[BigMackCam]

Time to ask for more opinions and advice from you good folks...

I'm finally ready to equip myself for 35mm and 120 B&W film development, and I've looked at a number of kits on eBay and Amazon, but none of them contains everything or exactly what I think I need.

I've put together what I believe is an appropriate and fairly comprehensive shopping list, and would greatly appreciate any feedback. Have I forgotten anything, or gone too far? Are there better - or equally good but less expensive - choices of specific components? For you film developers in the UK, are there better prices to be had on these items?

Here's my list (prices are rounded up):

Hardware:

AP Universal Developing Tank - £18 (eBay UK)
AP Changing Bag (large) - £22 (eBay UK)
3 x 600ml Paterson graduates - £22.50 total (Bristol Cameras)
10ml measuring cylinder - £2.50 (eBay UK)
4 x 1l measuring jugs - £8 total (Amazon UK)
3 x Kaiser funnels = £15 total (Bristol Cameras)
AP chemical solution stirrer (pair) - £6.50 (Bristol Cameras)
3 x AP 1 litre accordion storage bottles - £27 total (Bristol Cameras)
35mm film cannister opener - £8 (eBay UK)
ThermoPro TP01H digital thermometer - £8.50 (Amazon UK)
2 x pairs Kood stainless steel film clips - £8 total (Bristol Cameras)
Cleaned, empty drinking water bottles for water and waste storage - free

Chemicals:

500ml Adox Rodinal / Adonal - £13 (Bristol Cameras)
250ml FOMA Fomacitro Stop Bath With Indicator - £5 (Bristol Cameras)
500ml Adox Adofix Plus - £9 (Bristol Cameras)
100ml ADOX Adoflo II Universal Wetting Agent - £6 (Bristol Cameras)

A few notes on the above...

I wanted three 600ml graduates so I can pre-measure and mix developer, stop bath and fixer solutions.
Three of the 4 x 1l jugs are for me to pour used solutions into during the development cycle, before storage and/or disposal. The fourth is to measure water for washing, which I'll have ready in thoroughly cleaned drinking water bottles.
The 3 x funnels are for ease of transferring developer, stop bath and fixer to storage bottles (since I'll be using Rodinal one-shot developer, I don't really need three funnels to begin with - but it's possible I may use re-usable developers in future).
Similarly, I don't expect to need all three accordion storage bottles until I try out reusable developers.

Regarding the chemicals, I'm not sure I have exactly the right quantities, but these should keep me going for a while. I believe the developer and fixer, at the relevant dilutions, should be good for about 50 x 35mm films... which, given the amount of film I expect to shoot, should last me a long time (probably too long... I suspect I'll end up with expired chemicals before I've used them up ). Although I've included stop bath in my list, based on the advice I've received I probably won't be using it with Rodinal - but I'd like to have some ready for other film stock.

I'm aiming to place my orders later this week, so any and all feedback would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

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Last edited by BigMackCam; 11-07-2021 at 05:59 AM.

[steephill]

The jugs, funnels and stirrer are grossly overpriced. Try any good home brew shop for much better prices. The film canister opener is a waste of money, an old bottle opener will work well. There are lots of options to recycle food grade bottles for holding used solutions.

[BigMackCam]

The jugs, funnels and stirrer are grossly overpriced. Try any good home brew shop for much better prices. The film canister opener is a waste of money, an old bottle opener will work well. There are lots of options to recycle food grade bottles for holding used solutions.

Thanks for that The jugs seemed pretty cheap to me - they're actually £1.79 each. The funnels, I agree, are expensive, and I've found some generic ones for £1 each - they'll do nicely As for the stirrers... We don't have a home-brew shop nearby, but I've looked online and they seem to be similarly priced - about £3 each, while the pair of Kood stirrers I'd listed is £6.50, so £3.25 each... I'll keep looking!

[Dartmoor Dave]

I'd suggest adding:

One roll of cheap throwaway film to practice loading film onto the developing reel in full daylight. You really don't want your first attempt at it to be working by touch only in full darkness, with a roll of film full of shots that you actually want to keep.

[BigMackCam]

I'd suggest adding:

One roll of cheap throwaway film to practice loading film onto the developing reel in full daylight. You really don't want your first attempt at it to be working by touch only in full darkness, with a roll of film full of shots that you actually want to keep.

Good suggestion. Thanks, David

As it happens, I have a couple of old, half-used (for what, I don't remember - it was years ago) 35mm and 120mm rolls I can use for this. Sorted!

[ProfessorBuzz]

Paterson has a handy film washer hose that goes from the faucet to their tanks. I don't know if it fits AP or if AP has something similar.
Paterson Force Film Washer - Paterson Photographic Equipment

You'll also want a hanger of some kind to attach the film clips to - I have one that goes over a door.

