Taking the plunge with Caffenol *photographs added* :)

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Hi folks!

After putting it off for ages I've finally decided to give Caffenol C a try. After plenty of research I have bought my provisions. I bought Dri Pak washing soda from Tesco as I wanted to get it all at the same time! I understand I will have to use more of this than I would other types of washing soda but I've found a recipe that includes it so hopefully I'll be OK. I treated myself to a jar of Tescos finest everyday value coffee and some vitamin C from the health food shop.

I plan on doing a roll of Fp4 in it after the weekend. Does anyone have any tips on times? I was thinking at least 15 minutes but any tips are appreciated :)

Cheers folks!
 
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Tht vitamin c powders pricey ain't it.


Did you buy pegs for your nose? Last time I used caffenol it reeked.
 
My own Caffenol 154 recipe using DriPak soda for 300ml

46.2g soda, 4.8g Vit C, 12g Coffee

For APX100/Rollei Retro this gives a development time of 14 minutes @ 21 degrees, agitating constant for 30 second then 5 inversions every 3 minutes. Nice and contrasty but with a massive range of greys too. Would expect FP4 to respond similarly.

I'm using Asda smartprice coffee, smells vile and tastes worse!
 
Wow that's really helpful thank you so much :)

Quite excited to do it now! I will post some results as soon as I have finished the roll and devved it.
 
Is that instant coffee or the real deal? It sounds really weird!
 
I have only used it once and it was the version without vitamin C. I was very surprised at how good it was and I would use it again if necessary.


Steve.
 
ChrisR said:
Is that instant coffee or the real deal? It sounds really weird!
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From what I've read it seems to be the cheaper and nastier the coffee the better the results :lol:
 
Yup. Just the cheapest and nastiest instant coffee :) From what I have read the cheaper the better!

Some of the photographs I have seen developed in it look absolutely amazing. The guys on here that use it always get boss results. I can't wait to try it. I used to work in an RSPCA shelter so j reckon I can handle the smell!!
 
norters said:
I used to work in an RSPCA shelter so j reckon I can handle the smell!!
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^^LMAO^^

Caffenol is something I have yet to experiment with.....sounds like it could be fun.

The washing soda...is that washing powder/detergent ( as in Bold, Daz, Ariel etc) or am I in need of a chemistry lesson??!! :D
 
Asha said:
^^LMAO^^

Caffenol is something I have yet to experiment with.....sounds like it could be fun.

The washing soda...is that washing powder/detergent ( as in Bold, Daz, Ariel etc) or am I in need of a chemistry lesson??!! :D
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It's Sodium Carbonate, known in some countries as washing Soda but more usually here as Soda Crystals. It's the basis of washing powders, but we need the pure chemical form with no additives. I dare say it would make Caffenol smell a lot nicer if I were to use Daz, I doubt the developing effect would be quite right!
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
It's Sodium Carbonate, known in some countries as washing Soda but more usually here as Soda Crystals. It's the basis of washing powders, but we need the pure chemical form with no additives. I dare say it would make Caffenol smell a lot nicer if I were to use Daz, I doubt the developing effect would be quite right!
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Thanks for the info Alan.

I have no idea where to find Carbonate de sodium ( as it is known here) in France...a visit to my local pharmacy will hopefully head in me in the right direction.

Btw, how smelly is smelly...is it "ensure the wife is out before i mix" kind of smell?? :D

So long as it doesn't linger too long, I guess i could get away with it!
 
Asha said:
Thanks for the info Alan.

I have no idea where to find Carbonate de sodium ( as it is known here) in France...a visit to my local pharmacy will hopefully head in me in the right direction.

Btw, how smelly is smelly...is it "ensure the wife is out before i mix" kind of smell?? :D

So long as it doesn't linger too long, I guess i could get away with it!
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It's usually to be found with the bleach etc in the supermarket.

Not that bad really, it's not like chip fat or paint where it fills the room with stench for days, just don't stick the mixing jug to your nose!
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Not that bad really, it's not like chip fat or paint where it fills the room with stench for days, just don't stick the mixing jug to your nose!
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I thought it smelled like rotting fish in a coffee based sorbet...
 
