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Home colour development

Second roll, a better test, OK light.

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Nothing wrong with the colours in that, looks pretty much exactly like Superia 400 that I get back from a lab.
 
Cool, Ian.

Can you also develop film in an army helmet on a moonless, cloudy night. :)

Joe
 
Yes, good stuff Ian. I've ordered some bits to go with the processor (5L tetenal kit, and colour thermometer). Just realised how much film the 5L kit will process - I was expecting the same sorts of number of films as B&W chemistry but I think i'm going to have plenty of spare!

Ian, three bottles - developer, blix and stabiliser - jobo recommend that you don't put the tanks/spirals in the stabiliser. Have you read much about this? I'm not sure if it's a problem they are trying to solve which happens after 10 films (a real problem) or 1000 films (not a problem for me).

Cesare
 
hi Cesare. I don't put the reel or tank in the stabiliser, what I've read suggests that's a bad idea. I have a litre of stabiliser in a small bucket, and simply unreel the film and drop it into the bucket, and then gently sloosh it around for a minute or so making sure the film gets evenly covered, then remove the film with a pair of tongs and hang it up to dry.

The crucial bit temperature wise seems to be to make sure the developer is at as close to 38.5 degrees as you can get it, for the whole 3 1/4 minute development time. A sinkful of appropriately heated water with the bottles of chemicals and the tank left in it until they're at exactly the right temperature seems to do the job, and keeping the tank in the water during the dev time, in between agitations. Fix and stabiliser are less fussy, seems they just need to be around 30-38 degrees.

It's really easy, just a bit of preparation to start at the right temperature and a bit of care with the chemistry (not too much inhaling).
 
As I said, I got a rotary processor off eBay - a CPE2 with lift so i've probably got no problems with temperature once i've got the gizmo calibrated with a decent thermometer. I stick some B&W through it last night and it's very simple to operate. Next stop, C41...

Ok, so you have gone the stabiliser in a bucket approach. I've read that some modern films don't need stabilising, the problem with tanks isn't really an issue etc etc. I'll do what they recommend. The stabiliser seems to do lots of jobs - stabilise the dyes, act as an anti-bacteria wash, and to let water flow from the film. It seems the dye stabilising bit isn't so important with modern films but the other jobs still need doing.

Cesare
 
Had a go last night at C41 - no problems what so ever. The thermometer on the CPE2 is accurate for 38C, and the chemicals are very easy to mix up. I haven't scanned the results yet, they were still drying last night.

I've got a couple more films to process, so i'll maybe try these tonight. I think i've certainly over-ordered since the kit size is much larger than I need. Clearly an excuse to shoot lots of colour film then!

One other point i've only just realised is that all films need the same developing time, so I can batch 100/400/800 speed films which of course you can't do with B&W. This means that experimenting with different films and speeds is much easier than with B&W since I can batch develop them.

Cesare
 
This is all very interesting, and it's good to read that it's easier than I had thought it would be. I look forward to seeing more results.
 
I'm planning to give this a go next month when I've bought all the stuff, but how do you dispose of the chemicals? Do they have to be taken to the tip and put with the used engine oils and so on?
 
My local council will take it, for a small fee. I guess most local councils have their own chemical waste disposal rules. Otherwise, if it's only small amounts, diluting it very heavily and washing it down the drain is what Ilford suggest.
 
Anex said:
Could you point me towards where it says that please? The guides I've read so far didn't cover that.
Click to expand...

I read this in the Jobo manual for the development tank that I have:

http://www.jobo.com/jobo_service_analog/us_analog/instructions/instructions_load_care.htm

contains the comment:

Caution: Stabilizer (or Kodak final rinse, or any Photo-Flo type surfactant) should always be used in the following way: Use a dedicated container for the solution. This solution should be stored and used off the processor (at room temperature). Remove the film from the reels before immersing the film in the solution. If reels or tanks are immersed in these solutions, they will eventually cause processing contamination effects. The reels will become difficult to load. Rinsing or cleaning the reels or tanks after processing will not eliminate this problem.


Now i've also read the net that this is a new thing, and that the old Jobo manuals didn't mention this. One person on the web I read said it was nonsense and that he had been using stabilizer in the same tanks/reels for 18 years. He mentioned that he poured the stabilizer into the tank having removed the lid, and that once dunked he took the film off the reel to dry, and then immediately washed the tank/reel in water to clean off the stabilizer.

So, the problem may be as simple as leaving stabilizer to dry on the reel/tank leads to problems longer term. Not sure which way to go on this one at present so i've gone with a bucket as ian has for now.

Cesare
 
Thanks, I'm not sure what to do now :) As I haven't got a fancy processor dealy I'm leaning towards buying a tank for colour and just using the tank for the whole process, same as B&W. I clean my equipment straight after use anyway, so hopefully it'll be OK. The worst that could happen would be messing up a bit of film and needing a new tank and chemicals I guess? I don't really like the idea of having buckets of chemicals in my kitchen.

Ok rooky question number 2, do I need a full set of measuring beakers specific to colour, or can I use my B&W ones which I wash after each use? I presume I can't mix them, but trying to keep costs down.
 
The main issue if, like me, you're not using a processor, is avoiding dunking the reel in the stabiliser. If, as the quote Cesare posted indicated, it's anything like Photoflo it will gunk up the ball bearings on the reel pretty quickly, and is very hard to clean off properly. That's why I dunk the film, off the reel, into a small bucket of the stuff (I do the same thing with PhotoFlo, with b&w processing). Saves having to scrub the reels clean every time.

Should be fine using the same measuring jugs, as long as everything's washed.
 
Ohhh right, I've just been chucking wetting agent into the tank on final rinse, I hadn't realised it would cause problems. Maybe I need to invest in a couple of buckets then.
 
Uh-oh, this is news to me (am I the only one?). I've always just poured 10 oz of water+surfactant into my dev tank, and then dunked the reels. I'll just pop the reels apart and dump the film out into a wide mouthed container from now on.

Dan

edit: Ah I see Anex is in the same boat.
 
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