[BigMackCam]

Paterson has a handy film washer hose that goes from the faucet to their tanks. I don't know if it fits AP or if AP has something similar.
Paterson Force Film Washer - Paterson Photographic Equipment

I'm trying to avoid running water washes, purely to limit water use. I was hoping to go with Ilford's approach which involves three cycles of filling the tank, performing inversions, and then a fourth and final wash with wetting agent.

You'll also want a hanger of some kind to attach the film clips to - I have one that goes over a door.

I'd planned on simply hanging a strong string line across my bath. Would that work?

[JohnMc]

Film reels? The disadvantage of plastic reels is they are difficult or impossible load if wet, esp. 120/220.

eta; which is to say if you plan to process multiple rolls in a session, you'll want multiple reels or the means/time to make sure the one is completely dry.

[BigMackCam]

Film reels? The disadvantage of plastic reels is they are difficult or impossible load if wet, esp. 120/220.

Thanks, John

The AP tank comes with two reels that can be adjusted for a variety of formats.

I've read about the difficulty with plastic reels when wet, but given my expectations of relatively infrequent use, I can rely on the reels being dry each time I use them (though I'll be sure to check them before use). In the unlikely event I should need to process more than two rolls of 35mm (or a mix of 35mm and 120) in one session, I'll pick up another pair of reels in advance.

[StiffLegged]

No further quibbles from me, just to say the three cylinders ready with solutions can be kept in a water bath for temperature stability. Looking forward to hearing of your results!

[JohnMc]

Thanks, John

The AP tank comes with two reels that can be adjusted for a variety of formats.

.. of relatively infrequent use

Welcome. I experienced when teaching drop(s) of water persisting for over 10 days on a reel put away almost dry and stored in the closed tank. Nothing more enjoyable as a start to the day so to speak.


Have fun.

[BigMackCam]

No further quibbles from me, just to say the three cylinders ready with solutions can be kept in a water bath for temperature stability. Looking forward to hearing of your results!

Thanks - noted I do have some questions re solution temperatures, but they probably deserve a separate thread...

[tuco]

If that Adox Adofix Plus is a hardening/rapid fixer, perhaps introduce a hypo clearing agent after fixing to reduce the wash time.

I purchase 4oz (~120ml) and 8oz (~240ml) brown glass bottles (their advertised size but actually hold a little more) to break down the volume of my stock Rodinal and T-F4 fixer bottles (once they are opened) into smaller, air-tight units with equal volume in each bottle. I remove the air by adding small glass marbles as required to bring the volume to the top in an attempt to keep a good shelf life.

For example, my TF-4 fixer is mixed 1 part fixer plus 3 parts distilled water. So breaking down the stock 1-liter bottle into 250ml air-tight bottles ensures the fixer lasts the advertised shelf life and it's pre measured and ready to mix a new batch when needed.

[Bob 256]

I look back to my film days and the one thing I had trouble with was temperature control. I always worried about the developer cooling off after I poured it in the tank, and getting it to just the right temperature before doing so. This drove me to distraction when I started doing color. So, time moves on..........

Something I purchased recently is the Cine Still temperature control system which I think I came upon after a posting in this forum. This device is pretty handy for maintaining processing temperatures. It is basically a recirculating pump with heating element (sorry you're out of luck if you have to cool your chemicals to get them to the right temperature). It's made so it can sit on the edge of a larger basin containing water, which, in turn, holds your bottles of processing solutions. You turn it on and set the temperature. After a bit, the whole basin is at the set temperature which then brings your chemicals up to the desired processing temperature. In between agitation, you can set your film tank in the basin to keep it at the right temperature as well.

I used to hold my bottles under running hot water (yes, out of the tap - egads, not today where water is more valuable) until they got to the desired temp. Then I had to hope nothing cooled off in my stainless tanks while I was developing (stop baths and other processes are a lot more forgiving). Fortunately, I came away with pretty good results.

Anyway, this might be one other thing to consider adding to your darkroom. You can almost throw your thermometer away (better keep it to check up on things). It make temperature management a whole lot easier.

I'm not associated with CineStill or its sellers. Just thought the OP might be interested along with a few others out there.

https://www.uniquephoto.com/cinestill/cinestilltcs1000temperaturecontrolsyst...ntid=CSF800343

[mtkeller]

Rather than the overpriced CineStill heating device, get an inexpensive immersion circulator designed for cooking sous vide. I have had one for a while that I use for cooking, and now I use it for a water bath for C-41 chemistry. I’ve also used it to keep B&W chemistry at 68ºF now that my house is running a bit below that temp.