Standard Procedures?

[jjkimtennis]

Hi guys,

So I recently found a Canon AE-1 at a flea market and snapped a few rolls of pictures. For the most part, I used the cheap Kodak color film you'd find at a CVS or Rite Aid. And I also used a couple of rolls of black and white film. I have all the basic materials: Kodak HC110, Ilford Rapid Fixer, a changing bag, wetting agent...etc...

Is there a standard procedure I can follow that'll get the job done? Or do the times and temperatures vary depending on what kinds of chemicals and films I use? I was under the impression that they do vary, so I checked out Digitaltruth Photo - Film Photography, Darkroom Supplies & Resources and I couldn't find the names of the cheap Kodak/Fuji color films I used. They all fall under the category of C41, right? And do I need any special kits to develop C41? Or can I develop them with what I have so far?

Does anyone have any helpful links? Sorry, I'm guessing you guys get these kinds of threads all the time, but I'm totally clueless about development, and I already searched through this forum.

Thanks!

 

[ann]

C-41 film is meant to be developed in color chemistry, I had some students develop some in HC110 and they did come out, but with a serious magenta mask. Take them to a one hour photo shop and let them develop the negatives. You can then print them in your darkroom or scan them .
Color is a bit tricky to develop for beginners as temperature is critical.

There are standard procedures for film vs specific developers, mostly with regard to time as most are meant to be used at 68.

Go to Ilford's film website and they have a group of pdf files about how to develop negatives, print , etc.

Digital truth is a good resources, but it is put together with recommendations made by a wide variety of sources. Just check the film box of the film your using and it should give the recommended times. There is a site specifically for Hc 110 users, but off the top of my head I don't remember the url. Am sure if you just google HC 110 it will appear

 

[dxqcanada]

Yes, development varies with Temp, Chemical, and Film type.
I tend to use one developer and try to keep consistent temp whenever I use B&W film ... makes it easier and times do not vary much.

Colour Negative film is developed in C-41 chemistry, which is different than chemistry used to develop B&W negative film.

 

[Josh66]

There is a site specifically for Hc 110 users, but off the top of my head I don't remember the url.

Kodak HC-110 Developer - Unofficial Resource Page


In a way, C-41 is easier. All you have to worry about is temperature. Everything else is the same for every film (unless you need to push or pull). You can develop a roll of 160 film and a roll of 800 film at the same time in the same tank.

But yeah - with B&W, it will pretty much be a little different for every film/developer combination. The box the film comes in should have some developing times, as well as the container the developer came in. Then there's the Massive Dev Chart. If you can't find a time for your film/developer combination - do a search on Flickr. That way you can see a picture of what it might look like too. For example, you could do a search for "HC-110 Tmax 400", and you will get a bunch of results showing pictures with that film and developer. Roughly half will also say which dilution they used, and for how long. It'll give you a good starting point, at least.

 

[STM]

You must use Process C-41 chemicals to process the color film and that process is far more involved and far more critical as far as tempertures (+/- 1/2 deg, F and they are not all the same either) and time. Of course the nice thing about C-41 is you can process ASA 100 and 400 together. Process C-41 used to come in kits made by Unicolor and Beseler but they are long discontinued. You can use the kits designed for the big automated processors, which is what I do, only in tanks and water baths, but they are expensive. And I do MEAN expensive!

As for the black and white, you also need a stop bath (acidic) to quench the development prior to fixing. Some people use water to just flush out the developer before adding fixer, which will stop development, but that can lead to uneven fixing and black marks on the film. Although not required, I would also recommend a hypo clearing agent so you do not have to wash your film for 45 minutes to remove all traces of fixer, which can stain the film over time. With black and white, each specific ASA film has specific time requirements (based on temperature) and developers when it comes to development. Times for stop bath are pretty standard, about 30 seconds with agitation (gentle inversion of the tank about once every second and a half) every 15 seconds and fixing for 7-10 minutes with agitation for 5 seconds per minute after an initial 30 seconds of agitation. Also, HC-110 is a good all around film developer, but you can get inconsistent results unless you are meticulous about agitation, time, etc. The negatives have been known to pick a magenta cast, which when using multigrade paper will mess with your contrast. Sufficient agitation during development is critical. Honestly, for first time users, something more forgiving like D-76 is a lot better

 

[dxqcanada]

Does anyone have any helpful links?

Something from Ilford: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf

 

[bhop]

...Process C-41 used to come in kits made by Unicolor and Beseler but they are long discontinued...

Not true. I use Unicolor.

Color Chemicals Color Print | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

 

[STM]

...Process C-41 used to come in kits made by Unicolor and Beseler but they are long discontinued...

Not true. I use Unicolor.

Color Chemicals Color Print | Freestyle Photographic Supplies

I stand corrected! When did they start re-releasing the kits? They dropped them for a long time. That is good news! Thanks for the link!

I see they are now the powder kits, I always preferred the liquids but at this stage of the game, anything is better than nothing.

 

[bhop]

When did they start re-releasing the kits? The dropped them for a long time. That is good news!

Not sure exactly, i've been using the unicolor powder for a couple years now though. The $18 kit is cheap enough to be worth doing it yourself. You can usually get a good number of rolls from it before it's exhausted. (instructions recommend around 8, but i've read of people doing up to 20, although, I don't usually do that many) I've tried the Arista liquid stuff too, but the unicolor works just as well for me and is cheaper.

 

[Josh66]

When did they start re-releasing the kits? The dropped them for a long time. That is good news!

Not sure exactly, i've been using the unicolor powder for a couple years now though. The $18 kit is cheap enough to be worth doing it yourself. You can usually get a good number of rolls from it before it's exhausted. (instructions recommend around 8, but i've read of people doing up to 20, although, I don't usually do that many) I've tried the Arista liquid stuff too, but the unicolor works just as well for me and is cheaper.

I'll have to get that next time. I've been using the Arista kits. The gallon kit will do 32 rolls (per the instructions), or a little more. The instructions basically just give you the minimum number of rolls it will do, but say that it can do more - stop using it when it starts looking off.

The Tetenal kits seem to be pretty popular too. (I don't think Freestyle sells them, but B&H does).