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Equipment for your own darkroom
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 10:25 pm    Post subject: Equipment for your own darkroom Reply with quote

So here we are, the black force striked back Cool

I thought that some equipment info in order to develop your films might be useful if you plan to do so. Here it goes :

- A developing tank + reels. Its your "shaker" Wink

Nowadays you can still find some new/used ones, prices are between 15 and 30€. Major models are Paterson and Jobo. I use Paterson system 4, very good tank.

- Timer : for controlling the developing time. Some good can be found on ebay, otherwise use a clock, but its worth the investment. Cost 20€ ~

- Bottles for chemicals : you can use some specials, but any milk bottle will do actually.

- Thermometer : for checking developer temperature, usually its 20°, but you can go up to 24°. Cost varies.

- Gloves, scisors, rag. Water supply : kitchen / bathroom. You need not much space like 4m² will do easily.

Patience Very Happy

All listed above is the prime equipment. Now come the chemicals needed ( b&w ) :

- Developer
- Stop bath
- Fixer

The color version uses all of the above, but its a kit called Tetenal C41. C41 is the common process for developing color film.

It was a start, you might complete if i forgot anything, and ask questions too.


PostPosted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 11:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would add:
Bottles for chemicals: the one for the developer should be dark as the exposure to light accelerates the deterioration of the chemical. The accordion type is convenient so the air can be squeezed out and thus the oxidation is slowed down.
chemicals needed ( b&w ) :
-Hypo clearing agent to eliminate efficiently the residual fixer and reducing the final washing time.
-Wetting agent as final bath to prevent drying marks.

For what is concerning color E-6 kits are also available for slide processing.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There's a study I found a few years ago, http://www.udmercy.edu/crna/agm/phenvitc.htm
on the storage life of photographic solutions which suggests strongly that squeezy type plastic bottles don't prolong shelf life at all, but may instead reduce it. This is because the plastic is not impervious to oxygen, which still permeates through to cause oxidation. Anecdotally, this matches my experience. I threw out all my accordion bottles, because the contents had oxidised and left unshiftable chemical deposits on the walls and floor of the bottles.

I use recycled glass medicine bottles. These are brown glass bottles that generally come in 150, 200, 300, and 600 ml sizes, which are pretty much ideal for photographic use. Some over-the-counter antacid products, like Gaviscon, come in such bottles, so I always retain these. Gaviscon usefully comes in two bottle shapes (depending on the flavour of the contents), so I use one shape (the squatter one) for fixer and the other shape (taller) for developer, which helps avoid confusion.

Of course, the bottles need to be washed thoroughly before re-use (it can take ages to get rid of the aniseed smell!).

The other advantage of medicine bottles is that they are brown (helps keep light away) and they have those child-proof caps that help foil little fingers. Of course I keep the stuff stored securely away, but it's remarkable how many inaccessible places are accessible to small hands (a truth I was reminded of at the weekend when I went to get my spare shoes from the shoe-rack, and found the toes each one had been stuffed full of golf balls ; how my twenty-month old granddaughter got hold of the golf balls is known only to her and God).

I use the 150/200/300 sizes to store stock solutions. Mostly, I use Rodinal, which has a long shelf life anyway, and I pour the supplied bottle into a series of 150 or 200 ml bottles, right to the top, and then cap. I use 300 and 600 ml bottles for stock D76/ID11 ; these classic developers have good shelf life and I tend to use them at stock or 1+1. Glass bottles for these have the advantage that glass is a good heat conductor, so glass bottles equilibrate well in a water bath, and all my development is carried out in a 20C water bath.

I label the bottles using one of these plastic film labellers (mine is a Brother P-Touch), as the labels adhere well and don't 'run' when wet. On fixer bottles, I also put a strip of household masking tape and put a pencil tally-mark on the strip each time I process a film, to give me an idea of when fixer-exhaustion is approaching.

Incidentally, I never use hypo clearing agents before film washing. Modern fixers don't need it.

Other useful things are pouring funnels. Those in my photo shop are quite expensive ; those in the supermarket for food use are about a fifth the price. If possible, get different colours : I use translucent for developer, and white for fixer.

I live in a very hard water area in England, so I use Scottish bottled water to make up solutions (it is very soft), regular tap water for rinsing, and bottled water with a dash of wetting agent for final rinse. I am never troubled by drying marks.

I have not used my enlargers to make prints for some time, but this is entirely because my darkroom is used for storage for the time being ; so my prints are scan-to-printer. But film developing, as Hexi indicates, is not difficult ; in fact, I still enjoy it, and I've been doing it for more than forty years.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use 1 liter plastic soda bottles for working stop and fixer - on the theory that these bottles are especially good at being impermiable to gasses, as they hold the carbonation... So far I only use developer as 1 shot solution, so don't require a container. Back in the day I had a 1 gallon brown jug for my D76.

The supermarket (or hardware store) funnels are good ideas - that's where I got mine.

I only use 1 graduate and 1 funnel, which I rinse inbetween the different chemicals. Back when I did the same... never had an issue that I could trace to doing this.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I use different jugs and funnels, but that's because they're very cheap and I'm too lazy to carefully wash them every time Laughing


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm using Perceptol developer atm, and next I'm going to try ID-11. Both of these are powder type developers and come in sealed sachets which make 1 litre of "stock solution". You can use the stock solution directly or dilute 1+3 to make a "working solution", which is discarded after one use. The powder is difficult to dissolve - it's best to use warmer water and cool it down.

