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Agfa RONDINAX 35U User Report

janrzm

By janrzm
in Darkroom

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spydrxx

spydrxx

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I've been using one since the 1960s and for me, at least, it has been much more convenient than going into the darkroom or changing bag, and trying to thread the film onto the spiral spools. When I began doing medium format work in the early 1990s, I was delighted to find that there is a similar Rondinax for 120 film. Very nice review by the way.

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chrism

chrism

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OK, I've gone and found one on the 'Bay. Now I realise I will have to figure out new agitation schedules for various developers and films. Takes me back to the Gnome bakelite tank belonging to my father that I learned on. Agitation was via a spindle inserted through the central filling funnel; this twisted the film back and forth, as the tank could not be inverted - it wasn't leak proof. If only half the film is immersed, it is obviously important to keep it rotating. Are you finding you have to cut development times much to counteract the continuous agitation?

 

Chris

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pico

pico

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The RONDINAX was a very cool device which succeeded by virtue of its ease of use, and better yet it was such a kludge that many were led to more effective ways to develop film. The only requisite to better was to dive under bed-covers and load a roll on a reel. :)

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iphoenix

iphoenix

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I found mine after searching through around 20 boxes of stored things. I am amazed. It is so easy to use that I'm surprised it was not more popular than the Paterson. Presumably that was because it would only do one film at a time. Just a little adjustment to the developing times and :D:D:D.

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janrzm

janrzm

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OK, I've gone and found one on the 'Bay. Now I realise I will have to figure out new agitation schedules for various developers and films. Takes me back to the Gnome bakelite tank belonging to my father that I learned on. Agitation was via a spindle inserted through the central filling funnel; this twisted the film back and forth, as the tank could not be inverted - it wasn't leak proof. If only half the film is immersed, it is obviously important to keep it rotating. Are you finding you have to cut development times much to counteract the continuous agitation?

 

Chris

 

At present I have kept development times the same, I put my first roll of TMAX 100 through a couple of days ago, I agitated continuously in quarter turns. I developed with ID11 at 1:3.

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janrzm

janrzm

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I found mine after searching through around 20 boxes of stored things. I am amazed. It is so easy to use that I'm surprised it was not more popular than the Paterson. Presumably that was because it would only do one film at a time. Just a little adjustment to the developing times and :D:D:D.

 

Ha, I think your right, for single rolls I find it so easy. Paterson would win out hand down though if you had a load of rolls to get through........

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janrzm

janrzm

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Developing Ilford HP5+ with 200ml ID11 Developer (1:1) for 13mins with continuous agitation, did you feel your negatives were overdeveloped? The results posted certainly look good.

Pete

 

Thats a really good question, having been developing for less than a year I still consider myself a novice, however I believe the results were decent without being great (considering camera and lens combo). My recent rolls of HP5+ developed at 1:3 and shot on the M3 with 50 Lux are far superior.

 

Cheers

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janrzm

janrzm

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jason,

 

thanks for the rodinax experience! i am curious, did you drain the developer and then proceeded with the fixer, and wash procedure as normal ?

 

thanks

 

raytoei

 

Your welcome.

 

Yes I drain the developer, you can only fit 200ml of fluid in the Rondinax otherwise it will leak from the winder. Wash as normal with the HP5+. Extended wash by another 1min and 30 sec for TMAX 100.

 

Cheers

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pico

pico

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Very interesting, thanks!

 

My question is how does one consistently rewind film to the point of the leader? What is the technique?

 

Thanks

 

It is not really necessary. Use a film leader retrieval gizmo

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chrism

chrism

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My first (!) Rondinax arrived today. Looks fine, but the strap and the clip that draws the film onto the spool is missing. I think a flat rubber tourniquet will replace the strap, but the clip that grabs the film will be harder to replace. Crocodile and bulldog clips are too thick. I may just make a couple of hooks and perforate the leader for them to hook into it.

 

Hopefully, the 35u that is coming will be complete (the photos showed a strap). At least, with a little gentle cannibalisation I should get one working tank between them.

 

Chris

Who is more concerned at the absence of firewire on the new MacBooks. My CS9000 and Flextight scanners will not be pleased....

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janrzm

janrzm

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My first (!) Rondinax arrived today. Looks fine, but the strap and the clip that draws the film onto the spool is missing. I think a flat rubber tourniquet will replace the strap, but the clip that grabs the film will be harder to replace. Crocodile and bulldog clips are too thick. I may just make a couple of hooks and perforate the leader for them to hook into it.

 

Hopefully, the 35u that is coming will be complete (the photos showed a strap). At least, with a little gentle cannibalisation I should get one working tank between them.

 

Chris

Who is more concerned at the absence of firewire on the new MacBooks. My CS9000 and Flextight scanners will not be pleased....

 

Good luck with this Chris, as you say, with luck you will be able to get at least one working tank. I'd be interested to see your mod if it works as I feel at some point the clip on mine will need to be replaced.

 

Cheers

 

Jason

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