Tutorial How to develop your first B&W film.

I am thinking of taking the B&W plunge, I have read the thread, but cannot see a comprehensive inventory of what is needed to get to the developed neg stage, there is the method and I guess that you could draw a list from that, but for a layman I would be guessing so much , once there I would only scan myself.

List any one. :) Thank you.
 
That would be good, but I cannot get the time of work.
 
I am thinking of taking the B&W plunge, I have read the thread, but cannot see a comprehensive inventory of what is needed to get to the developed neg stage, there is the method and I guess that you could draw a list from that, but for a layman I would be guessing so much , once there I would only scan myself.

List any one. :) Thank you.

You only need:

Changing bag
Film can opener (or bottle opener at a push)
scissors
tray (cat litter tray)
3 containers for the chemicals (pint glasses will do)
stop watch
thermometer
dev chemical
stop chemical
fix chemical
dev tank

Changing bags are £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PATERSON-...ps=63&clkid=6852845473664198327#ht_2683wt_670
dev tanks are £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FILM-DEVE...ps=63&clkid=6852840595033672782#ht_1332wt_670
all the chemicals (stop, fix & dev) are on £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ilford-B-...ps=63&clkid=6852799453088440859#ht_2047wt_670

I will probably have a couple of film dev tanks, some trays and other bits on the charity stand at the convention plus an enlarger. I'm thinking of selling my other dark room kit on here but it will be a few weeks yet. I don't get chance to use the printing side anymore. It is nice to develop your own film to negs though and it is quick and cheap.
 
Thanks for that Darren, if I have a dark room situation do I need the changing bag or will just a red light do?
 
Thanks for that Darren, if I have a dark room situation do I need the changing bag or will just a red light do?

A red light can really only be used for enlarging/printing Richard, as B&W paper isn't sensitive to red light.

Film is sensitive to red light though (generally), so needs to be loaded onto the spool in total darkness. A changing bag will be more convenient than light proofing a room.
 
A red light can really only be used for enlarging/printing Richard, as B&W paper isn't sensitive to red light.

Film is sensitive to red light though (generally), so needs to be loaded onto the spool in total darkness. A changing bag will be more convenient than light proofing a room.

Thank you for that.(y)
 
im too scared to try this. the bit i think is hard is taking out the film from the canister and putting it into the development wheel in total darkness. thats got to be hard to do!
 
im too scared to try this. the bit i think is hard is taking out the film from the canister and putting it into the development wheel in total darkness. thats got to be hard to do!

it's simple enough - just practice with a sacrificial roll from the poundshop until you can do it in daylight. Then practice a bit more with your eyes closed, until it's second nature. Then get a dark-bag and practice doing it in there. couple of hours of faffing about (even for the most clumsy and ham-fisted klutz around) and you're ready for a live roll.
 
im too scared to try this. the bit i think is hard is taking out the film from the canister and putting it into the development wheel in total darkness. thats got to be hard to do!

I can understand why you feel like that - but I promise you, once you get over that hurdle it is fine. The countless YouTube tutorial videos on it, coupled with a dud roll to practice, makes it significantly easier. Ensuring that the reels are completely dry and clean of any muck will make your life easier as well.
 
I can understand why you feel like that - but I promise you, once you get over that hurdle it is fine. The countless YouTube tutorial videos on it, coupled with a dud roll to practice, makes it significantly easier. Ensuring that the reels are completely dry and clean of any muck will make your life easier as well.

i could not find any videos on how people do that process under a bag. i imagine that is difficult to do? more difficult then doing it in a dark room?

closest i found was this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ-NipI9Oto but how does he take off the canister once the whole film has been put on th e development reel?

Also, where can i buy cheap film i can practise with?
 
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there wouldn't be much point seeing a video of it being done in a bag - all it would show is a bag over both hands, jiggling back and forth a bit, then the hands pulled out and the zip opened and the tank removed from the bag :shrug:

I find it easier to work in a darkroom than a changing bag, but then I've got a light tight loft I can use. Changing bags are convenient compared to making a normal room light-tight. I've even heard of people climbing into double wardrobes, in a darkened room at night to change films...

frankly, it's all down to practice, and if a sausage fingered, ham-fisted, clumsy git like me can do it, anyone can!
 
cool, check my edited post above about a video i found.

So anyways once its done and put in the development tank, i can open the bag and put chemicals in ina normal lite room? or does the whole process needs to be done in total darkness?
 
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once the films in the tank, with the lid on, everything else is done out on the worktop in daylight, yep.

The tank has a "labyrinth" light - trap, so you can pour liquid in and out, without light actually getting into the film.

As far as getting the film off the end of the canister and totally into the "spiral" you just keep winding 'till you get to the end, and when no more film will pull out of the canister, either snip the film close to the felt (if you've had the presence of mind to put some scissors into the bag - or just pull the film and break it away from the reel in the canister (which is pretty much what I do all the time now!)

and cheap film for practicing with - you probably only need one roll - snip it, load it onto the spiral, get to the end, rewind it into the canister - it's stuffed anyway now as far as taking pictures, repeat ad nauseum, simples - honest!
 
cool, check my edited post above about a video i found.

