Darkroom gear

H

Hoodi

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I'm trying to get togethor all the gear I need to start processing my own B&W film - all being well I'll pick up something like a JOBO CPE-2 after that to start on colour, too.

I'm sourcing most stuff from Ebay, second hand. Cos' it's cheap like me. The missing peices I'll probably get from Calumet.

One thing I'm having trouble finding, though, is a "film leader retreiver" ~ I assume this is a tool which helps you pull the leader of the film from the cannister, but I can't find one anywhere!
Any advice on where I may be able to pick one up?

I'm following this guide ~ which seems to be fantastic.
 
Use a bottle opener and take the end off the canister, swat I always did.
 
Y'see now that guide tells me I need a cap remover and a leader retreiver - which baffles me a touch.

Surely if you pop the top off you can just slip the film out and go on from there?
So I don't need a leader retreiver!
 
You got it in one :)

btw, if you should decide you want in buy bulk and load your own I have a bulk film loader here doing nothing, probably some empty cassettes too.
 
You only need a leader retriever if you're using automated machines like the Fuji Frontier or Gretag. The films are loaded into cassettes still in their cases. This is so that films can be processed in-store without the need for a seperate darkroom for loading film into cassettes.
With the JOBO, you'll be loading the film into a spiral and then into a dev tank, just as for B+W film hand processing in the Fabulous old Jessops dev tanks. In a darkroom. In the dark. With no light at all. Got that? Not even a safelight (how many people do I know who loaded colour film into their tanks under a red safelight?).
 
Ace, cheers for the advice chaps.

I'll be using a darkbag - I can't be fussed trying to blackout a room :D

edit : And yeah, I've got a patterson tank with two spirals :D

I'll probably get the Ilford chemicals it recommends in the above guide. No reason not to, right?
 
OOh no. I love darkrooms - that sense of isolation when you're loading the film into the spiral - great in the summer with moist fingers as the gelatin sticks to the spiral and jams solid! Oh how I miss all that...Not!
 
I was just going to say watch for the film jamming on the spiral, stick to 24 shot rolls to minimise that problem!
 
How do you actually feed it in? I can see where it's supposed to go in (and there are ball bearings on the top//bottom?) but what do you do then? Just push it in gently?
 
One side of the spiral will move back and forth thus pulling the film into the spiral.

If you have some old film that you're never going to use I.E something cheap and nasty then pull the film out and cut it in half then use that to practice with before you do the real one.
 
Best thing is to waste a film and do it in daylight so you can see what works. You feed the roll for a bit then twist the two spirals forwards and back so that the rest of the film loads on.
 
Warm the spiral first to make sure there's no moisture on it at all - happiness is a dry spiral!

Ditto the above - practice on a duff film in daylight, then do it with your eyes closed before you do it for real on a film with precious images on it.
 
Excellent - thanks for sharing your experiences and expertise :D

Just getting togethor all the chemicals, the wetting agent is kinda expensive (and I only need a wee bit per roll...). I get the impression I don't need it - bad idea to ommit wetting agent for now?
 
I've never used a wetting agent and all the films I've processed have turned out fine, I don't use a stop bath either, just some water, but then I am a cheapskate.
 
Wetting agent is a rip off really. If you want to do this step then one drop of washing up liquid in the dev tank with it full of water will do just fine.

Never used a real out of the bottle stopping agent either. It's supposed to stop the devloping process quicker than water does but I've never had any problems with the good old tap stuff either.
 
Ace, that's another chemical I can knock off my list :D

So I only really need a developer & fixer?
 
If you want real consistency from your films, you'll use a proper stop-bath to halt the dev process - it's not that expensive compared to everything else.
There's a tendency among photographers to skimp when it comes to the darkroom side of things - why? You wouldn't compromise on your choice of lenses or film, would you?
Also, remember to pre-soak beforehand so that any small bubbles are dispersed (remembering to have the pre-soak water at the same temp as your chemistry - this will ensure that the temperature of the dev remains fairly constant throughout the process, instead of being affected by the temperature of the plastic tank/spirals etc.).

Washing-up liquid will do fine as a wetting agent, but try to find a cheap, unscented (clear) liquid, rather than Fairy. Some people can get away with not using it, but if you live anywhere in the South, you'll need to on account of the hard water here. Drying marks are a real PITA to remove. If you can afford one get a proper drying cabinet - loads of dust on your negs is another PITA.
 
Yep... use a stop bath... why spoil the ship for a ha'porth of tar :shrug:

I have a Hama leader retriever knocking around somewhere. You certainly don't need one for darkroom use, just bust the canister open. I've used it occasionally when the leader has been wound into the canister before I've had chance to load the film.

They're devilish devices anyway, it takes practice to use one, and then you can still spend a lot of time fishing in the canister before you get a bite on that leader.
 
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