dgc Posted January 19, 2015 Share #81 Posted January 19, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) ...unfortunately for now I really cannot think about processing myself and stuff....studio flat, lack of time....I will organise something at some point for sure though! As many here have mentioned you do not need a lot of equipment or space. I recently started to print again and my set up is the enlarger sitting on a black and decker work mate in the shower with a table over the toilet with the developer, stop bath and fixer trays. I wash the prints in the hand basin. Time is another issue, but once you have the darkroom set up you can print a contact sheet in minutes. And it is whole lot easier spooling a film onto a reel in a darkroom than in a changing bag. There is definitely a learning curve, which extends from taking the image to final development to fully understand the process, but my time in the darkroom has been one of the most relaxing and satisfying experiences in a long while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 19, 2015 Posted January 19, 2015 Hi dgc, Take a look here I think I want to try shoot film.... I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
jonnyboy Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share #82 Posted January 20, 2015 Yeah I'm organising myself, slowly but sorely I will get my foot into it! Meanwhile....Plustek OpticFilm 8100 is it a good choice to scan negatives? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted January 20, 2015 Share #83 Posted January 20, 2015 Meanwhile....Plustek OpticFilm 8100 is it a good choice to scan negatives? I would think you could certainly do worse. Try it, you'll be happy I reckon. One thought. I bought a Plustek recently, I'd have to check on the model but it might have been the 8100. I couldn't use it with OSX, and I am all Mac. Check before you commit. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
}{B Posted January 20, 2015 Share #84 Posted January 20, 2015 If you want to try home development and don't have a dark room try to pick up a Jobo Daylight tank. As the name implies the film can be loaded in daylight and it is a simple operation ( I use one). The only drawbacks are that it can only take one film at a time,it uses 450 ml of developer and the leader has to be left out of the cassette when rewinding. They seem to pop up on E Bay - here is an example Jobo 2400 35mm Daylight Loading developing tank | eBay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth3kpl Posted January 20, 2015 Share #85 Posted January 20, 2015 Or the Rodinax Agfa Rondinax 35 U Review | Aperture Priority Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nr90 Posted January 20, 2015 Share #86 Posted January 20, 2015 Or the RodinaxAgfa Rondinax 35 U Review | Aperture Priority I have one of those. Very easy to use. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share #87 Posted January 20, 2015 Advertisement (gone after registration) Nice! Bigup fellas thanks for the hook-up! I will definitely look into the Rondinax, I dont do so many rolls at the moment so 1 roll at time will do for me! I will need some tutorial or something I have absolutely no clue how to handle it And thanks gbealnz I am OS too so I need to do research properly, I swear I was about to buy this morning luckly I read this on time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted January 20, 2015 Share #88 Posted January 20, 2015 Ha, good timing then. I did buy it, but on-sold it, at a loss, my mistake. It would work obviously (I think), via Parallels or BootCamp, or similar, but I couldn't be bothered. I've found the Plustecks good value of money, just do the research. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
250swb Posted January 20, 2015 Share #89 Posted January 20, 2015 Nice! Bigup fellas thanks for the hook-up! I will definitely look into the Rondinax, I dont do so many rolls at the moment so 1 roll at time will do for me! I will need some tutorial or something I have absolutely no clue how to handle it And thanks gbealnz I am OS too so I need to do research properly, I swear I was about to buy this morning luckly I read this on time! If you are learning developing buy something that everybody else uses so you know they have dealt with similar problems when you have problems, and you will have problems. You then have lots of people's feedaback rather than very few people's feedback. So get a Paterson tank, a changing bag, and some standard chemicals and a normal everyday film. You really are asking for trouble and being led up the garden path by going in another direction just because it sounds easier. Steve Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
baci Posted January 20, 2015 Share #90 Posted January 20, 2015 Ha, good timing then.I did buy it, but on-sold it, at a loss, my mistake. It would work obviously (I think), via Parallels or BootCamp, or similar, but I couldn't be bothered. I've found the Plustecks good value of money, just do the research. Gary That's odd - I'm about to buy one myself and the brochure says it is compatible with OS X. Also software variants are all OS X compatible. Or am I missing something? