B&W film developing questions
in [Darkroom]
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From: G.T. on 5 Jan 2008 01:04 Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. Questions: 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to assume it will last that long? Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix because I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, I would do a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my storage container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same developing time my negs were a little light. Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? It should be ok for a couple dozen rolls over the next couple of months? 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? Thanks, Greg
From: Lawrence Akutagawa on 5 Jan 2008 03:57 "G.T." <getnews1(a)dslextreme.com> wrote in message news:13nu7g7ikfj9be3(a)corp.supernews.com... > Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a > little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll > sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. > > I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal > non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. > > Questions: > > 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to > assume it will last that long? > > Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix because > I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, I would do > a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my storage > container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same developing > time my negs were a little light. > > Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? > > 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? It should be ok for a > couple dozen rolls over the next couple of months? > > 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? > > Thanks, > Greg My two bits - Rodinal is one time use. But you are using 1:25 or 1:50 or even 1:100 such that you use so little that the one time use is plenty. No replenishment, no multiple use. My own prediliction is to decant the 500ml container into 1 oz (30 ml) glass amber bottles. I keep these tightly capped and use them in succession. No problem at all. Way back when, I recall a story about a partially used bottle of Rodinal found in the late 1940s/early 1950s amongst the bombed ruins during the German reconstruction. Turned out the contents were as good as new, despite the summer heat and the winter cold. I don't use any commercial stop. I use two successive water rinses instead. The rule of thumb with fixers is in room light to toss a piece of undeveloped film scrap into the fixer - for 35mm, the leader/trailer of the roll is ideal. Time how long it takes for the film to clear. Fix for double that time. When the fixing period extends more than 10-12 minutes or so, time for mix new fixer. Keep the fixer in a dark, cool place.
From: Nicholas O. Lindan on 5 Jan 2008 08:44 "G.T." <getnews1(a)dslextreme.com> wrote > 1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. It lasts forever. If you are doing 35mm you may find it is not that good a choice for most work. > Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? No. > 2. The stop is the least of my worries, right? What, me worry? It's cheap - chuck it when you chuck the fix. > 3. What's the expected longevity of the fixer? If it smells funny (funnier than usual) or throws a yellow or white precipitate then discard. I set a limit of 8 rolls/litre of working film-strength. -- Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com
From: Thor Lancelot Simon on 5 Jan 2008 10:08 In article <13nu7g7ikfj9be3(a)corp.supernews.com>, G.T. <getnews1(a)dslextreme.com> wrote: >Ok, I just developed my first 3 rolls of film at home, and except for a >little bit of dust on the last roll the results are excellent. I'll >sporadically be developing more over the next couple of months. > >I'm using Rodinal, Arista's indicator stop bath, Arista's Universal >non-hardening fixer, and Kentflo. > >Questions: > >1. The Rodinal says undiluted it will last 6 months. Can I be safe to >assume it will last that long? > >Also, with the Rodinal I've been developing only one roll per mix >because I'm new at this. With Accufine, the previous developer I used, >I would do a couple of rolls in one canister before dumping back into my >storage container and replenishing. And after 3 months at the same >developing time my negs were a little light. > >Can I develop more than one roll of film in my Rodinal? Sure, if you want inconsistent results. Maintaining a replenished developer system for black and white work really requires a lot more care than most people realize. It is seldom worth the effort. What you actually want to do is buy a *larger tank* so you can develop more than one roll of film at a time, instead of messing around with replenishing the developer. I would call both Accufine and Rodinal poor choices of developer for general use (though each has its own set of special purposes for which it works well). You might want to try D-76 or ID-11, or one of the newer developers like Xtol or DD-X. -- Thor Lancelot Simon tls(a)rek.tjls.com "The inconsistency is startling, though admittedly, if consistency is to be abandoned or transcended, there is no problem." - Noam Chomsky
From: G.T. on 5 Jan 2008 12:53
Lawrence Akutagawa wrote: > > > My two bits - > > Rodinal is one time use. But you are using 1:25 or 1:50 or even 1:100 such > that you use so little that the one time use is plenty. No replenishment, > no multiple use. Thanks for the confirmation. > > My own prediliction is to decant the 500ml container into 1 oz (30 ml) glass > amber bottles. I keep these tightly capped and use them in succession. No > problem at all. Way back when, I recall a story about a partially used > bottle of Rodinal found in the late 1940s/early 1950s amongst the bombed > ruins during the German reconstruction. Turned out the contents were as > good as new, despite the summer heat and the winter cold. > > I don't use any commercial stop. I use two successive water rinses instead. > > The rule of thumb with fixers is in room light to toss a piece of > undeveloped film scrap into the fixer - for 35mm, the leader/trailer of the > roll is ideal. Time how long it takes for the film to clear. Fix for > double that time. When the fixing period extends more than 10-12 minutes or > so, time for mix new fixer. Keep the fixer in a dark, cool place. Awesome. Thanks for the tip about the fixer. Greg |