Numerous questions on the subject.
Well, firstly, is it more cost effective than sending away to a lab?
And is it difficult?
Does the process differ if your developing regular negative film in C-41 to developing slide film in C-41? Or is it exactly the same?
What is the simplest way of cross processing slide film in C-41? Which method?
Sorry for all the questions. I’m trying to work out if a) I can afford to do this and b) if I have the brains to do it, ha ha.
And also because I have about 8 rolls of film waiting to be processed and sending though off to the lab is going to cost me about 50.00 GBP!!! Which to me, seems ridiculous.
Dolly.
5 comments
gauthierdumonde
I only process black and white film at home. It's boring but less expensive if you process a lot. your chemicals can process a lot of film but you have to use them. If you are going to process only afew rolls it is cheaper to send them to a lab. Processing yourself is quite boring. Printing is fun. I never process colourfilm because I only learnt to process B&W.
Here in Belgium I pay 3 euros for a 35mm colour roll, all special films go at 5 -6.5 euro. So 8 rolls for 50GPB is expensive. But don't underestimate the boredom of processing the yourself. It takes a lot of time and it's no fun.
dollymixture
@gauthierdumonde The 8 rolls are a variety of 35mm and 120, some are for cross processing too which adds to the cost.
You see I have most of the equipment needed for the processing, my brother gave me it all some time ago now. I just need a negative scanner and the chemicals really. So at least I wouldn't have to go spending loads of money buying everything just to find out I don't want to do it anymore.
But as you say, it takes time and isn't really fun. It also seems rather complicated to me, so perhaps I should put it off for a while and reconsider in the future.
asharnanae
hehe, now you see, I enjoy processing, it does require a bit of standing around, and you can't stop half way though, so you need to have plenty of time. But it is cheeper if your doing lots of films. The initial outlay for a kit and chems will cost around 60 to 80 pounds depending on how much chemical you buy, but that will do a hell of a lot of films!. Firstcall photographic have a great deal on at the moment where if you buy a black and white developing equipment kit, you get 1lt of developer, stop and fix for free.
As for the difficulty, as long as you measure your chemicals correctly, and leave them in for the right times, then you can't really go that wrong, with a small amount of practice it's easy, both b&W and Colour. The most tricky bit to get the hang of is loading the film onto the spool when you can't see it, but you soon get the feel of it after a few tries. I recommend trying it out with a dud or old film and play around with it in the light in front of you, then close your eyes and have a go, after the first few films you'll get quicker and quicker.
I use the same chemicals and process for colour negative as slide films, I have even processed them in the same tub. B&W is a lot more temperature tolerant, I hardly ever bother to measure the temp now, just use it straight from the cold tap and use the same times as always, depending on the film. Colour is pickier, but as long as you adjust the times to compensate for the temp, you don't have to heat the chemicals. and the companies give detailed charts of the corresponding temps and times.
I would always choose to process my own now, unless I know I don't have the time too. I still take them in to be printed of course, just because I rarely have time to print B&W and I don't have access to a colour darkroom. if you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask. ;)
dollymixture
@asharnanae Ah right, so you don't have to heat the chemicals :o I thought you did, that was the part I was most worried about messing up!
To be honest I'd mostly be doing colour processing, as I don't really use that much b&w film at the moment, so that's mainly what I need to concentrate my efforts on learning, ha ha. I did do it in college back in 2003, but I don't remember much about it. I guess I could get the equipment out and practise loading an old film just to see how I get on with that : )
Do you have a preference to what chemicals you use? Is there a cheap and cheerful brand that works just as well as the more costly ones? (I'm not working at the moment, so price plays a big part in anything I do)
I have all the time in the world really to do the processing, no excuses not to try as I have most of the equipment sitting there. Just need to get a dark changing bag, a negative scanner and a few smaller bits and of course the chemicals.
asharnanae
well I use Digibase C-41 chemicals, It cost around 20 quid to buy a kit for 20 films, or 40 quid for a kit that does 110! so buying in bulk, while a bit more pricy in the beginning, is a whole lot cheeper in the long run. I use this for both normal at X-pro films, expired also, and it seems to work very well.
Heres the link to where I got mine from ( http://www.firstcall(…)m-chemicals ) , don't know if there are cheaper places to be honest, i've not really looked, I buy from them at work so I happen to know the company.
I mix up 500ml of each solution at one time, that fills up my 2 spool/reel tank, and once mixed I keep them in 500ml bottles. Each chemical can be used multiple times, I keep a tick sheet to track how long each chem has been mixed and how many times it's been used. That way, I only mix what I need so I don't waste concentrate, and there is no air in the bottle of mixed chemical to make them go off.
Heres the link to the instruction manual(s) PDF ( http://www.macodirec(…)nManual.pdf http://www.firstcall(…)_rollei.pdf )
It takes about 13 mins to develop at 25 degrees Celsius. I have a heater, and work at a temp of 32 or 38 degrees depending on how much time I have. I also don't keep any of my chemicals (B&W and Colour) in fridges, and i have never yet had a problem with them going off any quicker. If you ever do go into black and white, don't bother buying stop bath either, as I have never yet in all my years of developing seen a measurable difference when just using water and not stop bath.