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IkarusJohn Posted January 20, 2015 Share #91 Posted January 20, 2015 Hi Johnnyboy, Loved reading about your film journey! The M4 was a great choice. I would counsel a little caution as there are many blind alleys in film photography. This about your desired end result, and how to get there with maximum quality and minimal waste. First, good camera, good film and well processed (I think you have to really get your head around developing the film yourself) - from there things get complex. I used to get all my films developed, and order contact prints. I could then decide which images I liked and might further process. Scanning is probably the best approach these days. I use a Plustech scanner, with Vuescan software. I then import the raw file (TIFF) into LightRoom. Once you have your digital file, you come to the next fork in the road - what to do with the file or the negative. Many here will say there's no substitute for a wet print from a negative. I don't really agree with that - if the scan and post processing is done well, the results can be exceptional ... if done well. I send my Monochrom files to Whitewall, and they're fabulous. So, you have the choice - select the negatives you want properly printed and find a professional printing lab to do the shot you want. If you have a contact sheet, you can show them what adjustments you want made. Or, rely on your digital image, process it yourself and email it to someone like Whitewall. The final choice is to print yourself. I used to think this was fun ... If I was anywhere near London, I'd give you my enlarger, safelight and trays, but I'm a long way away! I can't help but think from the moment you frame the shot, everything has the potential to go downhill - lens, film, developing, [scanning] and printing. Control what you can, and forget about the rest. Developing film just takes care. I get someone else to print. Cheers John PS - Ansel Adams three books - Camera, Film and Print - are a useful start for you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share #92 Posted January 24, 2015 Hi Johnnyboy, Loved reading about your film journey! The M4 was a great choice. I would counsel a little caution as there are many blind alleys in film photography. This about your desired end result, and how to get there with maximum quality and minimal waste. First, good camera, good film and well processed (I think you have to really get your head around developing the film yourself) - from there things get complex. I used to get all my films developed, and order contact prints. I could then decide which images I liked and might further process. Scanning is probably the best approach these days. I use a Plustech scanner, with Vuescan software. I then import the raw file (TIFF) into LightRoom. Once you have your digital file, you come to the next fork in the road - what to do with the file or the negative. Many here will say there's no substitute for a wet print from a negative. I don't really agree with that - if the scan and post processing is done well, the results can be exceptional ... if done well. I send my Monochrom files to Whitewall, and they're fabulous. So, you have the choice - select the negatives you want properly printed and find a professional printing lab to do the shot you want. If you have a contact sheet, you can show them what adjustments you want made. Or, rely on your digital image, process it yourself and email it to someone like Whitewall. The final choice is to print yourself. I used to think this was fun ... If I was anywhere near London, I'd give you my enlarger, safelight and trays, but I'm a long way away! I can't help but think from the moment you frame the shot, everything has the potential to go downhill - lens, film, developing, [scanning] and printing. Control what you can, and forget about the rest. Developing film just takes care. I get someone else to print. Cheers John PS - Ansel Adams three books - Camera, Film and Print - are a useful start for you. Thanks very much for taking your time and drop me a line.... I received yesterday my 35mm scanner which I will test as soon as possible...for now I will get them scanned and stored in my hard drive...I'm still experimenting a lot with rolls and Im actually learning a lot to weight up every shot (rather than shoot everything like many do with digital)... if I get 1 or 2 good shots in a roll I'm an happy person but yeah I will organise my own little processing method as soon as possible, probably at the end of this month! I will have a look at those books you described, I had a quick look on google they seems interesting! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted January 24, 2015 Share #93 Posted January 24, 2015 Old RF cameras can be severe problems and you will not be experienced enough to detect problems. Buy only with warrantee. I paid for plenty of repairs. Second they experience age related issues just like old cars. I see no big benefit to film and it is worse if you do not process it yourself. Spend the money on a decent computer and programs so you can properly process the digital images to achieve outstanding pictures. There is a fairly big learning curve here. I eventually bought a Mac Pro and 27" Eizo Color Edge screen. Then look at some of the tutorials on net. Do do this right, you need a good calibrated screen and vision of what can be accomplished. This is basically a computerized darkroom. You need a darkroom to take advantage of film. Scanning is a pain and if that is the end, just use the M8. This is a very expensive hobby and unless you are very rich and have lots of time, you can not try everything. There is a reason why most pros have gone digital and most non Leica film cameras are cheap. That said I have kept a few film cameras and occasionally use them for fun. I would not go back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticman Posted January 24, 2015 Share #94 Posted January 24, 2015 Seriously - ignore Bilek's unrelenting negativity. He's always doing this. Before getting into film about four/five years ago I only ever owned digital cameras (including an M8), and also worked with digital imaging at one of Sweden's top international advertising agencies. I can honestly say I've never had better results nor had so much fun as when I finally made the jump up to film. I love the way the scanned images look, and they need much less post-processing than any digital files. So far I've been using mostly color, but now I'm starting with black and white - and the discovery (and some failures) is all part of the massive blast of using film. Don't listen to the naysayers and spoilsports - the world is full of them. If we absorb their negativity we'd never do anything. Get out and have your own adventure with film! