Home processing colour film

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iced_jacob

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Hello everyone.

I remember reading somewhere that there is an alternative development to the standard c41 chemicals that is not temperature sensitive and makes colour development process same as B&W. Stupidly enough I didn't bookmark the link and can't find it anywhere now :bang:

Any ideas??

Cheers
 
I can honestly say, aside from processing it in b&w (which results in b&w negs, obviously) I've never heard of any process like that.
 
yes there is an easier method than c41, press and sports photographers used to use it on site at football matches etc before the days of digital cameras for and then scan the colour negs.

cant remember what the process is called, still temperature dependant tho
 
Every process is temperature dependent, anyone who says otherwise needs to have a read up on Thermodynamics.
 
Found it :)

http://lost-art-film-photography.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/how-to-self-develop-your-colour.html

"Nova ProSpeed can actually being used within a wide range of temperatures (i.e. from 26 up to 43°C) making the entire process realistically more "home-friendly" without the use of cumbersome and expensive thermostatic bath developers (such as Jobo processors).
Besides, in the instruction booklet provided with the kit is reported a table comprising the developing times for each temperature including those for negative pushing and pulling (i.e. +3 to -1 respectively)."
 
Not really temperature independent then, it works over a wide range of temperatures with compensation to the development times, much like C-41 (which those chemicals are) or B&W.
 
To be honest, reading through that, its the same method I use with my kit at home, barring one quick wash with something I cant remember the name of now
 
The Digibase C41 chemistry can be used at room temperature.
http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/3337/rollei-digibase-c-41-lt20-midi-kit-1l

The second page of the instructions shows which time to use for various temperatures.
http://www.macodirect.de/download/C41_InstructionManual.pdf

More info.
http://astroturtle.com/wp/2011/04/rollei-compard-digibase-c-41-processing-kit/

As stated above for the Nova kit, it's not temperature independent but can be compensated for with time.


Steve.
 
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Thats realy interesting that.

I would realy like to do some home developing and some of those kits are pretty cheep, i guess I would need some tanks and other stuff though?
 
Mr Bump said:
Thats realy interesting that.

I would realy like to do some home developing and some of those kits are pretty cheep, i guess I would need some tanks and other stuff though?
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If your going to try home developing then it would probably be simpler to start off with B&W, a developing tank, reels, changing bag etc can be gotten for not that much.
 
s162216 said:
If your going to try home developing then it would probably be simpler to start off with B&W, a developing tank, reels, changing bag etc can be gotten for not that much.
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agreed thing is I have like 10x pound land films at £1 each :lol:

there a lot cheaper to waste than B and W
 
Mr Bump said:
agreed thing is I have like 10x pound land films at £1 each :lol:

there a lot cheaper to waste than B and W
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Dev them in black and white ;) It's what I do, I've never had a roll of vista developed as colour :D
 
Mr Bump said:
oooooooooh

does that work>?
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It does but the negs come out quite dense due to the orange base from the Vista, so make sure your scanner can get through it!
 
Thought I would bump this to ask how many people here do colour processing and printing at home. How do your results compare with those of a professional lab?
 
C-41 is a standardised process, so results should be absolutely identical. Kits that take shortcuts do not stick to the process; they may be slightly quicker and simpler but results can vary as a result.
 
Take a look here at some examples of C-41 home developing
 
It's not so much the quality that you pay for at a pro lab, more the consistency and quality control
 
Thanks all. Where's a good place for a noob to read up on the pros and cons and the economics of it? I'm thinking about doing a course in B&W printing and wondering whether I can wing it after that, teaching myself colour and B&W processing and colour printing. Ultimately I would like to shoot lots of film but with significantly lower costs than if I get processing and printing done professionally. If this is a hopelessly unrealistic notion, please tell me now! I can patiently scrounge used gear as and when...quite a few people seem to be giving it away. I have student membership at a local photography centre so I can get supplies at a modest discount.
 
robhooley167 said:
It's not so much the quality that you pay for at a pro lab, more the consistency and quality control
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^^ WHS ^^ is something to bare in mind.
Home developing ( especially colour) can be "interesting" with colour casts due to temperature inconsistency.
 
Asha said:
^^ WHS ^^ is something to bare in mind.
Home developing ( especially colour) can be "interesting" with colour casts due to temperature inconsistency.
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This is true... I had some rather pink negatives a few months back, though I have to say I've managed to avoid it happening again so far.
Given that I can do it fairly successfully, that marks it as relatively easy to do fairly well.
 
Colour printing is a big faff. It's quite a big step up from B&W printing, and is more expensive - chemicals, paper - it's perfectly possible to do it in an amateur darkroom, but it is hassle. Home colour processing is relatively easy, and techniques for keeping temperature regulated for the process are documented across the internet.
 
Yep it's easy enough to do, getting everything to and then staying at the same temperature is the ballache. Developing at lower temperature may sound good but it takes forever - 21 minutes at 20 degrees, plus your 4 minutes bleach and 5 fix.... and if you then want to push a bit? Screw that! By the way, microwaved dev smells lovely!
 
Yikes, never thought about microwaving the chemicals, I know they can heat up a cold cup of coffee, but is there a chart for temps/volumes etc? And don't they light up, won't that fog the film/paper? Or just stick the chems in the microwave and move to darkroom? Interested in this one.
 
