Question About Home Developing

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Andysnap

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Andy Grant
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For a bit of fun I bought a pinhole camera kit off of the e bay and in it there are 2 bottles, one of developer and one of fixer.
Can I assume that even though this is meant to develop an image captured on photo paper it can still be used for normal film?

It doesn't say what make it is or even have a use by date on it but it is unopened, it may be years old, will it be ok to use?

I intend to get a changing bag and just use it to practice with before getting the proper chems, good idea? I already have the tanks and trays.

Any other thoughts or ideas are appreciated :thumbs:

Cheers

Andy
 
The fixer will be fine (but you will likely have to make dilution or time adjustments). Although the developer would work if it was film developer, if it is paper developer then again it will work but the negatives contrast will likely be very high.
 
Well done Andy. The first step is always the hardest.

Can't wait to see the results, sorry I'm not of any help.
 
Thanks Sam and Trev, this is all your fault.....your constant nagging has finally pushed me over the edge....:bang::lol:

I think I will just bite the bullet and get the proper stuff, no point in going about half-ar*ed.

Andy
 
You didn't mention them, but just in case...

You'll need a thermometer since temperatures matter; at least one measuring cylinder and a container for the diluted/made up fixer. Plus another if you use a stop bath (highly recommended).

When I first started, I didn't have a measuring cylinder but used the household scales as one fluid ounce weighs one ounce.
 
Thanks Stephen, I actually do have everything I need except chems and a change bag.
 
I started without a changing bag - the "under the bedclothes at night" route. It got hot, but it worked. Mind, we used sheets and blankets that tucked in in those days. I worked like that for about 15 years in fact.
 
The dev will produce an image on film but be aware that it will be a fast acting dev with high contrast and may not produce good results, just buy the proper stuff :p
 
OK, the real stuff it is then.

Suggestions as to a good all round developer and fixer, I only want to buy a small amount to begin with as there's a chance I'll be crap at it or get fed up with it :lol:
 
Sachet of d76 or id11 will do as an all round dev

Not many options for fix but ilford rapid fix does come in a 1l bottle so not too big
 
Cool, thanks matey.
 
^^

Indeed! though I suppose Rodinal isn't as "all round" - ie easy to use :D - as ID11. Rodinal does require some precision to the measurement.
 
Not sure where in Cheshire you are Andy, but I've got a small darkroom at home that is all up and running and you are welcome to use it when you want.

I'm in Didsbury, South Manchester.

Offer extends to anyone on the forum.
 
Well now, thats a very kind offer Steve. I'm in Crewe so not too far away from you, I may well take you up on your offer in the future. I'll probably have a few practice runs first though.

Andy
 
StephenM said:
When I first started, I didn't have a measuring cylinder but used the household scales as one fluid ounce weighs one ounce.
Click to expand...

This is fine for water but not the chems as they have a different SG.
 
When I started I was using Johnson's "Pactum" chemicals, and all I needed to measure was water. Strictly speaking, the equivalence only applies to distilled water anyway as tap water has impurities dissolved in it.

If I remember, the next time I measure out some Rodinal I'll measure the RD as well; but I'd bet it doesn't differ enough from water to make a sigificant difference. Unless you've already done the measurements on chemicals?

The recommended developers in this thread were both powders anyway, so only water to be measured. Fixer is much less critical (and you'll often find that the makers specify different dilutions anyway, differing in the fixing time required).

So I'll stand by the scales as a reasonable substitute - at least until I'm convinced by measurements that the method isn't good enough for all practical purposes.
 
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