[Jamey777]

I just wanted to encourage anyone looking to start doing C-41 at home to give it a go. It really isn't any more difficult than black and white.

In fact pretty much everything is the same.... you have to get your film off the roll into your developing tank, and you pour in chems exactly like b&w etc.

1) The developer has to be 102F and the fixer from 95-105F (or there abouts, read the instructions) Most folks do this by either using a water bath with a submersible water heater, or simply by microwaving :-) The temps stay close enough for the 3.5 - 4.5 minutes you will be developing. (longer times if you are pushing or if the developer is getting older)

2) Storage and reuse are highly debated. According to the manufacturers you might get 8-12 rolls from 1 liter. According to internet folklore you can in reality get 30 rolls if you want to. The developer doesn't go bad 'all of the sudden'. You will see color shifts at the point that it starts to exhaust and then you know it is time to either add more time to developing, or make up a new batch. Most people keep theirs in the fridge with no oxygen (squeeze that coke bottle!) but there is also the story of the guy who left it under the sink for two years and it worked fine. :-)

3) The blix (that is what they call the bleach/fixer chems) will push air out of your tank, so make sure to do this step over a sink! It helps to leave the cap off the lid so the air can escape as it wants to.

I am on my second batch of the Tetenal Press Kit (B&H sells it in powder form) and I did 21 rolls mixed 24 & 36 135 film the first batch. I tend to do the exact 3:30 developer time for the first 10 rolls, then add 30 seconds the next five, and add a minute the last. If I want to push I follow the instructions for it and add to that time as well.

Even if you are conservative on your usage, this ends up being a good way to save money and be creative on things like pushing / pulling etc.

The baby picture is roll 5 of 21 (Portra 400 @500 pushed 1 stop)
The gun range picture is roll 18 of 21 (Portra 400 @800 pushed 1 stop)

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Last edited by Jamey777; 10-09-2016 at 06:31 PM.

[Jamey777]

How long do you have to keep the dev/blix bottles in the 102F water to get them up to temp? Do you start at 105F an hour earlier? I use a water bath and throw the 40F chems into the 78F water bath. After an hour it is up to 102 on the dot with my water heater.

---------- Post added 07-26-14 at 03:50 PM ----------

Agree with you on the Portra latitude, but it looks the way I want it (punchy!) Those scans are straight off the scanner, no post.

[Jamey777]

Well, I am super lazy when it comes to post... I use the Pakon 135 and don't do any corrections in it (at least for color). Three minutes later my files are all archived off and I only do post when I want to play around. The software on the pakon is enough for you to want to leave the pics well enough alone and do it in a proper post tool :-)

I can say that just by looking at the scans I can tell if shot the Portra over or under box speed, and if I pushed it.

The pakon doesn't give you any kind of density adjustment other than it guesses (incorrectly on b&w) and always looks right. I suppose there is some processing going on in there somewhere. For b&w 50% of the time i have to save off the raw files and invert them but color is perfect.

---------- Post added 07-26-14 at 07:42 PM ----------

well this was timely, Petapixel just posted this video:

Video: A Comprehensive Guide to Developing Your Own Color Film

[todd]

I admire you guys for doing this. I would shoot a lot more film if I could get portra results like yours consistently (I love portra) and if I was someone who thought he could actually pull home processing off... I've watched a BW DIY video before and that's as far as I've gone lol...

[Jamey777]

I admire you guys for doing this. I would shoot a lot more film if I could get portra results like yours consistently (I love portra) and if I was someone who thought he could actually pull home processing off... I've watched a BW DIY video before and that's as far as I've gone lol...

Well i did post some of my better stuff haha.... you can ask your lab to push portra and they will do it probably. I would start with b&w and if you are comfortable with it then move on. honestly, there are more things to worry about with b&w because there are so many variables. c-41 is pretty much nothing to mess up other then temp and time...

[todd]

so many variables.

Does it matter which flavor of BW film as far as difficulty of development goes? Thanks

[lmd91343]

I don't do B&W developing in the summer, as the kitchen tap water varies between 100*-120*. A bit much for D76. My kitchen faces west with no shade. The water pipes are uninsulated and in the western wall. The pool is outside the kitchen an we get either the sun directly or reflected off the water.

C41 might be a good thing to try on a summer morning.

[Not a Number]

Having done a lot of C-41 and E-6 processing in my time temperatures are critical. I found it essential to do a pre-soak rinse of plain water at the developer temperatures first - just to bring the system (film, reels and tank) up to temperature before adding the developer. Load the tank, add water at temperature, wait a minute or two. Completely dump water. Continue processing as normally. The drop in temperature of the developer in a "cold" system is often enough to affect processing. You'll get much more consistent results if you do this, especially with film developed in winter vs summer.

[ChrisPlatt]

I don't do B&W developing in the summer, as the kitchen tap water varies between 100*-120*. A bit much for D76.
My kitchen faces west with no shade. The water pipes are uninsulated and in the western wall.

Your previously mixed D76 stock solution should be at ambient temperature; I doubt you keep your place that warm.
And if you let the tap run a few minutes the temperature should drop to a usable level for your all further needs.

Chris

[Jamey777]

i am loosening up the more rolls I process... never done a pre-soak ever... started recently not even keeping my dev in the bath after pouring. i think the tetenal stuff is pretty awesome.

[tuco]

Having done a lot of C-41 and E-6 processing in my time temperatures are critical. I found it essential to do a pre-soak rinse of plain water at the developer temperatures first .

Yes, a pre-soak is in the instructions that accompany many C-41 kits. At least every brand I've used.

[Jamey777]

i agree it is there, just haven't done it in 30+ rolls :-)

[wombat2go]

I am following the Digibase instructions as closely as possible, and with distilled water.

My bath cycles between about 38.5 ~ 37.0 Celsius by the on-off control of the heating element.
The solutions (600 ml each) are in "Ball" brand 32 oz wide-mouth mason glass jars with steel screw tops and rubber gaskets.

I have no means of measuring the solution temperatures but I assume the entry temperatures will have a temperature swing something less than the above.
The 3 minute prewash water picks up a lot of color, so I presume that apart from heating the tanks and film, it has some chemical activity ?

[Jamey777]

I am following the Digibase instructions as closely as possible, and with distilled water.

My bath cycles between about 38.5 ~ 37.0 Celsius by the on-off control of the heating element.
The solutions (600 ml each) are in "Ball" brand 32 oz wide-mouth mason glass jars with steel screw tops and rubber gaskets.

I have no means of measuring the solution temperatures but I assume the entry temperatures will have a temperature swing something less than the above.
The 3 minute prewash water picks up a lot of color, so I presume that apart from heating the tanks and film, it has some chemical activity ?

I will try a prewash next roll and see if it helps me out (and if there is color)

[G and T]

I don't do B&W developing in the summer, as the kitchen tap water varies between 100*-120*. A bit much for D76. My kitchen faces west with no shade. The water pipes are uninsulated and in the western wall. The pool is outside the kitchen an we get either the sun directly or reflected off the water.

It gets very hot here in Australia in summer. All I do, is try to process at night when its cooler and ice cubes get the temperature of my chemicals down very quickly. Just leave enough ice for your drink.
Glenn