Black and White Film

'Daniel' · Aug 12, 2005

So I don't need a dark room to process films? Becuase my scanner can scan to a high resolution (9600 dpi- over the top but i can go high is all). Then I can invert the negatives in photoshop do any post work on them then print them out of photo paper? That was what i was hoping to do as it will be cheaper than sending them to be devopled and printed.

Does anyone have a site I can go to with a step by step guide to devloping film?

terri · Aug 12, 2005

Daniel said:
So I don't need a dark room to process films? Becuase my scanner can scan to a high resolution (9600 dpi- over the top but i can go high is all). Then I can invert the negatives in photoshop do any post work on them then print them out of photo paper? That was what i was hoping to do as it will be cheaper than sending them to be devopled and printed.

Does anyone have a site I can go to with a step by step guide to devloping film?

Nope, darkrooms contain the enlarger for printing. It's a completely different step. Not everyone has the time and means for printmaking, but developing film is cheap, easy and gives you control over your work. Then, sure, scan and have a look-see. :razz:

Start here: http://www.darkroomsource.net/tech-bw-film.shtml

I just did a quick google. If you don't find everything answered here, head over to the darkroom forum here with any questions. Good luck and have fun with it!

'Daniel' · Aug 12, 2005

Thanks alot for the help Terri :mrgreen:

terri · Aug 12, 2005

Daniel said:
Thanks alot for the help Terri :mrgreen:

Anytime.

I'm here to serve! :sillysmi:

Unimaxium · Aug 12, 2005

If you're going to be scanning your negs a lot, it might be worth investing in a dedicated film scanner. Flatbeds usually are not very good for scanning film, especially if it doesn't have a special attachment for film. Some good ones to look at are the Minolta Dimage Scan dual IV (the one I have), or the Plustek Opticfilm 7200 (I've heard good reviews about this one, and it's in a similar price range). A cheaper one would be the Prime film PF1800i.

Wade D · Aug 13, 2005

http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/Film Hobbyist.PDF

This is a good leaflet on processing your first roll.

AlmightyWa · Aug 15, 2005

terri said:
Only problem with trying crappy color film is that you end up with crappy color results, which makes digital look good.... that's all digital is good for, anyway - beautiful color shots. It doesn't do anything else particularly well. Very limiting.

It's very cheap to develop at home, if you try some of this B&W film that's been suggested here and love the look. Ilford HP5 and Kodak TMax 400 are both nice high speed films. Love Tri-X for MF. You can hardly go wrong with these films. :thumbup:

A lot of folks enjoy shooting B&W and developing at home - once the film's in the tank you can do it at the kitchen sink, dry them in a closet and you're done. You can then pick and choose what negs you want to make prints of, it's cheap and fun to do it that way.

Good luck, and have fun with it!

Sorry, I meant if you have no idea whether it works or not, not in terms of quality. Yeah, I agree get something a bit better for that

'Daniel' · Aug 15, 2005

Wade D said:
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/Film%20Hobbyist.PDF

This is a good leaflet on processing your first roll.

thanks alot thats really useful.

'Daniel' · Aug 15, 2005

From that I found out that the film I ordered (Ilford Super XP2 400) can be processed at colour labs whichmakes processing alot cheaper. :wink:

ksmattfish · Aug 16, 2005

Chromogenic (C-41) BW films have a huge exposure latitude. If you read the fine print in the tech pub you'll find most can be exposed between ISO 100 and ISO 800 with no change in development. Some can go to ISO 50 and ISO 1600 with no push or pull.

This is great if you are going to be running into lot's of different kinds of lighting while shooting a single roll; you can shoot it at ISO 100 in the bright sunlight, and when you go indoors shoot it at 400 or 800, all on the same roll, and no need to give the folks at the lab any special instructions.

This isn't so great if you are trying to learn to expose correctly, because you can be up to 2 (or more) stops off and still get decent prints.

EDIT: The Ricoh KR-10 is a great camera for a beginner to start with. I recommend them all the time, and in fact my first SLR was a Ricoh KR-5. It'll take any 35mm Pentax mount lens (called K mount).