Film & Development

glee46 · 05-04-2016, 11:34 PM

I'm sure this has been asked. I should be getting my K1000 & ME Super back in a week or so from Eric.

I've looked at some suggestions, but I'm only going to be shooting B&W.

1. What film would anyone recommend & what ISO? Most of my shots are going to be Portraits, with Strobes.

2. However, for now where can I send the roles to be developed?

I know it's pretty easy to develop from what I remember doing it a few times back in the early 70's. But that was at a lab. I'll get into that later.

Thanks for any suggestions.

**Tonytee** · 05-05-2016, 01:34 AM

Originally posted by glee46

I'm sure this has been asked. I should be getting my K1000 & ME Super back in a week or so from Eric.

I've looked at some suggestions, but I'm only going to be shooting B&W.

1. What film would anyone recommend & what ISO? Most of my shots are going to be Portraits, with Strobes.

2. However, for now where can I send the roles to be developed?

I know it's pretty easy to develop from what I remember doing it a few times back in the early 70's. But that was at a lab. I'll get into that later.

Thanks for any suggestions.

I have had very good success with Ilford HP ISO 400, manufactured in the U.K. I had to suspend my black and white photography simply because of the outrageous expense involved. I paid $10.99 for a roll of 36 exposures and then had to pay $29.99 for developing. This price included a $5.00 surcharge. The other reason is because of the difficulties in getting the chemicals anymore. This meant that I often had to wait anywhere from three to four weeks to see what my photos looked like. Too much of a hassle for me. The film is fantastic, well thought out and nearly always produces excellent results. I say nearly always, meaning the times that I had screwed up. I also used a Hoya, 52mm 25A Red Filter that truly enhanced the photos. This filter was designed for black and white photography. Well, I hope this helps. Let's see, you are in San Francisco, so I do not know where to send your rolls to. There is a very good camera sales & Service Center in Portland, Oregon called Advance Camera. You can look them up Google and all of their info., is there. Or, you could look up a lab called, Action Fast Photo Finishing in Portland also. Now Action Fast is only open from 12noon to 6P.M. The owner's name there is Brandon, but he does have qualified personnel there that would be happy to help you. Tonytee

Brooke Meyer · 05-05-2016, 01:56 AM

I have a good local processor but if I didn't it would be off to Dwaynes

**TomB_tx** · 05-05-2016, 03:21 AM

For film & supplies, check out Black and White Film | Freestyle Photographic Supplies
I now prefer the Ilford B&W films, with PanF (ISO 50) my favorite.
For processing Ilford labs is in San Clemente: https://www.ilfordlab-us.com/

Xmas · 05-05-2016, 04:07 AM

If you use XP2+ (Ilford) you can drop it off at any local colour print mini lab (c41) and optionally get normal prints they will normally be sepia toned...

This may be the cheapest and fastest.

You may have to explain although it is mono it is still c41.

glee46 · 05-05-2016, 11:25 PM

Thank you for the great suggestions. After thinking it over, (And watching some Youtubes) I'm going to look into learning how to develop it myself, scan it, and edit it lightroom, or photoshop. Does anyone have a quick work flow from taking the shot to LR/PS or just posting it online

**TomB_tx** · 05-06-2016, 03:51 AM

I've gone back to processing my own B&W, after a few decades lag. It is much more economical. I buy 100 ft rolls of film, and use Ilford PanF most. Load into cassettes with an old Watson 66 daylight loader. Since my darkroom is now an active guest bath, I use a changing bag to load the Watson, and again to load film onto a Hewes stainless reel and into a Nikor single reel tank for processing, as I usually do one roll at a time, and this only needs 250ml developer mixed. For PanF I like Rodinal as developer, mixed when I use it (9.5 ml to make 250 ml mixed with deionized water). Stock Rodinal keeps forever. I can load, process a roll, hang it in the shower to dry, and clean everything up in a half hour.
I use an Epson V700 Photo flat bed scanner, which will scan 24 frames at once ( I usually load 24 frame rolls from bulk), and find Epson Scan software very easy to use. The resulting quality is fine for screen viewing on a 24" monitor.
I do use Lightroom for the little post work I do from digital cameras, but I don't do as much on scanned film, as the direct scans are generally good enough. I'll just re-size for posting and maybe tweak contrast using Microsoft Office picture manager.
When I can convert my guest bath back to an enlarging darkroom I'll go back to wet printing.

