I've just developed my first roll of film...

stevelmx5

stevelmx5

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...and it went surprisingly well!

I've been planning to start my own developing for ages but lack of time and space got in the way. After finishing a Digital 366 last year I wanted to do something different this year so decided to shoot a roll of B&W film each month and learn to develop it myself. I picked up everything except stop bath from a guy on Ebay for a good price and ordered a bottle of Stop bath seperately yesterday. However, my patience got the better of me after reading about DIY water/vinegar stop bath last night so I decided to give it a go today :)

I'm using HP5+ and ID11 so followed the Ilford times and was amazed to actually see images on the negative when I hung it up! I've always enjoyed the unknown element of shooting film and waiting to see the finished pictures but to actually take the negative off the spool and see them was even better. My cousin works in a camera shop so is going to scan the negatives for me in the next couple of days so I can see them properly but for the time being I'm happy to stare at the negative!

8386172119_7210f6de46_z.jpg
[/url] Ilford HP5+, 7.5 minutes with water/Vinegar Stop Bath by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr[/IMG]

I'll link some shots once I've got it scanned but just wanted to share my excitement ;) (oh, and I've also bought a MK1 5D this afternoon to replace my 40D so I guess I'm just covering all options...)

Cheers
Steve
 
Well done, its not so bad really. Personally I don't bother with stop just a long wash between steps.
 
Congratulations!

Welcome aboard the "crazy" f&c ferry! lol

Looks to be some nice contrast from what i can see of the negs....look forward to seeing some of the scans on here.

Btw, a simple plain water rinse will suffice as stop if you don't want to mess with vinegar.....that's all I use.
 
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Thanks for the tips. I was surprised about the amount of contrast in them too to be honest. I'll upload some of the scans once they're ready.

Looks like I might be selling a bottle of Stop bath here in the next few days :0)

Cheers
Steve
 
Well done :thumbs: I started doing this myself at Christmas as my girlfriend bought me all the kit. I too just use a water stop bath before fixing. I still think it's some kind of weird voodoo every time I take the film off the reel :lol:
 
Welcome to Fusty & Crusty! :D I love seeing the images appear on the negatives when you take them out too - magical!
 
i would use the stop bath ,,,,,the fixer lasts longer ,,,,( you dont need it with diafine though )
 
donutagain said:
i would use the stop bath ,,,,,the fixer lasts longer ,,,,( you dont need it with diafine though )
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Thanks. I've read that in a few places but must admit that in my impatience-fuelled developing today I didn't have another container for the used fixer so poured it away :0( for the next film I'll plan ahead!

Cheers
Steve
 
Ash. said:
I need to get on the developing bandwagon.

something lacking from my film shooting!
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Me too, I've been saying it for months but never had a go.
 
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Love the way you have picked out the focal point in the first two photographs, especially the first,it just so enhances the children in the composition, shame about the messy BG, but you have what you have. I have never used HP5, but it does scan well.

Congrats.:thumbs:
 
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Andysnap said:
Me too, I've been saying it for months but never had a go.
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Another here! I keep promising myself.....

Is there a favourite supplier of the hardware? Shortlist of basic kit? Possibly a link to a fleabay source?

TIA

Mark
 
Threeracers said:
Another here! I keep promising myself.....

Is there a favourite supplier of the hardware? Shortlist of basic kit? Possibly a link to a fleabay source?

TIA

Mark
Click to expand...

AG photographics in birmingham http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/black--white-chemicals-8-c.asp

I recently started developing and i bought -

Changing bag
Paterson super system 4 tank
kodak d76 developer (powder)
kodak stop bath (not necessarily needed when developing longer than 5 minutes i've come to find)
ilfofix fixer
film clips (to hang to dry)
thermometer
3 measuring jugs (got mine from poundland)

the only thing i didn't get is a squeegee which isn't a vital bit of kit.

Everything cost me £75.
 
medwaygreen said:
Love the way you have picked out the focal point in the first two photographs, especially the first,it just so enhances the children in the composition, shame about the messy BG, but you have what you have. I have never used HP5, but it does scan well.

Congrats.:thumbs:
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Thanks. Unfortunately it was the usual kids party situation of too many kids and not enough room! I'm happy with the first shot of my daughter but the focus is missed slightly on the second of my son but I like it anyway.

Cheers
Steve
 
richboyphoto said:
AG photographics in birmingham http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/black--white-chemicals-8-c.asp

I recently started developing and i bought -

Changing bag
Paterson super system 4 tank
kodak d76 developer (powder)
kodak stop bath (not necessarily needed when developing longer than 5 minutes i've come to find)
ilfofix fixer
film clips (to hang to dry)
thermometer
3 measuring jugs (got mine from poundland)

the only thing i didn't get is a squeegee which isn't a vital bit of kit.

