Darkroom equipemnt and chemical advice

TiTo13

I'm sure it's been done to death but I have a specific list of a few things I have been looking at.

I intend on processing 35mm b&w film, probably iso around 100-400. I wouldn't be making prints, just developing the negatives.


Would this:

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/859/ap-darkroom-film-kit

do for the basics? I mean I would want decent enough results but it's more to learn than anything else.


Would the following chemicals be suitable for this? Also would anyone recommend a different retailer?

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/483/fotospeed-fd10-film-developer-250-ml

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/544/champion-stop-bath-1-litre

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/487/fotospeed-ra50-rinse-aid-wetting-agent-500-ml


http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/516/fotospeed-fx20-fixer-1-litre



Also do certain chemicals suit particular manufacturers? I usually shoot Ilford film, should i then only use Ilford chemicals?

I would appreciate any advice or criticisms

DaireQuinlan

Where are you based ? If you're in or around dublin then a quick visit to Gunns camera shop on wexford street will sort you out, and probably for cheaper than ordering online and paying P&P etc.

If you do want to order from firstcall, make sure that they actually ship chems here. Some of the UK online retailers won't. I normally buy from ag-photographic if I'm after stuff I can't get here. Postage is expensive though.

In essence all you need is a tank, a thermometer, something to get the film out of the canister, and somewhere dark to transfer it to the tank. Chemicals wise you need developer and fix. Some people use stop, I never bother. Rinse aid is useful but not essential depending on what your water is like. I usen't need it in one place I lived, place i live at the moment I get streaks sometimes even when using it.

I think someone was going to put up a film dev sticky at some point, but if it isn't there, if you search through the forum here there are quite a few threads about the best chems to get and the best places to get them.

TiTo13

Thanks, will check out Gunns then. Is it important to match the developer and fix to the film or will most work?

DaireQuinlan

TiTo13 wrote: »

Thanks, will check out Gunns then. Is it important to match the developer and fix to the film or will most work?

Brand wise it doesn't matter so much, but some developers are specialised for particular purposes. Some developers are pretty much general all-rounders. My favourite general dev is Ilfords DDX, I think gunns stock it but they might have a different general purpose dev they recommend to people. They're all equally as good as one another pretty much. It gets complicated when you're looking for particular characteristics or combinations of film and developer, but best not to worry about that if you're just starting off.

Ilfosol for example, another Ilford dev, is particularly good with slow films for fine grain, but doesn't keep all that well (or at least didn't when I used it last, they've improved it since apparently). I have a troika of devs I use for different purposes, DDX for general purpose dev, Diafine for pushed tri-x, rodinal for some other films and for stand dev.

Fix doesn't matter, they're all similar chemical compositions. As above, get into gunns and talk to John Gunn. He'll give you all the advice you need and get you set up with the neccessarys.

aidanic

TiTo13 wrote: »

I intend on processing 35mm b&w film, probably iso around 100-400. I wouldn't be making prints, just developing the negatives.

It's very easy to start home development of B+W film. Some tanks, some chemicals and some time.

I'd suggest you get a Paterson Development Tank, say the PTP115 model, which takes 2 x 35mm rolls. I've been using two on and off for more than a decade, and they're great.

You will need to practice loading the reels in daylight with a dummy roll of film, before doing it for real. With this kind of development tank, you just need darkness for the loading of the film into the reel, and the reel into the tank. After that you can turn on the lights.

Over the years, I've loaded films into tanks under a duvet, in a darkbag, and more recently in a widowless room where we store bathroom supplies.

Apart from the tank, you'll need a termometer, some clothes pegs, some compressible bottles, and the developer and fixer. I'm using Tetenal Ultrafin, and it's good for me, but over the years I've used Ilford, Agfa and Kodak chemicals. Pick one, get used to it, and get your process going well.

Temperature is not very critical with B+W, and anything close to 20 degrees is OK to run a batch. (E-6 a whole other story!).

I've been using a wetting agent recently for the first time ever, and I recommend it. Kodak Photo-Flo or Tetenal Mirasol. This reduces drying marks on your film. The Massive Dev Chart is the place to look for times/concentrations.

I don't bother with a stop bath, just developer, wash, fixer, wash and finally wetting agent. Then using clothes pegs I hang the film to dry.

Some developers are "single shot", which means they can be only used once. Others can be used a few times, with development times extended depending on the number of times used. Note that all chemicals oxidise over time, and made up chemicals will loose their potency if stored. 1-2 weeks is what I'm thinking of here.

You should be able to get much of the equipment on eBay. Thermometer.

Have a look on YouTube - there are a good number of useful videos on B+W development.

Some tips...

- Have fun
- Practice (a lot at the start)
- Use cheap/expired/old film to practice
- Dispose of chemicals correctly
- Developer does not stink too much
- Fixer stinks quite a bit (needs to be stored)

Best of luck. PM if you want to have a chat...