Home Developing

soupdragon

soupdragon

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As using and home developing C41 colour negative film is still a bit new to me, (I've only worked with slide film all the years).
Would anyone like to tell me what there "go to" chemistry is?

I've been using what I could find which is Cinestill Simplified C41, which starts in powder form.
The combination of that with Kodak porta films is producing some unexpected results in deep shadow areas.

It could of course be that my scanner can't deal with the dynamic range.
 
Personally I use Tetenal C41 in those 1L packages. No issues. I use a cheap chinese-made sous-vide stick to reach the required 38 degrees. I keep the three chemicals in 1L brown glass chemist bottles.
 
trypdal said:
Personally I use Tetenal C41 in those 1L packages. No issues. I use a cheap chinese-made sous-vide stick to reach the required 38 degrees. I keep the three chemicals in 1L brown glass chemist bottles.
Click to expand...
I've been unable to get Tetenal chemistry of any sort in the uk.
Can you tell me who your supplier is.
 
soupdragon said:
I've been unable to get Tetenal chemistry of any sort in the uk.
Can you tell me who your supplier is.
Click to expand...
I rely on a supply of Tetenal chemistry purchased a while ago in bulk from Photoimpex,de. I now see it's out of stock. I have heard excellent things on the Bellini C41 so I'll try that from Nik & Tricks next.

ntphotoworks.com

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit from Nik & Trick

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit is the best in the world, easy to mix, easy to use; if you can do black & white then you can do this!
ntphotoworks.com ntphotoworks.com
 
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trypdal said:
I rely on a supply of Tetenal chemistry purchased a while ago in bulk from Photoimpex,de. I now see it's out of stock. I have heard excellent things on the Bellini C41 so I'll try that from Nik & Tricks next.

ntphotoworks.com

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit from Nik & Trick

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit is the best in the world, easy to mix, easy to use; if you can do black & white then you can do this!
ntphotoworks.com ntphotoworks.com
Click to expand...
Sadly, that appears to be out of stock as well.
 
I'm still looking for a replacement for the old 3 bath (separate bleach and fixer rather than blix) Rollei Compard kit. I've heard good things about the Fuji Hunt X-Press chemistry (which again is 3 bath) but it's a 5 litre kit so the economics are not good if you're not doing a lot. The Bellini also is 3 bath so I was planning to try it once I have a few rolls of C41 film ready (with the shortage and ridiculous prices for colour film I have mainly been shooting black and white for the last year or so). My concern with the Bellini kit is the stability of the developer due to it being in a single bottle rather than the normal 3 separate bottles.

As you can probably tell, I'm not a fan of blix and prefer separate bleach and fixer but this is from a theoretical viewpoint and not practical experience.
 
I use the Bellini C41 kit, never let me down. To top it all you can buy extra developer because the rest of the kit can last long enough.
Don't worry if it's showing out of stock, it's never out for long

ntphotoworks.com

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit from Nik & Trick

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit is the best in the world, easy to mix, easy to use; if you can do black & white then you can do this!
ntphotoworks.com ntphotoworks.com
 
Interesting as I'm thinking of going back to home colour neg dev as for one reason t's hindering me from entering the comp as say I finish one roll with some of my shots (covering the present month (and a month in the future) then think wait I've got another roll half finished I'll send the two off together.......and of course the time I've finished the second roll, in not going anywhere, I've missed the comp dates :( Also I've noticed the quality of the jpgs has dropped in leaving exposed film at room temp for a month or two OR it's some crappy Kodak gold I bought from Ebay years ago (but stored in the freezer).
We all know you should keep exposed film in the fridge or freezer but have forgotten if it make much difference leaving colour exposed film for a few months, in a room, at UK temps as for one e.g. found my son's exposed colour film in a drawer (that had been there for years) and the quality of the jpg was quite good.
 
I really should start developing my colour films too - I can see it won't take long for me to get my money back from the initial investment as has been proved by my B&W developing.

It looks like that Bellini kit is the way to go. I was looking at Cinestill kits a while back, but they were not easily available then - I don't know if they are now or not?
 
trypdal said:
Personally I use Tetenal C41 in those 1L packages. No issues. I use a cheap chinese-made sous-vide stick to reach the required 38 degrees. I keep the three chemicals in 1L brown glass chemist bottles.
Click to expand...
Good idea, temperature control is something I have been thinking about for a while, I did not know that a sous vide heater stick was even a thing.
 
Topsy said:
Thanks, I was hoping for the 3 bath kit tbh but I may need to give this a run.
Click to expand...
I have some Bellini E6 but I'm scratching my head as to how to keep 6 litres of chemicals at temp.
Not to mention the volume of hot rinse water required.
 
soupdragon said:
I have some Bellini E6 but I'm scratching my head as to how to keep 6 litres of chemicals at temp.
Not to mention the volume of hot rinse water required.
Click to expand...
E6 processing is new to me, I've only done B&W in the past but I watched a couple of YT videos where the chaps were using the same Dev Tanks as I did with B&W so only needed to keep the actual Dev Tank contents at temp. I do know however that temp control is much more critical for E6 than B&W. Early stages for me, I never wanted to get back into home developing but the recent downsising that my local lab went through means that they no longer do E6 and I am struggling to find a lab with a decent turnaround time. If I can get a lab I am happy with I'll not bother but since Provia is my favourite film I will need to find a solution soon.
 
