Originally posted by CSoars For what it's worth, I find Tri-X much easier to load onto a stainless spool than any Ilford films, as the film base is thicker and doesn't buckle at much. However, Kodak films seem to be heavier on the anti-halation layer, so you might need to fix it on the longer side of things to make sure there's no purple cast left over.
I'm going to order my first roll of Tri-X hopefully today. I can say that HP5+ is pretty thick...definitely thicker than C41 films (of which I've handled thousands, literally, when I used to work in a lab).
What is a good "base" time to fix Tri-X? HP5+ is around 4-4.5min for me.
Originally posted by k100d personally, to me it's not the lab or whether you have a nice scanner or not. the labs i go to scan a roll for $5. not the greatest scans, but it's basically like getting a contact print and stuff i can put online. if the pictures is OMG awesome then i'll spend time to scan it myself.
the issue is the time spent scanning can be used for many many better things.
Once again...here we have time vs money (also replying to the OP
).
Scanning sucks, yes...definitely. For the price of doing it yourself, however, you sacrifice lots of time but it can be extremely cheap. And let's be honest...if we are in "that much of a hurry" would we be using manual cams and film in the first place?
Chemicals/tank/grad cylinders/scanner/etc cost me right around $200. Rolling your own film can make it even cheaper. It takes something like $1-1.50 off the "street" price of a manufacturer-rolled film like HP5+.
Doing the math:
HP5+ 24exp roll from Freestyle = $3.49
HP5+ 100ft roll = $45
~24 rolls of 24exp rolls can be made from the big roll (if I can do math? I hate numbers)
$free film canisters
$free bulk roller
= less than $2/roll if self-rolled
Also want to add a tip for anyone thinking about home-devving...my house is always about 70 degrees F...give or take...so the chems are always around 20C since they're out of the sun and on the floor (heat rises, 'member?
). I get a gallon jug, fill it with ~22C water, and use that since it will get colder as it sits. Not wet n wild...nice and clean in the bathtub. No submersion needed
Of course measure them first if compensation is needed