Originally posted by rparmar He he he.... well, I am already thinking of developing B&W because no-one else will, apparently. Will look into getting a changing bag and developing tank so I don't have to light-proof anything. The biggest issue might be buying a decent scanner, since I have no money for this.
Yes, developing your own is the only way to go for BW and a must if you want more than ordinary. Since there are so many developers and film combos, it will take years to find your style. And it will take time to hone in on it too. I recommend not jumping around too much with film/developer combos until you have worked with one for a while. You need to fine-tune your development times.
If your bathroom does not have a window, it is easy to make a "dark" room for loading film into the development tanks. Just shove a towel under the door and hang a dark cloth over the door with thumb tacks. Tie a clip to the shower curtain to hang the film to unroll and remove the 120 backing paper and hang your negative there to dry too.
Yes, a good scanner is an expense and makes a difference in quality. But don't forget to get good scanning software too.
Vuescan, for example, can scan multiple samples and passes to get better range on your negative.