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Which kind of film I should use?

tuanvo1982

By tuanvo1982
in Film Forum

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tuanvo1982

tuanvo1982

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I am disappointed now ..... because of my story. I bought a M6. The first film roll make me very excited. However, processing this roll drives me crazy. The film roll is ILFord FP4+ ISO 125 BW, Boots, Jessops said it took 2 weeks for processing and costs £10. Oh dear, I can't believe in my ears anymore.

 

Now I realise that I should use C-41 then Jessops or Boots provides 1 hour or 2 day service. Actually, choosing iso should depends on the weather but Kodak only give ISO 400, ILFord gives ISO 400 as well. I didn't see any film ISO 125 or 200 for B&W C-41.

 

Could you please suggest me your film experience ?

e.g :

what kind of COLOR or BW film I should use.

 

Thank you

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tuanvo1982

tuanvo1982

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Tuan

 

Why don't you develop b&w film yourself? Very rewarding and a lot cheaper.

My first roll is FP4, I think it is not C41 then I cannot use C-41 process. I am thinking about processing myself now. However, I still don't know what exactly Developer, Fix and Stop which I need for C-41. There are quite alot types on eBay. Beside that I also need a scanner. I thought about using Uni Lab but it isn't close to my house now. Do you have any idea?

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antistatic

antistatic

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Have you thought of developing your black & white at home? It is no more difficult than baking a cake or changing a tyre on a car. It is inexpensive to set up, the running costs are low and you can have a strip of negatives hung up and drying in less than 30 mins.

 

When I wanted to get started I found the oldest guy working in one of the better local camera stores and asked for his advice.

 

And the answer to any question about film is always TriX ;)

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tuanvo1982

tuanvo1982

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Have you thought of developing your black & white at home? It is no more difficult than baking a cake or changing a tyre on a car. It is inexpensive to set up, the running costs are low and you can have a strip of negatives hung up and drying in less than 30 mins.

 

When I wanted to get started I found the oldest guy working in one of the better local camera stores and asked for his advice.

 

And the answer to any question about film is always TriX ;)

 

Honestly, I hear about that C-41 process, I saw on youtube as well but I just don't know which kind of developer, fix and stop chemicals that I should buy because there are alots in the ebay. Which one do people prefer to use? and how many rolls can we developer with 500ml of developer, fix and stop liquid.

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!Nomad64

!Nomad64

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My first roll is FP4, I think it is not C41 then I cannot use C-41 process. I am thinking about processing myself now. However, I still don't know what exactly Developer, Fix and Stop which I need for C-41. There are quite alot types on eBay. Beside that I also need a scanner. I thought about using Uni Lab but it isn't close to my house now. Do you have any idea?

 

No, FP4 it's not C41. For starters you may want to try vanilla development in D76/ID11 (Ilford's for D76) following the timing instructions as per the leaflet that came with your film roll.

It's not that hard, really!

And if you learn to enlarge and print you won't even need a scanner. Eventually you'll scan the print with a flatbed scanner.

 

Nowadays we're all digital drugged and can't even figure how to do without it, but developing the film and then enlarging and printing has been the way photographers have gone for quite a century. Furthermore it's a creative process that will disclose endless possibilities and will lead you to learn and touch first hand the basic principles of photography.

 

Cheers,

Bruno

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tuanvo1982

tuanvo1982

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No, FP4 it's not C41. For starters you may want to try vanilla development in D76/ID11 (Ilford's for D76) following the timing instructions as per the leaflet that came with your film roll.

It's not that hard, really!

And if you learn to enlarge and print you won't even need a scanner. Eventually you'll scan the print with a flatbed scanner.

 

Nowadays we're all digital drugged and can't even figure how to do without it, but developing the film and then enlarging and printing has been the way photographers have gone for quite a century. Furthermore it's a creative process that will disclose endless possibilities and will lead you to learn and touch first hand the basic principles of photography.

 

Cheers,

Bruno

 

Cheers,

Bruno

How is about fixer and stopper? what type should I use? Can we use the same stopper and fixer with C-41 process?

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!Nomad64

!Nomad64

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Have you thought of developing your black & white at home? It is no more difficult than baking a cake or changing a tyre on a car. It is inexpensive to set up, the running costs are low and you can have a strip of negatives hung up and drying in less than 30 mins.

 

When I wanted to get started I found the oldest guy working in one of the better local camera stores and asked for his advice.

 

And the answer to any question about film is always TriX ;)

 

Or HP5... :)

 

Bruno

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!Nomad64

!Nomad64

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How is about fixer and stopper? what type should I use? Can we use the same stopper and fixer with C-41 process?