^^^ Isn't this a Heston Blumenthal recipe?
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
I dare say it would make Caffenol smell a lot nicer if I were to use Daz, I doubt the developing effect would be quite right!
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It's got to be worth a go surely.
 
Asha said:
You do realise it will end up being me trying this one out don't you....it's gunna bug me 'til i know if it works or not! :D
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Excellent idea Asha, we await the results with interest :lol:
 
Well blow me down it only bloody worked! The smell wasn't even that bad either! I developed for fifteen minutes using Alan's recipe at the start of the thread at twenty degrees.

They are drying now! Looking forward to scanning them in a bit. I will update this thread with some photos this evening.
 
norters said:
As promised, here are some shots from the 'great caffenol experiment':


Took these using my F75 and FP4+.
Thanks for looking as always :)
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Quality work Norters, very good tones. I must give this caffenol a try.
 
They're really impressive results (and good shots too!). I've been needing to buy some more R09 for a while but I think I'll take a trip to Asda instead ;0)

Cheers
Steve
 
stevelmx5 said:
They're really impressive results (and good shots too!). I've been needing to buy some more R09 for a while but I think I'll take a trip to Asda instead ;0)

Cheers
Steve
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Thanks so much! You should definitely try it :)
 
VirtualAdept said:
They look fab... did it stink?
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Cheers :thumbs:

It actually wasn't that bad. I did mix it out in the yard though :lol: It did take a lot of rinsing after the dev stage to get the water to run clear! I have another roll of FP4 ready for developing, I was going to do it in HC-110 but I reckon I'll go down this route again!
 
Great stuff Norters, you have inspired me to try it.

In fact I bought the 'ingredients' on the way home tonight. I have a day off tomorrow and if I make headway on the (long) list of chores I'll mix some up of this concoction and give it a try. :)
 
desf said:
Great stuff Norters, you have inspired me to try it.

In fact I bought the 'ingredients' on the way home tonight. I have a day off tomorrow and if I make headway on the (long) list of chores I'll mix some up of this concoction and give it a try. :)
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Thanks! Make sure you use it within half an hour of mixing it, I read that it goes bad after about thirty minutes.

I look forward to seeing your results :thumbs:
 
norters said:
Thanks! Make sure you use it within half an hour of mixing it, I read that it goes bad after about thirty minutes.

I look forward to seeing your results :thumbs:
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Nah it's fine, but will need stirring as the hard bits in the soda will settle out. Can store standard recipe stuff like that for a good week or 2, and even re use the same brew for a handful of films. When you start getting experimental with stand dev and low soda recipes you have to be careful, but the 'standard' recipe (Reinhold's) is very forgiving.

Good results by the way :thumbs:
 
Alan Clogwyn said:
Nah it's fine, but will need stirring as the hard bits in the soda will settle out. Can store standard recipe stuff like that for a good week or 2, and even re use the same brew for a handful of films. When you start getting experimental with stand dev and low soda recipes you have to be careful, but the 'standard' recipe (Reinhold's) is very forgiving.

Good results by the way :thumbs:
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Thanks :) Cheers for the help with the preparation as well!
 
Excellent results Nick.....Well done!
 
Just catching up with threads having been away, these results are just excellent! Great shots, lovely tones and developed with materials from the weekly shop! Brilliant!!!
 
Jao said:
Just catching up with threads having been away, these results are just excellent! Great shots, lovely tones and developed with materials from the weekly shop! Brilliant!!!
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Thanks Adrian :)
 
I'm itching to give Caffenol a go. I got some of the ingredients today, but couldn't find washing soda or Sodium Bromide (which one recipe I've seen asks for). Gonna have to do some more research on those.

Has anyone used it with HP5 film (rated at 400)?

Gavin
 
Go to Tesco and get some Dri Pak soda crystals. You have to use a bit more than the others but it is dead cheap (about a quid for a big bag IIRC).
 
norters said:
Go to Tesco and get some Dri Pak soda crystals. You have to use a bit more than the others but it is dead cheap (about a quid for a big bag IIRC).
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Is this soda decahydrate or monohydrate? I cooked up some waterfree soda by heating bicarbonate of soda but this is a real faff, I'd rather just buy the stuff from Tesco.
 
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