develop the film myself and then scan it right away. Here is my question: Please help me find the right products that I need to get started. I have never done this before. I read the literature on the Ilford website on how to do it. I hear Rodinal is good. I could walk to Adorama to get the supplies I need.

 

I mostly shoot portraits, landscape and street. I'd like to end up with classic looking silver based negative film. The more old school character the better. I am not so interested in super fine grain. Looking for real film vibe.

 

Mostly used lenses on M7: 35/2 version 4, 35/1.4, 75/1.4

 

Thank you very, very much for your help.

Al.

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You need a light-proof changing bag

 

You need a tank and reels to take two films

 

You need some jugs and a thermometer

 

You need a sink and some water

 

You need some developer (Rodinal will do, but there are loads of others), stop bath and fixer.

 

You need a watch

 

You need some photoflow and somewhere clean and dust-free to hang the drying negatives.

 

You need some neg storage sheets

 

And you need about an hour of your time.

 

If you can make a cup of instant coffee, you can process your own film and see the difference.

 

The whole lot above will cost you about $100, I'd expect. Edit: Just priced up a basic kit at Adorama, and you could easily get change from $90)

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Thank you so much, Andy.

Any recommendations on which developer I should get?

Or does it not really matter? I read on the forum that people have certain combinations of chemicals for certain films. Lets say for silverbased 100-400 film.

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Things which might be helpful - I would suggest take an old, obsolete or cheap film to train to feed the film in the spool in daylight.

 

I also found it helpful to cut off the feeding strap and round the edges of the film before feeding it in.

 

And before I forget it - if you prefer to turn the spool rather than tipping over the development tank - the direction is important, lest the film should be spooled off, will stick to the wall of the tank and won't see proper development and fixing.

 

If your means of temperature control is not too good, older emulsions like Tri-X, FP4/HP5 or Agfapan might be more forgiving compared to Deltas or Tmaxes.

 

Just trying to remember my first mistakes :)

 

Stefan

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(mostly tri-x 400, hp4, Efke)

 

Concerning your films: I would go for an easy liquid developer which are fitting fine with Rodinal. 1+25 till 1+100.

 

For Tri-X (400) on iso 250 a nice pronounced grain combination (1+25 recommended)

A bit less suitable for HP4+ on iso 100.

Very suitable for the Efke: 1+50 or 1+100, especially the Efke 25 version.(E.I. 25)

 

For FP4+ you can also go for the new Ilfosol-3 or classic: ID11/D76 (in fact the same). The last one is a powder for making 1 Ltr or a Gallon (3,8 Ltr., D76) stock solution. 1+1 till 1+3.

FP4+ is also fitting fine in RHS/AM74 (Amaloco photochemicals, the Netherlands).also a very easy liquid developer, 1+7 till 1+19, also marketet under Rollei High Speed worldwide.

 

Here a short handling how to do it:

 

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf

 

Rodinal is based on Para-Amino Phenol and suitable for slow- and medium speed films. It will give you high acutance but some pronounced grain, however on a 25-50 iso speed B&W films it's neglectible.

It's one of the exceptions in storage: >5 years is not a problem. You can get it in 125ml and 500ml Silar plastic bottles.

 

Best regards and success with your film developement.

 

Robert

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It depends what you want: Rodinal and HP5+ on E.I. 800 or so in 35mm is really grainy. Same for Fomapan 400 E.I. 400 in 35mm and Rodinal.

 

If you like grain it's OK but grain and a nice regular grain (Rodinal + Tri-X (400) ) are also two different things:

 

This is also grain: Fomapan 200 in (Fomadon) R09 (also Para-Amino Phenol) iso 160 but this is what I like. But you know every photograhic taste is different :)

 

By the way: Foma changed from supplier (last summer) so the new Fomadon R09 is exactly the same as R09 one shot (Agfa Rodinal), same factory: CMS Vaihingen-Enz, Germany. You can see it on the color and the dilutions: 1+25, 1+50 a.s.o. and a new round bottle with clearly, Fomadon R09 (NEW). Just a new marketing strategy, I think.

 

M7 + Elmarit 2,8/28mm and cold: -22 degrees C. brr.. :)

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Oh, thanks for clearing that up. I´m mainly using Tri-X, & APX400 at the nominal values, sometimes Neopan1600, so I think Rodinal works just fine for me. I´ll try it with my forthcoming batch of Adox CHS50 too.

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Tri-X (400) is exactly iso 250 in Rodinal (or R09 "one shot" the new name of Agfa Rodinal or Fomadon R09 (NEW) ) for full shadow detail.

Neopan 1600: E.I. 640. This nice film is in most developers iso 800, well in Microphen or DD-X iso 1000 and with Diafine you can go to 1600 for n=0 development.

 

In almost all films with Rodinal the effective film speed will go down.

Iso 400 with Tri-X (400) is almost a push +1 processing. So a much steeper developing curve (log D) and a Gamma over 0,55 - 0,62.

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All round: AM74/RHS, ID11/D76, Xtol

 

You have ultra fine grain developers like Perceptol, CG512/RLS, HRX-3. Speed loss and less sharp. Depth developers.

Speed enhanced developers: SLD, DD-X, Microphen, Diafine (2-bath), Acu-1. Speed enhancing but bigger grain.

Acutance developers, some speed loss but sharp: Rodinal, Beutler (-Metol) type, Neofin Blue/Blau, AM20/AM50 (in this case pyro-catechine). They work in the surface of the emulsion only.

You have staining developers, building a color between the silver halide. PMK, Tanol, FINOL (Moersch) etc.

You have special low contrast document developers for handling high type contrast film (orthochromatic and Tech Pan) . R.L.C. (Rollei Low Contrast, Tetenal document etc.)

 

Just what you want you can get, if you know exactly how to handle it. That's fine-art photography in B&W.

 

Cheers,

 

Robert

 

http://www.fotohuisrovo.nl/documentatie/filmontwikkelaars_en.pdf

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Hi,

 

I strongly urge you to pick one main film and developer combination and stick with it for at least 50 rolls before you start trying out the multitude of possibilities. You will learn more by staying a course and honing and tweaking the variables in your methods; don't over complicate matters by switching films and developers around initially. A good combination is TriX 400 at 250 ASA and rodinal 50:1. Learn how that works with an agitation procedure to get the contrast you are after.

 

Respectfully, Thomas

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Exactly: If you like your Rodinal Tri-X combo, stay with it and optimize it. THEN you're getting a better technique. If your photo's (or mine) are OK, or you like them or not, that's something else. :)

 

Best regards,

 

Robert

 

PS. Rodinal likes slow agitation. When "shaking" the grain will grow rapidly. Bromide stripes are impossible with a Para-Amino phenol developer..... Therefore with sheet film, stand development is possible. First 30S continuous, then every 30S 1x.. SLOWLY.

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Precious info, thanks. But Rodinal at 1:50 takes aaageees. :eek: At least with APX400 = 30 min. With Tri-X the time is only 14 min.

But I really do need the full 400 Asa - therefore I might need to find another LIQUID developer.

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