Getting into colour

[bob whitehouse]

I have access to a fully equipped B+W darkroom and am fairly proficient at
developing & printing black & white.

My daughter (art student !) has, against my advice, (as usual !), bought
herself a cheap "Holga" 120 roll film camera and has been snapping away on
colour negative film.

She is now realising that it is going to be seriously expensive to get this
stuff developed & printed.

The quality requirements are very low ( light leaks and wierd colours are
marketed as a"feature" of Holga cameras ).

So I was just wondering if this might be a good excuse to have a dabble at
colour (C41) processing.

I think that I need;

Some C41 chemicals (£10.80 at fotospeed)
Some RA4 paper and chemicals.

Questions (C41 developing) ....

1) Can I use my normal (B+W) Paterson spirals and tanks ?
2) Can I use a sinkfull of hot water (100F) to keep everything at right temp
?

Questions (RA4 printing) ....

1) Can I use my B+W enlarger (dichromatic head) ?
2) Can I use my normal trays for printing ?
3) Can I use normal safelights when printing RA4 (probably same question as
(2)
4) Fotospeed sell "room temperature" (20C) RA4 kits - are these any good ?

Given that most places charge around £8.00-£10.00 for 120 colour dev and
print, and that I could probably buy enough chemicals and paper for 20 films
for about £40, I reckon that I could save myself a pounds, given that my
quality requirements are not high.

Any thoughts ?

thanks,

Bob W

[WB3FUP (Mike Hall)]

You can use the same equipment to process the film.

I fit a empty vegetable can with both ends cut off into the drain of my
sink. This results in a bath of water 2 - 3 inches deep. I keep water at
100 degrees running into the sink while processing, and keep the bottles
holding the chemistry and the tank (during the times I am not playing
bartender, you will understand after you do your first roll) in the sink.

Colored paper IS NOT SAFELIGHT TOLERANT - YOU WORK IN THE DARK (unless
there have been changes in the past 15 years, it has been that long. I
make black & white prints on Panalure before going to color, and I contact
print the roll onto color paper before making individual color
enlargements. Most people drum process color paper. The drums are not
that expensive. A motor is nice but rolling give acceptable results.

Your enlarger will work better than mine - I use filters, never purchased
the dichoric head - YET.

--
73 es cul

wb3fup
a Salty Bear

"bob whitehouse" <bob.whi...@bt.com> wrote in message
news:bh08nf$iqd$1...@pheidippides.axion.bt.co.uk...

[Francis A. Miniter]

HI Bob,

My comments are interleaved.

Francis A. Miniter

bob whitehouse wrote:

>I have access to a fully equipped B+W darkroom and am fairly proficient at
>developing & printing black & white.
>
>My daughter (art student !) has, against my advice, (as usual !), bought
>herself a cheap "Holga" 120 roll film camera and has been snapping away on
>colour negative film.
>
>She is now realising that it is going to be seriously expensive to get this
>stuff developed & printed.
>
>The quality requirements are very low ( light leaks and wierd colours are
>marketed as a"feature" of Holga cameras ).
>
>So I was just wondering if this might be a good excuse to have a dabble at
>colour (C41) processing.
>
>I think that I need;
>
>Some C41 chemicals (£10.80 at fotospeed)
>Some RA4 paper and chemicals.
>
>Questions (C41 developing) ....
>
>1) Can I use my normal (B+W) Paterson spirals and tanks ?
>

Yes.

>2) Can I use a sinkfull of hot water (100F) to keep everything at right temp
>?
>

I use a hot water bath (the plastic kitchenware you can buy at any
grocery or general store) with digital kitchen thermometer to regulate
the temperature, making sure I get the solution temperature to it
desired setting. I also put the tank with film in another hot water
bath so that the solution does not cool when poured into it,

>Questions (RA4 printing) ....
>
>1) Can I use my B+W enlarger (dichromatic head) ?
>

Dichroic head. Yes, but you will need to put CC type filters into the
filter tray.

>2) Can I use my normal trays for printing ?
>

Yes, I do. No safelights allowed. In fact, for small quantity
processing, this is as good as any other way.

>3) Can I use normal safelights when printing RA4 (probably same question as
>(2)
>

No. The papers are panchromatic and will be altered by any light.

