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Developing film


Wayne

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I am taking a leap here and guessing that this is the best place on this forum to ask this question:

 

I have never developed a roll of black and white film in my life. Further, I have never watched anyone develop a roll of black and white film. Even further, I have no interest is building a sophisticated black room for the purpose of developing and printing, chemically, from negatives. My interest is is obtaining the minimum amount of equipment and skill to develop black and white film solely for the purpose of creating digital prints from the negatives.

 

I have searched the web and been unable to find any tutorial on the most simplistic way of reaching my goal. I have been able to find sites that offer comprehensive information on the process and equipment involved in setting up a full blown dark room, but nothing covering just the most basic process. I have heard of individuals developing a roll of film with nothing more than a canister, chemical, and a darkened space......even nothing more than a hand muff.....but have never seen the process explained in detail, or, exactly what is needed to do it.

 

Is such information available on the web.

 

I anticipate getting my M3 back from CLR in a few months and, if possible, would like to give it a try.

 

Thanks,

 

Wayne

 

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I am taking a leap here and guessing that this is the best place on this forum to ask this question:

 

I have never developed a roll of black and white film in my life. Further, I have never watched anyone develop a roll of black and white film. Even further, I have no interest is building a sophisticated black room for the purpose of developing and printing, chemically, from negatives. My interest is is obtaining the minimum amount of equipment and skill to develop black and white film solely for the purpose of creating digital prints from the negatives.

 

I have searched the web and been unable to find any tutorial on the most simplistic way of reaching my goal. I have been able to find sites that offer comprehensive information on the process and equipment involved in setting up a full blown dark room, but nothing covering just the most basic process. I have heard of individuals developing a roll of film with nothing more than a canister, chemical, and a darkened space......even nothing more than a hand muff.....but have never seen the process explained in detail, or, exactly what is needed to do it.

 

Is such information available on the web.

 

I anticipate getting my M3 back from CLR in a few months and, if possible, would like to give it a try.

 

Thanks,

 

Wayne

I'm a lot like you. I've no interest in all of the rest of the stuff that goes along with shooting film, I just want good scanned negatives cheap. :)

 

Youtube is your friend.

 

There are dozens of videos showing exactly what to do to develop black and white film at home....dozens.

 

Not to mention loads of websites with instructions.

 

I'm currently trying a "monobath" developer to make things even more simple.

 

Just google "R3 Monobath" to get info.

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If you look in General Discussion you will find a thread specifically about film and the darkroom.  Since you are just starting out pick the type of developing tank you would like to use, plastic or stainless steel, a sacrificial roll of film and practice loading the reel in daylight.  When you are both confident and comfortable with loading the reel, move to the next step of being able to load it in either a darkened room or a changing bag.  It is the most basic step in the developing process but it is also the most important.  Ensuring the film is loaded correctly on the reel, not touching in any place and wound on evenly, will eliminate many of the problems encountered when developing those first few rolls of film. 

Edited by madNbad
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Is such information available on the web.

 

Any amount you could possibly want. YouTube, as already mentioned is a good place to start.  A tank, a couple of spirals, a changing bag, a thermometer the chemicals and a few containers and graduates are all you need.  You can often find complete film processing outfits for sale on Ebay, for instance. You'll need a scanner, so buy the best film scanner you can afford.

 

Welcome to film photography!

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Thanks for the quick responses. I did go to Youtube and came across a demo of the JOBO 2400 daylight tank. Alas, I can't find that item for sale anywhere. I looked like it might be exactly what I am looking for.

 

Thanks again.

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Just another thought...for years I used a Rondinax tank (branded Leica), for which no darkroom or changing bag or dark closet is needed to load your film, and the amount of chemicals needed per roll is quite small. Although these are no longer made, they can frequently be found on Ebay for around $40. The only reason I rarely use mine anymore, is that because of how it works, it isn't usable for stand development, which these days is my preferred method. There are You Tube videos on how to use it....quite simple.

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Thanks for the quick responses. I did go to Youtube and came across a demo of the JOBO 2400 daylight tank. Alas, I can't find that item for sale anywhere. I looked like it might be exactly what I am looking for.

 

Thanks again.

 

Arcane chemicals, things you can't buy, all recipes for disaster. You want to keep it simple, so keep it simple.

 

All the chemicals and equipment you buy should have the maximum user base, as in more people use them than other equipment. Why so? Because when you have problems a lot of people will understand those problems and be able to help. It is a fundamental tenet of learning to process film, don't be swayed by 'I've never had a problem' or 'I find this works', you don't know what standards those people are working to even though they 'never have a problem'. Go in any other direction you like later, after you know the basic's at least.

 

So you need a kitchen sink, a large changing bag, three or four two litre jugs, Paterson daylight tank and reels, measuring cylinders, thermometer, and some further containers for your chemicals. Then follow the Ilford guide to film processing, it is 'industry standard' and unlike videos doesn't interject with comments such as 'this is what I do next'.

