NOVICE 35MM COLOR DEVELOPING KIT
Alberto
negatives at home. I don't need to process prints at home. I've got a
digital scanner to do this. What would be a basic system for doing
this? Does anyone know of an easy to use system/kit on the market for
this specific purpose? The Jobo CPE-2 Plus is a fairly expensive
system that does enlarged prints as well. I don't necessarily need
this feature. All I need is something to develope a 35mm roll into
negatives. How complicated is this process if done manually?
Ken Hart
"Alberto" <berti...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:951d3433.03041...@posting.google.com...
It's not complicated. You need at least a film developing tank, an accurate
thermometer, an accurate timer (clock), a container for use as a tempering
bath (to keep the processing temperature up), and a set of chemicals in
containers.
I process color film in a two or four roll (35mm) stainless steel tank; the
chemicals sit in a water bath at 100F degrees in 32 ounce measuring cups.
The process I use (read the instructions with the chemicals you get!) is
pre-soak in water at 100F for one minute, developer for 3:15 at 100F, Bleach
for 6:30 at 75F to 100F,(temperature from this point is 75F to 100F) wash
for 3:15, fix for 6:30, wash for 3:15, stabilizer for 1:30, hang to dry.
--
Ken Hart
kwhart@remove this aec,nu
Tom Phillips
Alberto wrote:
You don't need an expensive processor. You can develop C41 with just a
tank and reel and a water bath maintained to about 1/4 degree F. A
tempering bath is useful for this (essentially a tub of water with a
heater and temp control) but you could do it using a hose attached to
your fawcet feeding water into a tray to keep your solutions and tank at
developing temps if the water temp can be made constant enough; you're
not likely shooting for professional monitoring and consistency. To just
learn the basics this is what I'd recommend. Spend money on a table top
processor when you're sure it's worth the investment.
Kodak has a PDF on basic B&W film developing; the chemistry is different
but general prep and procedures are similar
(http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/aj3/aj3.pdf).
Any good text on general photography will explain basic procedures and
agitation techniques. Temperature and agitation is of most importance
when developing film, especially by hand; temperature tolerance is far
tighter with color than with b&w.
Rachel Koktava
I've recently started the same and have a few pointers that may help
you save some time and film.
I think the C41 kits don't vary that much between manufacture, so we
just brought a non-branded one. It'll do until we have the procedure
running smoothly and then maybe I'll try a brand kit to see if I get
an improvement.
At the moment I'm using quite a simple set up just to establish some
working norms.
I purchased a cheap plastic general storage box for a few pounds and
we fill that with water two degrees above the developing temperature
and prepare the chemicals and leave them to stand in this water to
adjust to the correct temperature. The bath water temperature drops
quite quickly so you'll need to keep and eye on it and replace some of
the water with hotter water every so often.
I have a separate development tank to avoid cross-contamination with
the B&W equipement. Cross contamination is a big problem and every
thing gets washed, particularly the thermometer - every time it is
used.
The development tank, with film loaded, is left to stand in the bath
for 5 minutes prior to development to warm through. I also use a
prewet at 2 degrees above developing temperature for 1 minutes.
Now, this is important. When the thermometer is inserted into the tank
to measure the temperature of the film/developer, there may be a
systematic error between the temperature at the thermometer and the
temperature at the film. In my case its about one half a degree at
38C. You can try some simple tests with an unloaded tank and water to
determine if this is true for you too. What I'm trying to say is that
the if I insert the thermometer into the tank and it measures 38C I
know that the temperature AT THE FILM (rather than in the pipe) is
37.5C. I can then correct for this to avoid over development.
One more thing, as the quantities of developer are quite small and
easily perishable it was tricky to prevent them oxidizing. Quite a few
people use the foil wine containers but they aren't so good for small
quantities. Recently I discovered that Sports shops stock collapsable
water carriers for hikers. They are rather like hospital drip bags,
but can be refilled. As they do them in quite small sizes I've found
them to be ideal for storing the developer/fixer between uses.
I hope this all helps.
regards
rachel
Roman J. Rohleder
wrote:
> Recently I discovered that Sports shops stock collapsable
>water carriers for hikers. They are rather like hospital drip bags,
>but can be refilled. As they do them in quite small sizes I've found
>them to be ideal for storing the developer/fixer between uses.
I think they are called "camel bags", in great variation by different
producers.Its easier to find them this way. ;-)
>regards
>rachel