Everything cost me £75.
Click to expand...

It's worth keeping an eye on ebay for full kits from people who have either given up home developing or never bothered trying. I bought the same kit list as this except it also included;

IDll
Ilford Rapidfix
4 measuring cylinders
Film canister opener
Tap hose adaptor
Negative squegee

In total I paid £40 and everything except the measuring cylinders was unused! Admittedly there's a certain amount of luck with Ebay but for nearly half the price I was happy to take the gamble.

Cheers
Steve
 
If the film clips come with a lot then no matter, but I just use clothes pegs. Film canister opener is the same - a bottle opener works just fine.
 
richboyphoto said:
Paterson super system 4 tank
kodak d76 developer (powder)
kodak stop bath (not necessarily needed when developing longer than 5 minutes i've come to find)
ilfofix fixer
film clips (to hang to dry)
thermometer
QUOTE]

can you enlighten me on that please Rich ?
Click to expand...
 
Threeracers said:
Another here! I keep promising myself.....

Is there a favourite supplier of the hardware? Shortlist of basic kit? Possibly a link to a fleabay source?

TIA

Mark
Click to expand...

Mark , if you want to have a go at developing give me a shout ( or if anyone else want to have a go for that matter )
 
Steve Smith said:
It's still amazing after doing it for thirty years!


Steve.
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Yep! I'm waiting just now on a 120 to dry!
I still get really impatient at the drying stage :)
Nothing I'll be posting, just a test roll to see if the RB67 CdS prism is accurate.
 
Ok, taken the plunge and ordered some bits from Paterson; Universal Film Processing Kit and Changing Bag, and from Ilford; DDX Developer, Hypam Fixer, Ilfostop and Ilfotol.

Patersons kit has jugs, thermometer, squeegee and clips so I think the only think I need now is a timer.

Have I forgotten anything?

Should all be with me next week!
 
Threeracers said:
Ok, taken the plunge and ordered some bits from Paterson; Universal Film Processing Kit and Changing Bag, and from Ilford; DDX Developer, Hypam Fixer, Ilfostop and Ilfotol.

Patersons kit has jugs, thermometer, squeegee and clips so I think the only think I need now is a timer.

Have I forgotten anything?

Should all be with me next week!
Click to expand...

Use a stopwatch for timing ...probably find one on your mobile phone:thumbs:

Sounds like you have sorted all you need ....I'll mention gloves, goggles and possible lab coat/apron depending how clumsy you might be with liquids!

Have fun with it all and let us know how you get on.
 
500ml bottles for re-using stop and fix and a 50ml measuring cylinder? I just use cleaned soft drinks bottles, measure 300 then 500ml water into them and mark with permanent marker: the 300/500ml mark and what chem it's for.
300 for 35mm, 500 for 120 :)
I use 3, one each for dev, stop and fix. I find it easier to bring water to the right temp in a jug, pour into the bottle then add the dev from the measuring cylinder to the bottle. Same when I need to make up fresh stop and fix.
I use one-shot dev, so it's just a case of thoroughly rinsing the bottle out afterwards. Stop seems to last for ages but I keep an eye on the fix as it goes off quicker.
Accordion bottles are expensive and TBH, I've never found them to be cost effective for my small through-put.
 
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Check your tank, you might need 600ml for 120 so you'll need two drinks bottles.
 
If you've got an iPhone you could use the 'labtimers' app. I use it and just preset the countdown timers for dev, stop, fixer and wash then you can start each timer by pressing play next to it as you're ready. It's free too :0)

Cheers
Steve
 
Carter64 said:
Stop seems to last for ages but I keep an eye on the fix as it goes off quicker.
.
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Just out of curiosity which fixer do you use and how long does it usually last as I'm still using Ilford Rapid Fixer that I made last summer and has been used many many times....I've just clip tested it as I'm about to do some deving this evening and it still shows good at 3 mins although I always fix for a minimum of 5 mins.

Btw I don't stretch my chems because I'm tight...I simply don't believe in making new when not necessary.
 
