[aurele]

Hello everyone !

Just finish processing my first roll

Kodak T max 400 @1600

It's drying in my bathroom.


So i have fews question !

I developped (with T-MAx) the right time but sometimes i missed the 30sec shaking, and did it @45sec, then 20 sec later than i ratook the right timing.
-> Any consequences ?

i used the stop bath around 1 min instead of 10 sec (had hard time getting 20°C water sometimes)
-> any consequences ?

I used the fixing bath (all ilford now) for 6min 30sec instead of the 2-5 min recommended, it was purple when i empty the tank
-> any consequences ?

I made a mistake and used ilford washaid directly instead of using water first for a first washing, then using washaid. After i did water in the tank, 20 shakes, empty it, replenish it, 40 shakes, again, 60 shakes. a little bit of running water (maybe 1 or 2 min.
-> any consequences ?

Should i expect some kind of variation over time on the neg ?

I also realise that the last pictures (placed at the "heart" of the tank) where almost all black, does the fact that it was -5°C did have any influence on the ability of the film to react with light ?
I ask, because i did almost a roll of TMAX @3200 by -5°C so should i push it a little bit more like 10% processing ?

one more question : it seems that the end of the film is not "see through", but when i bring the film to light i found some picture.

Should i put this part in some fixer again ?

If you have some advice i'm all ears !

Thanks guys !

[blackcloudbrew]

A lot of questions here. I'll try to answer a few. The agitation during is important for bringing out things like highlights. Doing it the same way roll to roll is also important but, IMHO, being a little off in the timing during development is ok. Just get it close.

I'm unaware of any effects of leaving the film too long in the stop bath. I generally give it 30 seconds but longer times (such as you've indicated) should be ok.

I'm concerned about the purple color of the fixer. I don't know Ilford fixer but some have an indicator that when it turns a color - like purple - it's spent. If you negatives are rose colored the fixer is bad (spent) and you need to refix the negatives to get them to clear. If the negatives are foggy gray they need further clear in fixer. This one is a little hard to diagnose.

Shouldn't be any problem with the washaid. My practice after fixer is to rinse for 2 minutes with water, then 2 minutes with permawash, then 6 minutes with water. Then a wetting agent, and dry.

The last image sounds like it's overexposed and no amount of washing will fix that.

YMMV

[topace]

Hello everyone !

Just finish processing my first roll

Kodak T max 400 @1600

It's drying in my bathroom.

Congratulations, and welcome to the club!

I developped (with T-MAx) the right time but sometimes i missed the 30sec shaking, and did it @45sec, then 20 sec later than i ratook the right timing.
-> Any consequences ?

Agitation is an imprecise knowledge. It depends on a lot of factors, including your movements and the result you desire. Agitate too often, and the DR will suffer, too rarely and the dev time will be off.
I don't know the proper time for developing T-max 400 @ 1600 in whatever developer you used, but I'm guessing over 12 minutes, which is when I usually only agitate once every 90 seconds or so.

i used the stop bath around 1 min instead of 10 sec (had hard time getting 20°C water sometimes)
-> any consequences ?

Shouldn't be a problem. The purpose of the stop bath is for the development process to stop. It shouldn't interfere with the rest of the process.

I used the fixing bath (all ilford now) for 6min 30sec instead of the 2-5 min recommended, it was purple when i empty the tank
-> any consequences ?

That's probably better. I've only developed T-MAX a few times, but if it is indeed the purple one, I recall that the fixing process is harder and takes longer than for your average film base. It's hard to overfix BW negs if you do it for less than a few hours. If anything, 6min30sec is too little. I'll usually fix for at least ten minutes, and for a difficult film, 14 or so, but it of course depends on your fixer liquid.

I made a mistake and used ilford washaid directly instead of using water first for a first washing, then using washaid. After i did water in the tank, 20 shakes, empty it, replenish it, 40 shakes, again, 60 shakes. a little bit of running water (maybe 1 or 2 min.
-> any consequences ?

As long as you get your film clean of chemicals, it's fine, but you may have exposed your washaid liquid to unwanted chemicals, wearing it out slightly more than necessary.

Should i expect some kind of variation over time on the neg ?

No, under normal circumstances, the film should respond the same over all the images.

I also realise that the last pictures (placed at the "heart" of the tank) where almost all black, does the fact that it was -5°C did have any influence on the ability of the film to react with light ?

You mean that it was -5 when taking the pictures? No, it shouldn't matter that much. The darkening is either incorrect exposure (meter, shutter or reciprocity failure), incorrect development (agitation perhaps, film-to-film contact on the spiral) or incorrect fixing (the same).

one more question : it seems that the end of the film is not "see through", but when i bring the film to light i found some picture.

Should i put this part in some fixer again ?

It's worth a shot. Poor transparency can be the result of underfixing.

I hope that helps. Just what I've picked up in toying around with this stuff.

[John Poirier]

Hello everyone !

Just finish processing my first roll

Kodak T max 400 @1600

It's drying in my bathroom.


So i have fews question !

I developped (with T-MAx) the right time but sometimes i missed the 30sec shaking, and did it @45sec, then 20 sec later than i ratook the right timing.
-> Any consequences ?

i used the stop bath around 1 min instead of 10 sec (had hard time getting 20°C water sometimes)
-> any consequences ?

I used the fixing bath (all ilford now) for 6min 30sec instead of the 2-5 min recommended, it was purple when i empty the tank
-> any consequences ?