Xmas · 05-06-2016, 10:56 AM

ILFORD PHOTO - Processing a Black & White film

glee46 · 05-06-2016, 04:53 PM

I really do appreciate all of the help and suggestion everyone has offered. I have my K-1 coming next week. I hope to have both my K1000 & my ME Super back as well within a few weeks. I just sent my K-3ll off to Precision Camera the other day. I still have my K-20D and a K-5 that I shoot with as well. As you can tell, my life is pretty much about photography. I'm retired, and the only thing that holds me back at time is several disabilities. For me, photography is a life saver. I've never been married, & all the family is dead & gone. I've kind of made this forum my home, and I'm thankful there are some really great people here to help me along the way.

Thanks again.

**Jacquot** · 05-06-2016, 05:18 PM

There are some really useful YouTube videos about processing and scanning. Here's one from David Hancock that is very very detailed and well done. David is a great contributor to PF. He also has other videos on scanning, many camera tutorials, films, and general photography, too.

You Tube

I am thinking about starting to do my own processing for B&W negatives and color slides. I did both in the past, but a while ago. Good luck, lots of great information out there.
David

glee46 · 05-06-2016, 05:44 PM

Originally posted by Jacquot

There are some really useful YouTube videos about processing and scanning. Here's one from David Hancock that is very very detailed and well done. David is a great contributor to PF. He also has other videos on scanning, many camera tutorials, films, and general photography, too.

How to Develop Black and White Film from Start to Finished Results - YouTube

I am thinking about starting to do my own processing for B&W negatives and color slides. I did both in the past, but a while ago. Good luck, lots of great information out there.
David

Talk about great timing. I had just clicked on it to watch it, but checked here to ask if anyone had a favorite video on Developing. Good to know he's from here as well.

Thanks!

**TomB_tx** · 05-06-2016, 06:38 PM

Must be something about retirement that calls us back to photography. I married and gained a family at 40, and life got too busy for my old hobbies, and I lost my darkroom. After the kids left, I accepted retirement in 2009, sent my old Leicas and Pentaxes out for service, and use some of my retirement bonus for a Leica M9, which is the only digital I'm really comfortable with. Started shooting a lot more film as I began buying one repairing old film cameras, set up a darkroom again, and rediscovered a love for B&W. I load, shoot and process 1 or 2 rolls a week now. I'd do more, but I have less free time now than before I retired, and started "part time" consulting.

Mcgerm · 06-28-2016, 01:17 PM

Thanks all. I was looking for an answer to the same question. I just broke out my P5 for a Mackinaw and Sault St. Marie trip. My son also has my MZ50 for the week to give film a try.

disconnekt · 06-28-2016, 01:58 PM

Here's a link that has photo labs & darkrooms that you can check out:

Photo Labs and Darkrooms ? I shoot film.

For film, if you're looking for something cheap just to try there's Kentmere:

Kentmere Film | Buy, Compare & Review | Adorama

Xmas · 06-29-2016, 05:19 AM

Originally posted by disconnekt

Here's a link that has photo labs & darkrooms that you can check out:

Photo Labs and Darkrooms ? I shoot film.

For film, if you're looking for something cheap just to try there's Kentmere:

Kentmere Film | Buy, Compare & Review | Adorama

I use Kentmere for the price performance and Foma for the 60's signature the Foma is just cheaper here.
Both are available in 100foot reels.

