5x4 Developing Tanks

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Nomad Z

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Just wondering what people's thoughts are on the various options for daylight developing tanks for 5x4 sheet film.

I currently have a Combiplan, which I find okay to load, but the filling and draining is pretty slow. I also find the top light trap a bit awkward to use with wet hands (needs to be slackened to make pouring in work, and tightened for doing inversions).

The other main ones that I'm aware of are the MOD54 insert for Paterson tanks, and the Jobo system. The MOD54 appeals due to the speed of filling and draining, although I don't know what it's like to load, and I've seen mention that the sheets can come loose from the prongs and possibly stick together. Haven't really looked at the Jobo other than to note that it's rather expensive (about twice the price of a Paterson 3-reel tank and the MOD54), and gets rather silly if you include the loading guide and base gadgets.

Any thoughts on these? Others?
 
I use CombiPlan tanks, and agree with the slow filling comment. I don't have wet hands when I need to turn the top light trap, so can't comment on that part.

Purists will throw their hands up in horror at this, but as I use an acid stop bath and a single use developer (Rodinal) I sometimes/often remove the tank lid, quickly pour away the developer and pour in the stop. The latency time before the developer begins to work on this second exposure is long enough for the stop to kick in and arrest development. I suspect that I might find a difference with a densitometer, but in practice I've never noticed any more fog.

Ther MOD54 has been redesigned slightly from the first version, and it may be that the comments you've seen refer to the original model.
 
I wasn't aware that the Mod54 has been redesigned. I use the original version.

The sheets don't come out of the prongs once the holder is inside the tank........I think you'd have to shake the tank like something daft to get that to happen.

Personally I find it easier to load a max of 4 sheets as against 6 and of course by placing 2 close to the center column and the other 2 towards the exterior of the holder, any slim chance of the sheets touching each othe are greatrly reduced,
 
Asha said:
I wasn't aware that the Mod54 has been redesigned. I use the original version.

The sheets don't come out of the prongs once the holder is inside the tank........I think you'd have to shake the tank like something daft to get that to happen.

Personally I find it easier to load a max of 4 sheets as against 6 and of course by placing 2 close to the center column and the other 2 towards the exterior of the holder, any slim chance of the sheets touching each othe are greatrly reduced,
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That's exactly what I do and I have never had a sheet come out of the prongs yet. Even if I load all six sheets it still seems to work ok.
 
I use one called an sp-445. It works really well. Does 4 sheets. It was funded by a kickstarter campaign.
 
Robclarke said:
I use one called an sp-445. It works really well. Does 4 sheets. It was funded by a kickstarter campaign.
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I was about to post the same thing. I haven't used mine yet but it feels well made and very compact.
 
I've got both the Combi-Plan and the SP-445 and either will do a good job for you.
 
I use the mod 54. A little fiddly to to put film in first but once you get hang of it and its fine.
 
StephenM said:
I use CombiPlan tanks, and agree with the slow filling comment. I don't have wet hands when I need to turn the top light trap, so can't comment on that part.
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Perhaps I, too, could deploy the Mk1 towel. :) I found that Imaging Warehouse do some CombiPlan spares and got a proper funnel from them - I didn't realise that it's soft plastic and makes a seal around the top light trap. I found filling went much better with that compared to the normal funnel I was using (difficult to maintain an even flow and keep spills at bay). I haven't used the CombiPlan much, but I think I'm getting a bit better with it. (First time I used it, I forgot to put the little cap back on the bottom, and my next stage of chemical started pouring out while I was pouring it in...)


Ther MOD54 has been redesigned slightly from the first version, and it may be that the comments you've seen refer to the original model.
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Quite possible - wasn't really noticing dates when I was doing my searches on the MOD54, but I have seen various versions of it in photos. Or maybe the stories of loose sheets come from being too heavy handed with the agitation.

At the moment, having thought about it some more, I'm leaning towards the Jobo system (I have a CPE-2 processor with lift). Although I'm only doing B&W in 5x4 at the moment, I feel I should consider the possibility of doing colour at some point, and there's a potential cost benefit in processing it myself - 4 quid a sheet for dev only at the local lab, with the attendant travelling and waiting (plus 6 quid or more if I want a scan) gets expensive pretty quickly. I think I need to crunch some numbers.
 
I just found this thread on LF Photo...

http://www.largeformatphotography.i...ompatible-to-2800-printtanks-Same-size-height

It so happens that I also have a 2840 print drum which came with the processor, which I had assumed wasn't going to be much use, but it turns out that it's compatible with the 2500 series stuff. According to the last post there, the 2840 can convert to a 2520/2820, which sounds promising, but the top and bottom of my 2840 look like this...