[quote="kenm, post: 5989041, member: 49026" Or just stick the chems in the microwave and move to darkroom? Interested in this one.[/quote]


you dont need a darkroom unless you are printing

tetenol c41 can be done at 30C eight mins for the first 4 films nine for the next 4 films (ok just add a minute after every 4 films ) 1 litre should do 12 films ( about ) faster films deplete it quicker i think . there's no stop in the kit ,but you can use normal b&w stop no probs , i would throw it away after you've used it though ,although temperature wise its best to keep as near to that temp all the way through for the sake of consistancy , its not as bad as some people make out ,i've only ever done one kit of colour ,and i decided to check the temp at the end of one batch ,it had gone down to 27 C ,( if i do any more in the future i would try and get it closer though )
 
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Great info...I'm starting to get excited! Are there already lots of threads about this? I couldn't find any. Maybe I didn't use the search function too well. Or is this strictly a minority pursuit? And if so, why?? There are lots of moans about the cost of processing going up and up....so why aren't more people doing it at home?
 
If it helps, back when I used to develop my own colour C41 (using a Tetenal kit) I got away with using a water bath for temperature regulation. It was easy and the results just fine.
 
For 35mm colour neg surely it's easy just to get the neg dev at Tesco for 99p or Asda in 30mins for £2...and there are probably labs around that would dev for about £2.50 in 4 hours. Anyway I thought of going back to home dev for 120 but the price of a Tetanal kit and all the faffing around doing it and storing, put's me off.......maybe a good idea if you have used 10 rolls on holiday for cheapness but then all that faffing around making sure the spiral is absolutely dry to load the next film etc :eek:, but if you only use one roll a month it's worth paying more for a lab to do it, and I want to do this but can't find a lab near me that would dev 120 film in about 4 hours for about £2.50 to £3 :'(.
 
excalibur2 said:
For 35mm colour neg surely it's easy just to get the neg dev at Tesco for 99p or Asda in 30mins for £2...
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Absolutely, if a) you have a Tesco or Asda nearby that offers such a service (I've got 4-5 nearby and none offers this service), and b) if you have a competent person manning the machinery, who won't scratch your negatives (sadly, that's from experience from an Asda that does offer film developing).

Home developing can be a bit of a faff though, especially if you have low throughput, trying to ensure that the C-41 kit doesn't expire.
 
It's the chemicals expiring that always puts me off I'd need to shoot in colour exclusively so still batch up a few months worth to make it pay. Though now I'm no longer near a large that'll do 120 post is another factor.
 
freecom2 said:
Absolutely, if a) you have a Tesco or Asda nearby that offers such a service (I've got 4-5 nearby and none offers this service), and b) if you have a competent person manning the machinery, who won't scratch your negatives (sadly, that's from experience from an Asda that does offer film developing).

Home developing can be a bit of a faff though, especially if you have low throughput, trying to ensure that the C-41 kit doesn't expire.
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Indeed scratches and spots can be annoying (and needs work in Photoshop) but not everyone is caused by Asda etc, as some are caused using old cameras with bits of seal foam floating around, also in one case, while loading a camera, a tiny bit of my hair fell out and somehow got trapped in the frame aperture and showed as a blurred black line coming from the edges :eek:
 
freecom2 said:
Home developing can be a bit of a faff though, especially if you have low throughput, trying to ensure that the C-41 kit doesn't expire.
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A 1 liter tetenal kit only devs approx 12 films ( depending on format and iso) which even for low throughput isn't really a lot.

I held back with my colour films last time, storing them in the fridge since summer, then recently developing them together as a batch..
 
Asha said:
A 1 liter tetenal kit only devs approx 12 films ( depending on format and iso) which even for low throughput isn't really a lot.

I held back with my colour films last time, storing them in the fridge since summer, then recently developing them together as a batch..
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I probably don't shoot 12 colour films in one year, to be honest! Obviously if you do, then it makes a lot of sense. I can get my colour and slide film developed at Genie Imaging for around the price per roll of the Tetenal kit anyway, so it isn't economical.
 
freecom2 said:
I probably don't shoot 12 colour films in one year, to be honest! Obviously if you do, then it makes a lot of sense. I can get my colour and slide film developed at Genie Imaging for around the price per roll of the Tetenal kit anyway, so it isn't economical.
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Lucky you as if I lived in Wandsworth where Genie are, would switch back to 120 and IIRC get same day processing for about £2.70.
 
excalibur2 said:
Lucky you as if I lived in Wandsworth where Genie are, would switch back to 120 and IIRC get same day processing for about £2.70.
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Why do you think I shoot so much 120 :) E6 at that price is a steal, and I'm enjoying it whilst it lasts...
 
excalibur2 said:
<snip> in one case, while loading a camera, a tiny bit of my hair fell out and somehow got trapped in the frame:eek:
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... and some of us can't afford to lose much hair either :whistling:

Incidentally, I have a colour enlarger for free if someone fancies collection from South Norfolk.
 
Ambermile said:
... and some of us can't afford to lose much hair either :whistling:

Incidentally, I have a colour enlarger for free if someone fancies collection from South Norfolk.
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I almost read that as South of France!!:D

Mindst you, then I'd have no choice to get rid of the Mrs and all her accessories to make room for a dark room :D................................a tough decision to make but I simply can't bring myself to do that :p:D
 
... but you thought about it :D
 
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