Asha said:
Just out of curiosity which fixer do you use and how long does it usually last as I'm still using Ilford Rapid Fixer that I made last summer and has been used many many times....I've just clip tested it as I'm about to do some deving this evening and it still shows good at 3 mins although I always fix for a minimum of 5 mins.
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My Ilford Rapid Fixer lasts ages as well, and with clip testing, it's easy to check whether you need to make a new batch. The recommendation is always clip test result x2, and x3 with t-grain film like Kodak T-Max, so 6 minutes+ is probably a good idea just to be on the safe side Asha :thumbs:
 
freecom2 said:
The recommendation is always clip test result x2, and x3 with t-grain film like Kodak T-Max, so 6 minutes+ is probably a good idea just to be on the safe side Asha :thumbs:
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Thanks for those guidelines.... ...tbh as the fixing is not time critical like the developer stage, I very rarely time it exact, thus 6 mins plus is often the norm.
 
if you use water as a wash after the developer you are not stopping the develping action. the film will continue to develop in a weaker solution. therefore you are wasting you time using a stopwatch for your timings.

The stop bath will stop the developing action instantly, giving you complete control of your developing times.

If you dont have any stop bath to hand then just go from dev straight to fixer

The only reason a stop bath is used is toprolong the life of the fixer
 
Paul_W said:
if you use water as a wash after the developer you are not stopping the develping action. the film will continue to develop in a weaker solution. therefore you are wasting you time using a stopwatch for your timings. Correct, ish. The solution is weak enough so that any developer will either deplete or react slowly enough that the fixer can be put in

The stop bath will stop the developing action instantly, giving you complete control of your developing times. Not quite instantly

If you dont have any stop bath to hand then just go from dev straight to fixer. Sure, if you want to ruin your fixer, contaminate your film and cover it in a salt formed by the reaction of an acid (fixer) and an alkali (developer) :cuckoo:

The only reason a stop bath is used is to prolong the life of the fixer and to control the dev times, as you mentioned above?
Click to expand...
 
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steveo_mcg said:
Check your tank, you might need 600ml for 120 so you'll need two drinks bottles.
Click to expand...
I'm currently using Innocent Smoothie bottles, 900ml.

Asha said:
Just out of curiosity which fixer do you use and how long does it usually last as I'm still using Ilford Rapid Fixer that I made last summer and has been used many many times....I've just clip tested it as I'm about to do some deving this evening and it still shows good at 3 mins although I always fix for a minimum of 5 mins.

Btw I don't stretch my chems because I'm tight...I simply don't believe in making new when not necessary.
Click to expand...
The only stuff my local shop stocks is Fotospeed FX20. I use the clear and x2 test and usually renew when it takes 4min or more at x1. The last batch I made up a few months ago is nearing this. I think I'd probably get more life if I waited until I had a few films to do, rather than the odd one every month or so!
I can't remember the last time I made up fresh Stop, it's still yellow so should be good.
 
All my purchases have arrived and I plan to find time over the weekend for my first attempt. I have written my notes and if anyone can spot any obvious errors .......

This is just a cut and paste of my A4 cheat sheet;

Patterson Tank - 35mm uses 290ml for one roll, 580ml for two

Developer

DD-X mixes 1 + 4 for one shot use
Therefore one roll needs 60ml of DD-X and 240ml of water, making 300ml
Two rolls needs 120ml of DD-X and 480ml of water, making 600ml
Water needs to be 20 degrees.

HP5 at 400 needs 9 minutes
FP4 at 125 needs 10 minutes
Delta3200 at 3200 needs 9 ½ minutes

Developer into tank
Tap tank to dislodge air bubbles
Invert tank 4 times in the first 10 seconds
Repeat 4 inversions during first 10 seconds of each subsequent minute tapping tank to dislodge air after each.
Start draining off developer 10 seconds before the end and tip in stop at end

Stop

ILFOSTOP mixes 1 + 19 and needs 10 seconds minimum then drain.

Fixer

HYPAM mixes 1 + 4

Fixer into tank
Tap tank to dislodge air bubbles
Invert tank 4 times in the first 10 seconds
Repeat 4 inversions during first 10 seconds of each subsequent minute tapping tank to dislodge air after each.

Fixer needs 5 minutes minimum

Wash

Wash in running water (at 20 degrees) for 10 minutes before final rinse with wetting agent

Wetting

ILFOTOL mixes at 1 + 200


TIA

Mark
 
For the wetting stage, I just add a drop of washing up liquid to the water I use to rinse after fixing and keep washing until the water's clear. I've not had any problems with drying marks despite living in about area where there's more limescale than water coming out of the taps!
 
I have already bought the Ilfotol Dean but thanks.

Partly because we have very hard water here in Kent too.

Does anyone use water out of a Britta type water filter for mixing chemicals?

M
 
I've been using a 5l jug of filtered water that I bought from Halfords to use in my bike's radiator. Next film I develop, I'm going to use the water that comes out of our dehumidifier to see how that goes. It's basically distilled water, isn't it? ;)
 
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