 

Steve

Edited by 250swb
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Thanks for the courtesy and great help. I have purchased a Paterson PPT 115 Supersystem off of Ebay. It was cheap, and seems to meet my needs. I will reference the General Discussion section for any more film developing questions I might have.

 

Now, to go M6 shopping.

 

Best regards,

 

Wayne

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Wayne,

Found THIS for you this morning.

 

It doesn't get any easier or more detailed than this.

 

 

Part 1:
http://prosophos.com/2012/06/02/qa-how-i-develop-film-part-1/

 

 

Part 2:
http://prosophos.com/2012/06/04/how-i-develop-bw-film-part-2-of-3/

 

 

Part 3:
http://prosophos.com/2012/06/06/how-i-process-bw-film-part-3-of-3/

Edited by rpavich
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I have searched the web and been unable to find any tutorial on the most simplistic way of reaching my goal.

 

Is such information available on the web.

 

 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+to+process+a+black+and+white+film

 

Maybe also learn how to use a search engine!

 

Some additional tips - practice loading the developing tank/reel in daylight (you'll have to sacrifice a roll of film for this purpose). Don't obsess too much about times and temperature to start with, there's a fair degree of latitude with B&W film, just follow the guides as close as possible. You just want to get the hang of the general process and then it becomes second nature, like making coffee.

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Oh, another top tip, when you take the film out of the wash cycle and hang it to dry, don't use tongs to take the excess water off - they often leave marks or scratch the film. Fold a piece of kitchen paper towel up to form a pair of paper 'tongs' and run it gently down the film in one smooth action. It works brilliantly to give mark free negs.

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Hi Wayne

Make sure your reels are very dry, and clean.  Any moisture will make the film "bind".

Also I cut a tiny corner of the film leading edge sides, so no sharp bits to catch.

Practice with a sacrificial roll in daylight is essential.

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

cheers  Dave S ;)

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Wayne, next time ur on YouTube search for Matt Day, he's posted a few videos on developing film.  This is debatable but I'm a huge fan of using a squeegee before hanging negatives.  People will state they can scratch negatives but so can trying to clean off dried chemicals.  I change my squeegees out regularly when they start looking ragged, also prefer not to waste time or money with film cleaners and wipes.

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People will state they can scratch negatives but so can trying to clean off dried chemicals. I change my squeegees out regularly when they start looking ragged, also prefer not to waste time or money with film cleaners and wipes.

 

The reason people 'state' that squeegee's shouldn't be used is because generally speaking they don't know what type of film the OP is using (or even how clumsy they are), and some films have very soft emulsion where even an anal retentive using a brand new squeegee would damage the surface. The advice certainly isn't aimed at spending more money than necessary or more time than necessary. I've taught a lot of photography and the teacher should be thinking about what could go wrong and tailor advice along those lines to avoid problems before they happen, not advising what the pupil can get away with if they are lucky.

 

Steve

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My problem is what to do with the negatives after developing them. I've tried a macro lens for photographing them with not very good results and buying a scanner is out at the moment. (Just bought an m9 and a baby on the way!)

 

I faced that dilemma not long ago as well. I spent some 20+ years doing darkroom work with B&W but got away from it about 15 years ago. I moth balled my enlarger, lens, easel, etc and really didn't want to get it out again so, the only other choice was to buy a scanner if I intended on shooting B&W anymore. That's what I ended up doing.

 

If your intentions are just for making prints the darkroom is the only way it'll happen and get the best possible results. Some scanners are superb like the defunct Nikons but dedicated 35mm scanners can produce great results for the web if that be your intentions. It's all about what you want to do with the finished product. If you choose the darkroom you can still scan the prints for the web. If you don't want to take the time and money to get set up in the darkroom then scanning is your only out.

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The reason people 'state' that squeegee's shouldn't be used is because generally speaking they don't know what type of film the OP is using (or even how clumsy they are), and some films have very soft emulsion where even an anal retentive using a brand new squeegee would damage the surface. The advice certainly isn't aimed at spending more money than necessary or more time than necessary. I've taught a lot of photography and the teacher should be thinking about what could go wrong and tailor advice along those lines to avoid problems before they happen, not advising what the pupil can get away with if they are lucky.

 

Steve

 

I'm in no way trying to teach or preach the right way to develop film to Wayne.   I've taken the Pepsi challenge and I prefer the squeegee, just providing an opposing view to consider.  It's just a squeegee dude, calm down no need to get insulting.  This is suppose to be fun remember.

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I'm in no way trying to teach or preach the right way to develop film to Wayne.   I've taken the Pepsi challenge and I prefer the squeegee, just providing an opposing view to consider.  It's just a squeegee dude, calm down no need to get insulting.  This is suppose to be fun remember.

I did my first roll a few days ago and I HAVE a squeegee but I chickened out, I was so afraid of scratching that I just let the film hang. I only had about 3 water spots that I can see so far though.

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