05-04-2016, 11:34 PM	#1
glee46 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: North of San Francisco, California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 598	Film & Development I'm sure this has been asked. I should be getting my K1000 & ME Super back in a week or so from Eric. I've looked at some suggestions, but I'm only going to be shooting B&W. 1. What film would anyone recommend & what ISO? Most of my shots are going to be Portraits, with Strobes. 2. However, for now where can I send the roles to be developed? I know it's pretty easy to develop from what I remember doing it a few times back in the early 70's. But that was at a lab. I'll get into that later. Thanks for any suggestions.

05-05-2016, 01:34 AM	#2
Tonytee Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 21,449	Originally posted by glee46 I'm sure this has been asked. I should be getting my K1000 & ME Super back in a week or so from Eric. I've looked at some suggestions, but I'm only going to be shooting B&W. 1. What film would anyone recommend & what ISO? Most of my shots are going to be Portraits, with Strobes. 2. However, for now where can I send the roles to be developed? I know it's pretty easy to develop from what I remember doing it a few times back in the early 70's. But that was at a lab. I'll get into that later. Thanks for any suggestions. I have had very good success with Ilford HP ISO 400, manufactured in the U.K. I had to suspend my black and white photography simply because of the outrageous expense involved. I paid $10.99 for a roll of 36 exposures and then had to pay $29.99 for developing. This price included a $5.00 surcharge. The other reason is because of the difficulties in getting the chemicals anymore. This meant that I often had to wait anywhere from three to four weeks to see what my photos looked like. Too much of a hassle for me. The film is fantastic, well thought out and nearly always produces excellent results. I say nearly always, meaning the times that I had screwed up. I also used a Hoya, 52mm 25A Red Filter that truly enhanced the photos. This filter was designed for black and white photography. Well, I hope this helps. Let's see, you are in San Francisco, so I do not know where to send your rolls to. There is a very good camera sales & Service Center in Portland, Oregon called Advance Camera. You can look them up Google and all of their info., is there. Or, you could look up a lab called, Action Fast Photo Finishing in Portland also. Now Action Fast is only open from 12noon to 6P.M. The owner's name there is Brandon, but he does have qualified personnel there that would be happy to help you. Tonytee Last edited by Tonytee; 05-05-2016 at 01:38 AM. Reason: Additional Information

05-06-2016, 04:53 PM	#9
glee46 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: North of San Francisco, California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 598 Original Poster	Thanks to All I really do appreciate all of the help and suggestion everyone has offered. I have my K-1 coming next week. I hope to have both my K1000 & my ME Super back as well within a few weeks. I just sent my K-3ll off to Precision Camera the other day. I still have my K-20D and a K-5 that I shoot with as well. As you can tell, my life is pretty much about photography. I'm retired, and the only thing that holds me back at time is several disabilities. For me, photography is a life saver. I've never been married, & all the family is dead & gone. I've kind of made this forum my home, and I'm thankful there are some really great people here to help me along the way. Thanks again.

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05-05-2016, 01:56 AM	#3
Brooke Meyer Guest	I have a good local processor but if I didn't it would be off to Dwaynes

05-05-2016, 03:21 AM	#4
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	For film & supplies, check out Black and White Film \| Freestyle Photographic Supplies I now prefer the Ilford B&W films, with PanF (ISO 50) my favorite. For processing Ilford labs is in San Clemente: https://www.ilfordlab-us.com/

05-05-2016, 04:07 AM	#5
Xmas Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 617	If you use XP2+ (Ilford) you can drop it off at any local colour print mini lab (c41) and optionally get normal prints they will normally be sepia toned... This may be the cheapest and fastest. You may have to explain although it is mono it is still c41.

