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Negative developing
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:49 am    Post subject: Negative developing Reply with quote
I have now aquired a nice film camera and I think to make it affordable to use I need to get developing my negs at least if not actually going to the print stage I will digitise the negative. So some questions, I am familiar with the general negative developing procedure from my B+W days.

1 C41 seems to be a common film type is it possible to develop this reliably at home? I think I may need to be more temperature aware than I was for standard B+W processing.

2 I want the highest possible quality available for my images is C41 the way to go?

3 Can you buy Colour bulk film?

4 It seems there is B+W and colour C41 so could I develop them side by side same temperature etc?

6. Click here to see on Ebay How about something like this? is it feasable to use at home?

Thanks


PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Dare I ask why C41 Negative rather than E6 positive?

There's little slow speed C41 available these days.


PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Please dare away! I am a complete newb to anything like decent colour negative production. Due to the cost I never did anything beyond mono developing myself and getting my colour produced it a lab. C41 I heard was low grain and I liked the thought of being able to develop the mono and colour together. What would I be gaining by using positive? is it better quality? easier to develop? I have a vague recolection that it is far less tolerant of poor exposure... something like that so... point me the right way!

So I should have said I want to shoot film and digitise the negative, how should i do it! Laughing


PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 2:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I'm very out of touch with developing (and film in general). Looking at film stocks though I can't find any C41 lower than 100 ISO, whereas with slide (E6) you do have Velvia (and possibly others).

I haven't used C41 B&W in over ten years (the original Ilford XP1)


PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 5:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I suppose scanning or photographing the the neg will be more accurate as there will be no orange cast as there is with standard film. I will do some more research....


PostPosted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
I did develop slides 20 yrs before my self without any problems. I guess you will not have any problem also, but I don't know suitable chemical available or not this time.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:21 am    Post subject: Re: Negative developing Reply with quote
hacksawbob wrote:
I have now aquired a nice film camera and I think to make it affordable to use I need to get developing my negs at least if not actually going to the print stage I will digitise the negative. So some questions, I am familiar with the general negative developing procedure from my B+W days.

1 C41 seems to be a common film type is it possible to develop this reliably at home? I think I may need to be more temperature aware than I was for standard B+W processing.

2 I want the highest possible quality available for my images is C41 the way to go?

3 Can you buy Colour bulk film?

4 It seems there is B+W and colour C41 so could I develop them side by side same temperature etc?

6. Click here to see on Ebay How about something like this? is it feasable to use at home?

Thanks


Hi Bob

I've looked into doing E6 colour processing at home and the general opinion is it's not worth the effort. Colour requires stricter temperature control, more processes than B&W and the chemicals are more expensive. I'd like to have go at it one day though. I get my B&W chemicals from
Speed Graphic. They also sell chemicals kits for C41 and E6.

If you want the highest quality images, I agree with Richard that E6 positive film is the way to go, although 50ASA is a bit too slow for these grey days I find. Generally, slower film has finer grain and is more forgiving with exposure. I'm currently trying 100ASA Ektachrome E100 G.

I do use colour neg film too. I get it developed by the lab and then scan it myself ans their scans are pretty awful. The colour cast is not a problem, I posted an easy method of removing it a while ago. And newer scanner software removes it quite easily if you don't want to do it yourself.

I don't really understand the benefit of using C41 B&W film. The images aren't any better, I think it's just that the developing process is more convenient if you don't do it yourself.

There's lots of information on the Kodak and Ilford websites.


PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hello Bob
This is my opinion and how I go about things. C41 is not good for home lab. In our lab we only do B+W. Color and C41 requires Chemistry that is not so friendly and is best not done in a home for people. If you only want to do B+W skip any dye films as they are crap for the most part anyway. Michelle and I mostly use Kodak and Ilord B+W products in our little shop. They are very consistent and easily available. Rollei also has some great films that we use (IR in particular). All can be developed using the same chemistry. If you are just getting started or even for future uses try Kodak Tmax developer liquid. It is easy to mix and cheap to purchase. Nearly all film manufacturers (B+W) have develpment times listed using this developer. It is a liquid and easy to measure, mix, and store. For fixxer we use Zonal pro it is a simple 1:4 also a liquid concentrate. Kodak photoflo finishes the job and is easy to find as well. Temperature is importartant. Mostly that you use the same temp with the same development times. Tmax developer is easy to push or hold back with. It does not have some of the subtle nuances that some of the other developers on the market can provide. Certainly a great way to get started though. For color my suggestion would be. 16bit digital. It is the most environmentally responsible. If you are only shooting small format, it is the way to go. Have fun, and don't count out wet laq enlarging. For B+W it is a lot of fun and will teach you a lot about how you want to expose your frames Smile


PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks I have ordered some velvia 100 with processing included to get a feel for it. I have some Ilford HP5 here which I may try having a go myself.
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