I made a mistake and used ilford washaid directly instead of using water first for a first washing, then using washaid. After i did water in the tank, 20 shakes, empty it, replenish it, 40 shakes, again, 60 shakes. a little bit of running water (maybe 1 or 2 min.
-> any consequences ?

Should i expect some kind of variation over time on the neg ?

I also realise that the last pictures (placed at the "heart" of the tank) where almost all black, does the fact that it was -5°C did have any influence on the ability of the film to react with light ?
I ask, because i did almost a roll of TMAX @3200 by -5°C so should i push it a little bit more like 10% processing ?

one more question : it seems that the end of the film is not "see through", but when i bring the film to light i found some picture.

Should i put this part in some fixer again ?

If you have some advice i'm all ears !

Thanks guys !

Aside from the fact that you might burn in hell for not getting everything perfect, nothing you did should have serious consequences.

I'd say topace's answer covers it pretty well. The only suggestion I have is that you might want to hold off on push processing, and/or perhaps use a more forgiving film such as HP5 or Tri-x, until you have a bit more experience.

You seem to have gotten some usable images on the first try, which is better than I did!

[aurele]

Thanks everyone for the answer ! I'm a bit more confident now

Well for not pushing tMax, it's a bit late now :/ but i like challenges !

Topace, i think i will cut of the 4 picture that seems off and put them again in the fixer to see what happen. I have to know if it was unfixed or underexpose.
Now that you write about it, i should relook at Kodak spec sheet to see if they say something about fixing that i missed.

I will scan the result today and post it
I'm sooooooo happy guys ! Thank you all !

[aurele]

One more thing : i didn't fix enought the neg i think : the border were there is written "TMAX" "1" "2" etc ... are not translucent, like it should. It is on some part but not everywhere.

should i try a "re-fix" ?

[tuco]

The process is forgiving but consistent agitation is a key to being able to adjust your development time. A more aggressive agitation profile than recommended, assuming all else is equal, will increase the "speed" of the film.

For T-max films, especially 100TMX, I recommend a two-fixer stage. Fix normally and fix one additional minute with a fresher fixer. If the negative still comes out "pink" after washing, you can re-fix and wash again if needed. Excessive pink fogging can impact the final image to a degree.

[artobest]

If in future you take as much care avoiding mistakes as you do in describing them, you should be OK. But I'm definitely with John, start by shooting at box speed. After that you should know what works and be able to adjust development more precisely. As it is you've gone about things the wrong way round, IMO. Walk before you run, etc.

[aurele]

If in future you take as much care avoiding mistakes as you do in describing them, you should be OK. But I'm definitely with John, start by shooting at box speed. After that you should know what works and be able to adjust development more precisely. As it is you've gone about things the wrong way round, IMO. Walk before you run, etc.

Well, i know that i should walk before running... but i have 5 rolls of Tmax and TriX @800 / 1600 / 3200 iso waiting to take a bath, and my bank account is ... depleated so no more film for now
it's like i have a brand new K5II and i can only watch it in my fridge ! i want to play with it !

this week end, my exams will all be over, i'll have some free days. i'll take one of them to read carefully and list all the things i should do, and try to do my best in the process of processing.

BTW i forgot to post the 1st results ! Here it is : just scanned, no PP for removing dust or trace (most of the film have been cleaned after the scanning (another thing i did in the wrong order ...)

[ihasa]

Nice results. And you have some photogenic friends, which is a bonus! Looks like my first results with C41 B&W film - rather grainy but a nice character.

[aurele]

Nice results. And you have some photogenic friends, which is a bonus!

thanks ! and Yes, i choose my friends depending on whether or not they are photogenic

Looks like my first results with C41 B&W film - rather grainy but a nice character.

the great news is that it's grainy, but quite sharp in fact. I was a bit afraid, but the result is quite like what i wanted from TriX

[aurele]

Hello everyone,

Some last news. I've processed another TriX 400 @1600iso and with all your (very) good advice, the result (is drying now) seems better !

First i was far better prepared i put everything in order of use in my bathtub. i had a sheet with every "time value" and the action i have to do. including the mix of chems and water between shaking.
->Good preparation really helps a lot !

Then : fixing the film for 10 minutes was THE advice that i needed the film is clear through the whole roll.

Next : discover the sources of the last frames / dark frame : the Patterson tank that a friend gave me is probably build for 24 frames film and not 36. i saw the film was like glued together at the core, when i shaked it to remove the maximum amount of water, before hanging it.

All my waiting roll are 36 frames, so I can't run anymore ... until a get a new tank

Last thing : i think i'm hooked with processing

[tuco]

Then : fixing the film for 10 minutes was THE advice that i needed

My advise, which is Kodak's advise, was a two-stage fixing that also does the job. And if that method results in a fixing time closer to the recommend fixing time for that fixer, the better.

[tbreslow]

Nice! Congrats!! I never miss an opportunity to suggest to use the Hewes reel instead of the Patterson, so think about it!

[aurele]

Nice! Congrats!!

thanks !

My advise, which is Kodak's advise, was a two-stage fixing that also does the job.

i think i'm gonna do this next time (tomorrow ?). I've got some bottle to fill with the different chemical prep now, so i'll be able to do this easily next time.

And if that method results in a fixing time closer to the recommend fixing time for that fixer, the better.

Kodak gives the fixing time with only Kodak Product, not with the Ilford one (or i didn't look at the right place ?). So the i tried the simplest advice i had
But i was wondering, does the fixer can somehow harm the film in the longtime ?

A trailer of what is drying

Pentax K-x, Vivitar S1 V1 70-210 @3.5, 1/125, 100 iso, flash AF 280 @11GN