>4) Fotospeed sell "room temperature" (20C) RA4 kits - are these any good ?
>
>

I do not know. I compound my own chemistry.

>Given that most places charge around £8.00-£10.00 for 120 colour dev and
>print, and that I could probably buy enough chemicals and paper for 20 films
>for about £40, I reckon that I could save myself a pounds, given that my
>quality requirements are not high.
>

Compounding your own chemicals drops the price like a rock.

[Robert Feinman]

You can develop your own film, but the per roll cost is almost the same as using
a photofinisher. It's not very rewarding use of time either. Just shifting
liquids in and out of a film tank while trying to hold the temperature constant.
I suggest you just get the film developed (here in the US about $3). Then you
can use the darkroom for making prints. This is the more creative part of the
process, anyway. All you need is a print drum and a motorized drum roller. Used
ones are available very inexpensively. Trying to use trays is a nightmare.

bob whitehouse wrote:

--
Robert D Feinman
robertd...@netscape.net
Landscapes, Cityscapes, Panoramic Photographs: http://robertdfeinman.com

[bob whitehouse]

Thanks all for the responses.

Robert's suggestion makes a lot of sense. I assume that it is the film
developing that is particularly temperature sensitive ? (you can always try
again with printing !)

I've spotted one or two colour drums on eBay - currently bidding for a few
pounds. This has to be worth a go.

BW

"Robert Feinman" <robertd...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:10603568...@nntp.acecape.com...

[Frank Pittel]

For the most part I agree that C41 isn't worth doing yourself. I do think
that it's something a person should do at least once though. It makes you
a lot better at B&W. :-)

Robert Feinman <robertd...@netscape.net> wrote:
: You can develop your own film, but the per roll cost is almost the same as using

: bob whitehouse wrote:

--

Keep working millions on welfare depend on you
-------------------
f...@deepthought.com

[Ed Berger]

I agree that it makes sense to have C41 film processed at a lab and
then do the printing yourself, which is where you save money. I
disagree that processing color prints in trays is a "nightmare." I
started doing this about a year ago, and, once you get used to moving
the prints from tray to tray in the dark, it's no more difficult than
B&W. I started with Beseler room temperature chemistry (now
discontinued) and switched to the Tetenal equivalent. One useful tool
for getting the color correct is a set of Kodak color print viewing
filters (or maybe with the Holga, you don't want the colors too
accurate!).

Frank Pittel <f...@warlock.deepthought.com> wrote in message news:<aO2cneqFHJw...@giganews.com>...

[Gregory W. Blank]

The only thought I would add is that RA4 chemicals
give off alot of foul odor/quite possibly toxic
and very hard on the respiritory system, one should have a very good
exhaust fan if you intend to process this way. A covered processor
will at least hold back some of the fumes & odors,...but you still should have an
exhaust fan.

In article <600d357d.03081...@posting.google.com>,
ebe...@attglobal.net (Ed Berger) wrote:

> I agree that it makes sense to have C41 film processed at a lab and
> then do the printing yourself, which is where you save money. I
> disagree that processing color prints in trays is a "nightmare." I
> started doing this about a year ago, and, once you get used to moving
> the prints from tray to tray in the dark, it's no more difficult than
> B&W. I started with Beseler room temperature chemistry (now
> discontinued) and switched to the Tetenal equivalent. One useful tool
> for getting the color correct is a set of Kodak color print viewing
> filters (or maybe with the Holga, you don't want the colors too
> accurate!).
>

--
Check out my website @
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~gblank

[F.C. Trevor Gale]

Greetings;

Frank Pittel wrote:
>
> For the most part I agree that C41 isn't worth doing yourself. I do think
> that it's something a person should do at least once though. It makes you
> a lot better at B&W. :-)
>

Ever since I went over to medium-format some years ago, I have been
doing both mono and colour work in my darkroom. Doing C-41 development
won't save you any money, but does give you the chance to have a film
ready when you want it, even on a Sunday afternoon, and have it
developed without scratches or questions...
For me the satisfaction is complete since once the film is bought, the
rest is up to me, as it were.

My regards - Trevor Gale.