05-05-2016, 11:25 PM	#6
glee46 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: North of San Francisco, California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 598 Original Poster	Thank you for the great suggestions. After thinking it over, (And watching some Youtubes) I'm going to look into learning how to develop it myself, scan it, and edit it lightroom, or photoshop. Does anyone have a quick work flow from taking the shot to LR/PS or just posting it online

05-06-2016, 03:51 AM	#7
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	I've gone back to processing my own B&W, after a few decades lag. It is much more economical. I buy 100 ft rolls of film, and use Ilford PanF most. Load into cassettes with an old Watson 66 daylight loader. Since my darkroom is now an active guest bath, I use a changing bag to load the Watson, and again to load film onto a Hewes stainless reel and into a Nikor single reel tank for processing, as I usually do one roll at a time, and this only needs 250ml developer mixed. For PanF I like Rodinal as developer, mixed when I use it (9.5 ml to make 250 ml mixed with deionized water). Stock Rodinal keeps forever. I can load, process a roll, hang it in the shower to dry, and clean everything up in a half hour. I use an Epson V700 Photo flat bed scanner, which will scan 24 frames at once ( I usually load 24 frame rolls from bulk), and find Epson Scan software very easy to use. The resulting quality is fine for screen viewing on a 24" monitor. I do use Lightroom for the little post work I do from digital cameras, but I don't do as much on scanned film, as the direct scans are generally good enough. I'll just re-size for posting and maybe tweak contrast using Microsoft Office picture manager. When I can convert my guest bath back to an enlarging darkroom I'll go back to wet printing.

05-06-2016, 10:56 AM	#8
Xmas Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 617	ILFORD PHOTO - Processing a Black & White film

05-06-2016, 05:44 PM	#11
glee46 Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: North of San Francisco, California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 598 Original Poster	Originally posted by Jacquot There are some really useful YouTube videos about processing and scanning. Here's one from David Hancock that is very very detailed and well done. David is a great contributor to PF. He also has other videos on scanning, many camera tutorials, films, and general photography, too. How to Develop Black and White Film from Start to Finished Results - YouTube I am thinking about starting to do my own processing for B&W negatives and color slides. I did both in the past, but a while ago. Good luck, lots of great information out there. David Talk about great timing. I had just clicked on it to watch it, but checked here to ask if anyone had a favorite video on Developing. Good to know he's from here as well. Thanks!

05-06-2016, 06:38 PM	#12
TomB_tx Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Texas Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,446	Must be something about retirement that calls us back to photography. I married and gained a family at 40, and life got too busy for my old hobbies, and I lost my darkroom. After the kids left, I accepted retirement in 2009, sent my old Leicas and Pentaxes out for service, and use some of my retirement bonus for a Leica M9, which is the only digital I'm really comfortable with. Started shooting a lot more film as I began buying one repairing old film cameras, set up a darkroom again, and rediscovered a love for B&W. I load, shoot and process 1 or 2 rolls a week now. I'd do more, but I have less free time now than before I retired, and started "part time" consulting.

06-28-2016, 01:17 PM	#13
Mcgerm New Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 16	Thanks all. I was looking for an answer to the same question. I just broke out my P5 for a Mackinaw and Sault St. Marie trip. My son also has my MZ50 for the week to give film a try.

06-28-2016, 01:58 PM	#14
disconnekt Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: SoCal/I.E. Photos: Albums Posts: 1,699	Here's a link that has photo labs & darkrooms that you can check out: Photo Labs and Darkrooms ? I shoot film. For film, if you're looking for something cheap just to try there's Kentmere: Kentmere Film \| Buy, Compare & Review \| Adorama

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06-29-2016, 05:19 AM	#15
Xmas Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 617	Originally posted by disconnekt Here's a link that has photo labs & darkrooms that you can check out: Photo Labs and Darkrooms ? I shoot film. For film, if you're looking for something cheap just to try there's Kentmere: Kentmere Film \| Buy, Compare & Review \| Adorama I use Kentmere for the price performance and Foma for the 60's signature the Foma is just cheaper here. Both are available in 100foot reels.