So anyways once its done and put in the development tank, i can open the bag and put chemicals in ina normal lite room? or does the whole process needs to be done in total darkness?

Only the loading of the film needs to be done in the dark, the chems can be put in in normal light :)

Edit - Beaten to it by TBY
 
You only need:

Changing bag
Film can opener (or bottle opener at a push)
scissors
tray (cat litter tray)
3 containers for the chemicals (pint glasses will do)
stop watch
thermometer
dev chemical
stop chemical
fix chemical
dev tank

Changing bags are £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PATERSON-...ps=63&clkid=6852845473664198327#ht_2683wt_670
dev tanks are £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FILM-DEVE...ps=63&clkid=6852840595033672782#ht_1332wt_670
all the chemicals (stop, fix & dev) are on £15-20 on ebay = http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ilford-B-...ps=63&clkid=6852799453088440859#ht_2047wt_670

I will probably have a couple of film dev tanks, some trays and other bits on the charity stand at the convention plus an enlarger. I'm thinking of selling my other dark room kit on here but it will be a few weeks yet. I don't get chance to use the printing side anymore. It is nice to develop your own film to negs though and it is quick and cheap.
so all i need is the above?
i dont want to make prints. i will just scan the negetives and save them on my pc.

Thats another question. can any scanner scan negetives? i have a Canon mg6150 all in one printer/scanner
 
you'll probably need some sort of measuring cylinder - hard to say what size, as it depends on the dev you're using...

some of them ar mixed 1part dev 100 parts water, so for 300ml of made up developer you only need 3 ml of actual dev. Other dev's are mixed anything up to 1 to 1, so you could need a 150ml measure. :shrug:

I bought 25ml and 300ml graduated measuring cylinders, and sourced a 5ml syringe, which in combination with 4x1litre plastic measuring jugs from asda (at 50p each :LOL:) pretty much covers everything.

As far as film scanners go - please have a look at some of the on-going scanner threads - not all scanners can cope with negatives - you need a scanner that has a light source above the sensor - flatbed scanners usually have this in the scanner lid. Other film scanners are nearer to a light source below the negatives, and a webcam pre-focused above them. These are usually cheap (and fairly nasty it has to be said) but for just getting something into faecesbook they'll do the trick :LOL:
 
I think they pretty much come under the Cheap and Nasty Webcam derived heading tbh. As I said, have a look in one or two of the hundreds of "which scanner" threads. Or save a few hours and just go buy a Epson V500 :shrug:
 
Certainly good enough for most non-professional requirements, I'd say. Might not be up to the standard of the dedicated film scanners like the Nikon Coolscans or Imacon's , but you won't get one of those for £130 :LOL:
 
Thinking about a play but wondering about the environmental considerations; lots of talk of pouring out fluids and rinsing etc, is this stuff safe to go down the sink or do you have to dispose of it elsewhere?
 
Thinking about a play but wondering about the environmental considerations; lots of talk of pouring out fluids and rinsing etc, is this stuff safe to go down the sink or do you have to dispose of it elsewhere?

Most of the black and white developing chems are fine to go down the drain if you dilute them a bit. C-41 and E-6 are a lot more toxic and should be properly disposed of
 
Fixer is the main problem, might need to look at proper disposal of it. It's a very up in the air topic, an internet search will tell you everything from needing to find a proper toxic liquid disposal place to just throwing it down the sink, and everything in between.

I've just got my exhausted fix sitting here, unloved, whilst I work out what to do with it... (steel wool perhaps?)
 
Do u have to handle the chemicals using gloves? Does it harm your skin in other words?

I use gloves for B&W and C-41 - gloves are relatively cheap, and whilst the chemicals in B&W aren't especially toxic, I imagine they probably could be irritant to some people. I've done it countless times without gloves though, as have a lot of people I imagine.
 
I always use gloves on C41 or E6, but don't always bother with them on B&W as the chemicals aren't anywhere near as nasty. However, if you're in any way sensitive to this sort of thing don't risk it, gloves are, as stated above, relatively cheap - a few days off work with dermatitis isn't!
 
im confused about development times. My negatives seem to be coming out too dark. Im pretty sure i got the right settings in camera when i took the shot so im assuming my numbers are wrong.

Im using R09 One Shot at 1:50 with illford hp5+ film. Whats made me think my times are wrong is that on the bag the time for 1:25 is 8 minutes but it has a "-" against 1:50 so i checked the big dev chart webpage and it claims 11 minutes for this film / chemical at 1:50 At 1:25 they claim the dev time is 6 minutes, 2 less than the bag which would cause an underdevloped negative. So im thinking the bag is right, the web page wrong? But since the bag doesnt have a 1:50 time im a bit stuck.

All the other times on the bag for 1:50 seem to be at least twice or more the 1:25 times so if the bag numbers are to be beleived i must use at least 16 minutes dev time?

Does anyone else use this combo and have a thought on what should be the correct development time?
 