 

No, absolutely not. Unless you're using a bw film specifically made to be developed in C41, but it's NOT the case with FP4.

Besides, if I'm not wrong - I used to develop my bw films long time ago - bw films are developed at much lower temperature, the standard being 20°C whilst the color negatives must be developed at around 38°C.

As stopper you can use either a 2% solution of acetic acid in H2O or the Ilfostop, which has the advantage of smelling much less.

As fixer you can use Ilford's Hypam.

 

 

Cheers,

Bruno

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Twotone

Twotone

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How is about fixer and stopper? what type should I use? Can we use the same stopper and fixer with C-41 process?

 

Could be wrong here as I'm fairly new to B&W film and in particular C-41 but I don't think you can develop these films yourself, they're designed for photolabs as far as I'm aware.

 

I'm using, mainly, Illford XP2 super 400 C-41 which is a 400 asa film and I have been getting it processed in Boots. Cost of a 36 roll of film is £5ish and the cost of 7X5 prints x36 is £7.50 and £2 for a CD of the scanned images.

 

I like the Illford film but I think there is a slight green colour cast on the photos which is something I read about before buying the film, I've also used the Kodax B&W film mentioned above but I've only used one roll so can't really comment on that.

 

I think if your going to get into film then you should pick one film and use that for an entire year to see how thing change over the course of the year, light and weather & etc then try something else and so on.

 

Personally I don't think the total cost to process and buy the film is too expensive relative to setting up a darkroom with all of the equipment required for that and then buying chemicals, enlarger and so forth.

 

I only shoot about one 36 roll of film a month. Twenty odd years ago (when I last shot film) the cost of a colour 36 roll of film was about £3.50 and processing cost about £5 or so for 36 prints. I think these were also C-41 or C-61.

 

I did use Kodachrome about 30 odd years and I think, from memory, the cost of a roll of 36 exposures was around the £7 mark.

 

Tony.

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Guido

Guido

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For the C41 process (color negative film only), I would recommend the Tetenal Colortec C-41 Rapid Negative Kit, 1 litre - Firstcall Photographic .

 

This kit supports two modes of development: the "fast" mode at 38°C, and the "slow" mode at 30°C. The "fast" mode is very time and temperature critical, and I would not recommend it for casual home processing. Instead, use the "slow" mode, which is as fault-tolerant as black&white processing. I heat all solutions in their bottles to 31°C in the microwave and then go to work. The developer should be stored in the fridge, the other liquids can be kept at room temperature.

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Paulus

Paulus

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Try reading " The negative" by Ansel Adams. Then look for a guy who can explain you how to develop a film at home, or start a corse in printing and developing. It's fun to learn! You also become a better photographer!

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stunsworth

stunsworth

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You _can_ develop C41 at home, though for B&W I preferred 'traditional' films. These are very simple to develop, and the cost of the kit needed to do it is low. Stop and fixer are not critical, for developer I used Xtol.

 

There's a PDF on ilford's web site detailing what you need to do.

 

Personally I'd prefer to get started rather than read the Adams book first.

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!Nomad64

!Nomad64

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Vo, I couldn't agree more with Steve.

 

You _can_ develop C41 at home, though for B&W I preferred 'traditional' films. These are very simple to develop, and the cost of the kit needed to do it is low. Stop and fixer are not critical, for developer I used Xtol.

 

+1

 

There's a PDF on ilford's web site detailing what you need to do.

 

There are several, actually. The Ilford site is a goldmine. I took the liberty of highlighting those publications that might be of primary interest for you.

 

This is to know your FP4+: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2010628104821855.pdf

This is about D76/ID11 and the processing: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/20062161159472874.pdf

This is about the fixer: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006130214472102.pdf

 

Here are some useful recaps about timing and temperatures:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006216122447.pdf

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006210208211880.pdf

 

Personally I'd prefer to get started rather than read the Adams book first.

 

+1. Albeit he starts from the very basic concepts, the Ansel Adams trilogy is to be considered a sort of advanced training. You should clear your ideas first and getting accustomed with the basic principles and operations. After all there's nothing so complicate. In a certain sense it's like learning to cook. You try a recipe, you fail a couple times and then you end with something finally edible.

 

Hope this helps

Bruno

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tgray

tgray

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No. XTOL is not short for Perceptol.

 

I use XTOL as my main developer. For stop I just do a 30 second water rinse, and for fixer I use Ilford Rapid Fixer. You're likely to get a million different suggestions, but I would pick a liquid rapid fixer over a powder fixer - easier to mix and faster acting. You don't *need* to use a stop bath; do it if you want or if you find a particular need to.

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