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share #95 Posted January 26, 2015 Seriously - ignore Bilek's unrelenting negativity. He's always doing this. Before getting into film about four/five years ago I only ever owned digital cameras (including an M8), and also worked with digital imaging at one of Sweden's top international advertising agencies. I can honestly say I've never had better results nor had so much fun as when I finally made the jump up to film. I love the way the scanned images look, and they need much less post-processing than any digital files. So far I've been using mostly color, but now I'm starting with black and white - and the discovery (and some failures) is all part of the massive blast of using film. Don't listen to the naysayers and spoilsports - the world is full of them. If we absorb their negativity we'd never do anything. Get out and have your own adventure with film! Thanks for the good vibes, it's always good to read positive things which help me going on... I just went to collect my negative and I came back home...Im just sitting with a nice cup of tea scanning those negatives.... so relaxing! I will post some flicks later - only the good ones! Im waiting a couple of work invoices to be paid and I will definitely dig into my own little darkroom! Since I got the M4-2 I completely left my M8 in to the shelf...I may bring it out for a spin next weekend... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Berke Posted January 26, 2015 Share #96 Posted January 26, 2015 Hi guys, I was in the U.S. for 2 weeks and I managed to shoot 7 rolls - I had more with me but one day the film decided to break inside the camera so I stopped using my M7 trying to save the film (which didn't happen, I brought the camera to RG Lewis and they had to open the body in order to remove the film, all the photos in that roll gone! ) although I had my Ricoh GR-V as main camera as I was pretty excited to visit the States for my first time and I knew I was going to overshoot around:p So after proper research online I thought to give a go to Aperture to process the films...I went today. Wow I got charged 62£ (process only!) for 7 rolls of film (black/white) the price hit me! I guess I will have to do my little dark room as soon as possible! I'm buying a 35mm scanner next week, one of those Plustek Opticfilm but yeah I got really shocked when I saw the total for those negatives... That is expensive - Peak Imaging are far cheaper - about £3 a roll to process. If it helps I made a similar decision to you and took the decision to process my own b&w - a dark bag, thermometer and process tank + containers will be about £40 and a starter set of chemicals about £20. I use Ilfosec which has produced good results with tri-x and tmax. This video is excellent https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFbTFz6sSIM Obvious really, but best to try a couple of test rolls first - also keep the reels very clean before and after use and only dry in a dust free environment - otherwise you will get scratches and dust. I also use Plustec - perfectly good but a bit slow. Enjoy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted January 27, 2015 Author Share #97 Posted January 27, 2015 http://i58.tinypic.com/rmpan7.jpg http://i62.tinypic.com/1zfoitg.jpg http://i58.tinypic.com/8wi7oy.jpg Few shots from New York. I put the Plustek to work, it is actually working smooth on MacOs without the needs of third part software.... really happy with the little toy! I saved that video on how to process negative, love the semplicity the guy explain the process step-by-step, legend! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Berke Posted January 27, 2015 Share #98 Posted January 27, 2015 http://i58.tinypic.com/rmpan7.jpg http://i62.tinypic.com/1zfoitg.jpg http://i58.tinypic.com/8wi7oy.jpg Few shots from New York. I put the Plustek to work, it is actually working smooth on MacOs without the needs of third part software.... really happy with the little toy! I saved that video on how to process negative, love the semplicity the guy explain the process step-by-step, legend! It is a great video - very cool tutor. Also worth a look at the massive development chart online. It has all the times for all development chemicals and black and white film brands. Great photos x Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share #99 Posted February 1, 2015 So tomorrow I may place my order for the darkroom kit... I think I will buy it off Amazon and I was thinking what's the difference between those 2: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paterson-Super-System-Universal-Reels/dp/B0000BZMIH/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1422789799&sr=1-4&keywords=film+processing+kit Paterson Film Processing Kit: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics I will be processing ONLY 35mm Black and White. And for now Im not interested in printing, enlarging etc etc. Really would like to keep it as essential as possible as my home space is already extra tight Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share #100 Posted March 20, 2015 How many rolls I will be able to process with this: Ilford Film Processing Chemical Kit - All the chems need to dev your neg | eBay Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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