Jobo 2840 top + btm.jpg

It's a cog lid, if that makes any difference. The thing is, the bit that extends inwards on the lid reaches nearly all the way to the bottom of the base and it doesn't look like there is room to fit a 2509 reel. Am I missing something, here? Would I have to use the full drum and a centre column thingy? Two reels?
 
Turns out that the thing above is a beaker light trap which is used on the print drums because there's no centre tube like you would have with roll film reels. It also turns out that it's a bayonet fit, and that this and the light trap funnel as used on the roll film kit are interchangeable between all tank series. Since I also have a 1520 tank, I just did a bit of checking and I can fit the funnel from that to the larger lid. The centre tube from the 1520 is also the right length. In short, I can assemble a 2520 tank from the bits I already have, meaning I only need to add a 5x4 reel to use this in the processor. If I wanted to use it without the processor (ie, for B&W), I'd need to find an inversion lid. It would also be handy to find a centre tube extension, if it exists, that would let me use more than one 5x4 reel with the full 2840 tank, although I suspect it will be longer than the two reels would need, and there might be an issue with the amount of fluid needed when using the processor (600ml max for the CPE-2).
 
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Nomad Z said:
Turns out that the thing above is a beaker light trap which is used on the print drums because there's no centre tube like you would have with roll film reels. It also turns out that it's a bayonet fit, and that this and the light trap funnel as used on the roll film kit are interchangeable between all tank series. Since I also have a 1520 tank, I just did a bit of checking and I can fit the funnel from that to the larger lid. The centre tube from the 1520 is also the right length. In short, I can assemble a 2520 tank from the bits I already have, meaning I only need to add a 5x4 reel to use this in the processor. If I wanted to use it without the processor (ie, for B&W), I'd need to find an inversion lid. It would also be handy to find a centre tube extension, if it exists, that would let me use more than one 5x4 reel with the full 2840 tank, although I suspect it will be longer than the two reels would need, and there might be an issue with the amount of fluid needed when using the processor (600ml max for the CPE-2).
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I think I'm in the same position although I have the unit you show on the left, fitted as an extension to a larger drum. So thanks for the tip as I've got an Intrepid 5*4 camera on order and may be able to do the same as you suggest. Mind you my CPE2 fused the house electrics last time I used it so I'd better solve that problem first !
 
Kevin Allan said:
I think I'm in the same position although I have the unit you show on the left, fitted as an extension to a larger drum. So thanks for the tip as I've got an Intrepid 5*4 camera on order and may be able to do the same as you suggest.
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Yes, that's the tank part of a 2520. It's also the base of the 2840 print drum, which is that, an extension and a lid. The difference is that the print version has no reel tube or funnel light trap.

I'm starting to realise that the Jobo stuff is very modular. I'm looking into all of my likely processing scenarios to see what I'd need to add to cover them all. One thing about the Jobo processor is that it's a bit of a faff to set everything up when the kitchen is a temporary lab, so I'd like to be able to do larger batches of C41 film. It's also becoming tempting to use the Jobo tanks as inversion kit for B&W, given that I'd have most of it for the processor already. The only real stinger is no inversion lid for the 5x4 stuff, and it looks like the rather pricey 2551 tank (which can do 12 sheets) is the best option - that would let me do a batch of 12 C41 sheets in the processor, and give me an inversion lid for 6 sheets of B&W (or 12 sheets if I feel like making half a gallon of chems). Same idea with the 135 and 120 - a 1540 tank gives me lots of scope for numbers of films if I mix and match with the 1520 bits, and again gives me an inversion lid. Those two tanks would also mean enough reel tubes and light trap funnels to run a full batch of C41 in both tanks in one extended session. I haven't added up the prices yet - it might be a phased purchase. :)


Mind you my CPE2 fused the house electrics last time I used it so I'd better solve that problem first !
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Good luck with the electrics. Hopefully, it isn't anything too serious. (Can't help much - never opened it up.)
 
There is of course the poor mans method of making tacos of the sheet film and placing directly in the Patterson tank with the center column in place.
I did this exclusively for some time and indeed still do on the occasion that I have a whole plate sized negative to soup.
It works perfectly well and costs nothing but a few elastic bands if you already have a tank.
 
I use a MOD54, both an original and a new version, but never managed to get six sheets in either, that might be because I wear nitrile gloves so I don't damage the film, therefore I can't quite feel what I'm doing in the dark.I actually have two inserts so I can do eight sheets at a time and it saves on chemicals, which I recycle for two insert's worth of developing, because the tanks, of course, use an extravagant litre of developer and fixer.
 
The only problem with the Patterson orbital for colour film is that the level of liquid us so shallow it's next to impossible to maintain the temperature. I had one for Black and white No it was fine but got rid of it as colour was a right pain.

I use a cpe2 with the lift and jobo tanks now, totally overpriced for what it is but it does make life simple.
 
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