The reason I'm trying powder is because I hadn't used even half the litre bottle of neat DD-X before it started to crystallise. The powder keeps indefinitely in the sealed sachets but once opened you need to use it all at once, so I needed a bottle to store the unused stock solution. I'm trying an earthenware 750ml Ginger Beer bottle I bought in a supermarket. It's gas and light-proof and has one of those old-fashioned china and rubber stoppers on a sping clip.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 5:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

peterqd wrote:
I'm using Perceptol developer atm, and next I'm going to try ID-11. Both of these are powder type developers

Curiously enough, a pack for the same size of stock solution of D76 is significantly cheaper at my local photo store than the ID11, even though they're supposed to be the same formulation. I use them interchangeably, but it's normally D76 on the price basis.

I've found the shelf life of D76 to be good, and significantly better than the values quoted on the manufacturer's specifications.

I bought my Rodinal stock bottle over two years ago, and it's still working to spec. I'm pretty sure it's been re-released, following the demise of Agfa's photographic side.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rodinal is now selled as "Fomadon R09 new" . It'll be my next devloper, i started with an easy one : Tetenal Ultrafin, great stuff too.


PostPosted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hexi wrote:
Rodinal is now selled as "Fomadon R09 new"

That's good to know. I came to Rodinal fairly late, having been a Paterson Aculux/fine and D76/ID11 user all my photographic life, and no sooner do I buy Rodinal and discover I like it, than Agfa pulls the plug on its photograhpic operations. Was it something I said?

I started using Rodinal because a friend, who is a digital photographer, had been playing with an old film camera he found, and had run a Tri-X roll through it. He'd been told to try Rodinal, but had no home setup for film processing, so posted it to me and I did it for him. I liked the results, and started using it myself. Nice to know I'm still able to find novelty in the world of silver halide photography!


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well, being that we are trying to get more people involved with film and processing I feel we should post some pics.

Does anyone have a working darkroom right now? If so, could you post a few pics.

I no longer have a darkroom, but I still have my equipment. I will post a few pics so all the noobs can get a look at what the stuff looks like.

#1 Color Dichroic Enlarger



#2 Color analyzer



#3 Tanks



#4 Bottles



#5 Clamps



#6 Graduated cups



#7 Timers





#8 Grain analyzer



#9 Tongs



Not pictured

1. Thermometer
2. darkbag
3. Various tools for dodging
4. trays
5. You will need a tool to open your film canisters
6. squeegee
7. darklight
8. gloves
9. assorted items to keep things clean
10. running water
11. chemicals
12. paper
13. drying rack
14. paper safe
15. funnels
16. stirring paddles
17. paper cutter
18. contact print frame
19. Very helpful to have a siphon and hose for washing prints


Keep in mind, you dont need a color head if your just planning on developing B&W photos. BUT, if you want to have a full functioning darkroom then I would strongly suggest buying a color head. If you start with a color head you will not have to buy a new enlarger in the future.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The tool to open canisters can be avoided by listening when you rewind the film, you can actually keep the "stick" out, this way you cut it before putting into a reel. And when you fail, a basic tool is a bottle opener, workx fine.

Nice equipement, i have one pretty basic ( dev only for now lack of space ) i'll post picturez when i'll do my next dev.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hexi wrote:
The tool to open canisters can be avoided by listening when you rewind the film, you can actually keep the "stick" out, this way you cut it before putting into a reel.

Isn't it annoying how you need these tools now? I remember when the ends of 35mm cassettes could be popped off with your thumb inside the changing bag, and the cassette would still be good for two or three re-loads from the bulk loader. Now, you have to mangle the cassette beyond re-use in order to open it.

Usually, I try to rewind leaving the leader out (some cameras with auto rewind have a setting that allows the rewind to stop with some leader left out), sos that I can unfurl it easily in the changing bag.

My convention, which may be a useful tip to others who don't already do it, is to fold a crease at the tip of the leader in a rewound cassette, to indicate that it's exposed, just in case it accidentally gets stored with unexposed cassettes. I use that method because I don't always have something to hand that will write on the cassette. You can imagine why I've adopted that trick.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 9:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good tip re. the leader. Back when I usually left the leader out, but these days I find it safer to use a bottle opener.

Why?

You know those 120 rolls, which clearly read EXPOSED and in case you don't get the point have words on the paper: WRONG END. EXPOSED ALREADY! STOP YOU STUPID FOOL. or words to that effect.

I'm a STUPID FOOL and went ahead and loaded an exposed roll backwards. The film of course wouldn't go in and I had a jam plus dented film.

So I know I'd shoot the same roll of 35 like 5 times if I left the leader out now.

Rolling Eyes the ravages of age...


PostPosted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 11:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nesster wrote:
So I know I'd shoot the same roll of 35 like 5 times if I left the leader out now.

Rolling Eyes the ravages of age...

SmileSmile I once sent an unexposed roll of Provia to the lab! Now I cut off the leader when I take the film out of the cam.