The problem with Rodinal is that there are so many different variations that have been made, both licensed and copied, that it can be extremely difficult to keep track of what times work. You say it's in a "bag" - is that one of the soft pouch things? Most of the traditional times given on places like Massive Dev Chart tend to be for the bottled stuff. I'm not sure if the numbers for the soft pouch stuff have been changed - I suggest just trying at 1:25 first really. 1:50 might be blanked out because their own tests have determined it would be too little amount of developer for an effective process?
 
ahh got you , i was trying to think of a reason. Yeah this is in a pouch rather than a bottle and i was just being cheap by going to 1:50 instead of 1:25 :)

But youd trust the number on the bag more than the number on the dev chart website?
 
ahh got you , i was trying to think of a reason. Yeah this is in a pouch rather than a bottle and i was just being cheap by going to 1:50 instead of 1:25 :)

But youd trust the number on the bag more than the number on the dev chart website?

That's perfectly reasonable - I use each batch of my T-Max Developer 6 times (it's designed for re-use!) with time compensation, chemicals aren't cheap.

Yes - whilst I use the Massive Dev chart as my main source of times, it's not infallible. It's filled in by random people, and for the most part it's not verified, not updated all that often and can have times for legacy films/developers that don't always take into account manufacturing changes. Examples are regularly cited about ridiculous times, I think one was dug up quite recently on a thread somewhere on Talk Photography. The numbers on your packet on the other hand will be the manufacturers own recommendations - done after testing of their product with different films.
 
Tips for 35mm film loading.

1. Make sure you know where all your equipment is prior to loading. Preparation is key. i.e scissors. spool, spindle and tank. Sounds obvious but no point in thrashing around in the dark.

2. If you have never done one before try loading an unused (or throwaway) film in daylight with you your eyes closed. If you need to have a peek then do so. Practice until you are comfit able.

3. When rewinding film you don't need to fully rewind it into the case. You can leave the tail out. That way when you get into total darkness or dark-bag/box you just snip the end off and load it straight onto the reel.

To do this in camera after coming to the end of the film and its rewind time, depress the rewind button and turn the rewind crank, you will hear a click and then a release in the tension of the film, turn the crank another 180 degrees and its then safe to open the back of the camera the tail will be visible. Tear off the tail to indicate that film has been used so you don't re-use it at some point later, place and cap in original container and convey to darkroom. The benefits of this are that it's very quick to load onto the reel. Just cut off the jagged bit of the latent film with scissors. Your thumb and forefinger also make a great point to aim for when loading the film onto the reel.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Tips for 35mm film loading.

1. Make sure you know where all your equipment is prior to loading. Preparation is key. i.e scissors. spool, spindle and tank. Sounds obvious but no point in thrashing around in the dark.

2. If you have never done one before try loading an unused (or throwaway) film in daylight with you your eyes closed. If you need to have a peek then do so. Practice until you are comfit able.

3. When rewinding film you don't need to fully rewind it into the case. You can leave the tail out. That way when you get into total darkness or dark-bag/box you just snip the end off and load it straight onto the reel.

To do this in camera after coming to the end of the film and its rewind time, depress the rewind button and turn the rewind crank, you will hear a click and then a release in the tension of the film, turn the crank another 180 degrees and its then safe to open the back of the camera the tail will be visible. Tear off the tail to indicate that film has been used so you don't re-use it at some point later, place and cap in original container and convey to darkroom. The benefits of this are that it's very quick to load onto the reel. Just cut off the jagged bit of the latent film with scissors. Your thumb and forefinger also make a great point to aim for when loading the film onto the reel.

Thanks
 
I've been having a bit of a clear out and have come across some unopened boxes/bottle of film developer, there are 2x boxes of ID11 which each make up 1 litre of stock solution and 1x 500ml Bottle of Ilfosol 3.

I am offering them as individual lots to the first three TP members that would like them, the only condition is that they have made a minimum of 200 posts.

If you would like one of these, please post your preference in this thread and drop me a PM with your full name and address and I will get them off to you later this week.
 
I've been having a bit of a clear out and have come across some unopened boxes/bottle of film developer, there are 2x boxes of ID11 which each make up 1 litre of stock solution and 1x 500ml Bottle of Ilfosol 3.

I am offering them as individual lots to the first three TP members that would like them, the only condition is that they have made a minimum of 200 posts.

If you would like one of these, please post your preference in this thread and drop me a PM with your full name and address and I will get them off to you later this week.

My ID11 is shot so it would be very nice :D Thanks..
 
I'd like the other ID11 please - T-Max comes out really nicely in D76 and I believe it's the Ilford equivalent. Very kind of you Ed, as always.
 
Okay Gents, that just leaves the Ilfosol 3.

Don't forget your PMs.
 
Cheers for compiling this folks. Just developed my first film in about 15 years. Getting the film on the spiral was fairly easy measuring out the chemicals I found more difficult and that's after years of biology where measuring chemicals is pretty well drummed it.

The D74 developer I ended up with doesn't seem to be well documented on the web but the times were on the bottle, biggest confusion I found was the times were for 1+15 but the bottle also had a note about making up 1+7.
 
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