Is my camera store useless?

[moliver]

Hi folks,

I went to my local camera shop and told them I needed all the chemicals to get my dark-room running. I have read the seven part series in B&W photography featured on this website, so I was moderately aware of what I needed. I started by trying to find what I needed on my own, but was somewhat overwhelmed, and asked for help.

Now I'm home and trying to develop a roll and I'm positive I don't have fixer, and I've got a couple things that I don't have a clue if I even need or not...

I'd really appreciate if anyone could help me out...
Here's what they said I needed:

Ilford Ilfosol S (this is my developer)
Ilford Ilfostop (my stop bath)
Kodak Photo-Flo 200 (my detergent)
as well as...
Huster Rapid Bath - Hypo Remover (?)
Ilford Washaid (?)
A tiny ($9) bottle of Hypo Chek (this is an indicator of some sort for fixer I think?)

 

[nealjpage]

I wonder if they forgot. I use Kodak fixer with hardener. Seems to work fine and is cheap. Give them a call and see if they have any. If not, try Freestyle. I get all my chems from them.

 

[moliver]

Any idea if I need any of this other stuff?

 

[nealjpage]

I develop, rinse with water, fix, rinse with water, and soak in Photo-Flo. I don't think you need the other stuff. I'd stick with the Ilfosol and the Photo-Flo, return the other stuff, and exchange it for some fixer.

 

[moliver]

That was my guess too. Thanks!

 

[Steph]

I believe Huster Rapid Bath and Ilford Wash do the same thing: they are 'hypo-eliminator' used to speed up the removal of the thiosulphate by-products formed during the fix process. If you wash your film long enough with water after fixing, you should not need them. They are more useful when washing fiber based (FB) papers.

 

[Alpha]

I would replace the rapid bath with something else if available. That Huster stuff is a commercial hardening fixer. There's no reason to use hardener in your fix if you're developing at home. It's used commercially because pro-labs process film on roller-transport machines, where its actually necessary. I'm personally a big fan of TF-4 from The Photographer's Formulary.

 

[JC1220]

If you are going to be using any of the Efke/Adox films, I recommend a hardener in the fix as these scratch fairly easy. Most other modern films, or if you are using a pyro based developer (unlikely since you are starting out), you don't need the hardener.