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Charel

Charel

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I'm looking to start developing my own stuff at home, the prices that labs are charging to dev/scan B+W are too rich for my game.

Now I know roughly what I'll need, but I was wondering if anyone could point me in the general direction of what's good/what's not and also where to buy from.

I shoot mostly 400 film (delta/tri-x/hp-4) and am after a full set, chems/dark bag/tank/spool etc. So if anyone could help, It would be much appreciated.
 
I do my own developing, but as a student I do it as cheap as possible. I have:

Kodak D76 developer
Ilford Rapidfixer
A tank and spool (with lid)
A pair of scissors

I don't use a dark bag, I usually do it in the bathroom at night with the lights off - the bag makes me feel a little claustrophobic anyway haha. Once the film's loaded I turn the lights back on and develop it. The whole process only takes around 20 mins. Notice I don't use stopbath (not that I'm against it, just don't have any). I just wash the negative with water then add the fixer. I'm not sure if that's wrong but the negatives usually come out no problems

You can use this site to find processing times:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php?Film=&Developer=&mdc=Search

You can get supplies here:
http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/index.asp
 
A dark bag is handy if you need to load a film into a tank in daylight hours. Even at night it's easy to think you're in the dark and after a few minutes acclimatisation realise you can see things! As film only needs fractions of a second through a tiny aperture to be fully exposed, extra light is bad!

D-76/ID11 (the same stuff I believe) is a good developer for 400ASA films. The film has good latitude, i.e. the ability to be imperfectly exposed or developed and still render an acceptable print. B&W chemistry is tuned to 20 degrees C (68F) and while you can develop warmer and cooler, it will effect your results and it's hard to know if your exposures are correct without consistency.

Standing your drum, dev, wash or stop solutions and fix in a larger tank at the same water temperature will help standardise results. I find the clear trays found in old fridges - visit your local tip - perfect for the job, though a bowl serves just as well.
The dev times listed on the pack are a good starting point but most photographers tweak these to achieve the perfect neg for them.
 
Heed colpepper's advise - use a dark bag or make sure your darkroom is 100% light tight!
 
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