For quick and CHEEEEP E6 Processing send to John Salim Photographic 65, Ambleside Drive Southend-on-Sea ESSEX SS1 2UT mention Peter Elgar He had to increase prices due to PRICE of Chemicals and trouble with TETENAL supply BUT it is £6 a roll
 
pentaxpete said:
For quick and CHEEEEP E6 Processing send to John Salim Photographic 65, Ambleside Drive Southend-on-Sea ESSEX SS1 2UT mention Peter Elgar He had to increase prices due to PRICE of Chemicals and trouble with TETENAL supply BUT it is £6 a roll
Click to expand...
Does he also scan to TIFF format Peter?
 
pentaxpete said:
For quick and CHEEEEP E6 Processing send to John Salim Photographic 65, Ambleside Drive Southend-on-Sea ESSEX SS1 2UT mention Peter Elgar He had to increase prices due to PRICE of Chemicals and trouble with TETENAL supply BUT it is £6 a roll
Click to expand...

I'm very interested in sending in a roll. I'm assuming return postage costs are required. Please let me know. Thanks
 
soupdragon said:
I have some Bellini E6 but I'm scratching my head as to how to keep 6 litres of chemicals at temp.
Not to mention the volume of hot rinse water required.
Click to expand...
I use a "really useful" storage box with a Sous Vide hung over the side, the box is big enough to take all the E6 chemistry and 38°c wash bottles. I replace each bottle of wash as I use them so that the bath level doesn't fall too low for the Sous Vide.
 
Karl.t1965 said:
I know we are all widely scattered, and I am no expert, but I manage B&W, C41 & E6 with no major problems. If anybody wants to get together for a developing day just shout, happy to take you through it.
I'm based in North Wiltshire
Click to expand...
Are you using six baths for E6?
 
soupdragon said:
As using and home developing C41 colour negative film is still a bit new to me, (I've only worked with slide film all the years).
Would anyone like to tell me what there "go to" chemistry is?

I've been using what I could find which is Cinestill Simplified C41, which starts in powder form.
The combination of that with Kodak porta films is producing some unexpected results in deep shadow areas.

It could of course be that my scanner can't deal with the dynamic range.
Click to expand...
It appears Silverfast 9 is the culprit for strange effects in shadow areas.
I turned off all the odds and sods like, multi exposure, auto contrast adjustment, negafix............................ and the scans are as I would expect.
 
Karl.t1965 said:
I use a "really useful" storage box with a Sous Vide hung over the side, the box is big enough to take all the E6 chemistry and 38°c wash bottles. I replace each bottle of wash as I use them so that the bath level doesn't fall too low for the Sous Vide.
Click to expand...
Would love to see a picture of your set up.
 
Flighter said:
I've heard good things about the Fuji Hunt X-Press chemistry …
Click to expand...
Just seen on another site that Fuji Hunt in Belgium may have recently ceased producing the consumer-sized kits for E6 and for C41:headbang:

Thank [insert Diety of you choice] for Bellini, I hope they keep going with their existing C41, E6 and ECN2 kits.
 
Flighter said:
Just seen on another site that Fuji Hunt in Belgium may have recently ceased producing the consumer-sized kits for E6 and for C41:headbang:

Thank [insert Diety of you choice] for Bellini, I hope they keep going with their existing C41, E6 and ECN2 kits.
Click to expand...
Likewise their Euro HC; apparently HC-110 is no longer available, and the status of Ilford chems in my mind is currently "dodgy" (not for quality, but rumours of supplier problems)...
 
soupdragon said:
Would love to see a picture of your set up.
Click to expand...
This is what I use for developing C41 and E6, shown with 4x5 holder, I use AP reels for 35mm and 120. The box contains my Sous Vide and all of the (currently empty) bottles you need for E6, including warm wash. I number the bottles to keep track of the steps.
As you can see, taking a few bottles out would drop the water bath level quite markedly, enough to go below the minimum for the Sous Vide, so I always put back bottles as I use them, including refilling the wash bottles.

PSX_20230720_081437.jpgPSX_20230720_081351.jpg
 
Karl.t1965 said:
I use the Bellini C41 kit, never let me down. To top it all you can buy extra developer because the rest of the kit can last long enough.
Don't worry if it's showing out of stock, it's never out for long

ntphotoworks.com

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit from Nik & Trick

BelliniFoto Monopart 1lt C41 Kit is the best in the world, easy to mix, easy to use; if you can do black & white then you can do this!
ntphotoworks.com ntphotoworks.com
Click to expand...
@Karl.t1965 Hi Karl, is there a water wash at all with the Bellini C41 kit? Looking at the instructions sheet it appears that there is no wash between the bleach and fixer and no wash after the fixer, just up to 3 stabiliser baths.
 
Thanks Karl, good to know. Given I can't get the Compard Digibase 3 bath kit any more I'm planning on trying the Bellini one.
 
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