Reversal processing. Anyone tried this? Sounds interesting..

I've done the Caffenol thing but it was a faff to be honest but this seems to produce a unique look.
 
If there was no ´correct’ developing chems available then perhaps there is an option available here but tbh when he mentions cost and hazardous materials, I feel like he’s talking out of his posterior.

Cost per film using traditional chems is , even for those of us on minimal incomes, is not expensive.

The typical household cleaning products ( inc bleach) used daily in many homes are more potent and hazardous than standard film/ paper developers, stop baths and fixers.
 
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It's on my list of things to try. I think it's one of these things that is fun to do because you can do it rather than as a cost saving measure. It does save having to source sulphuric acid though.

Given that cheap(ish) 35mm colour film has vanished I'm see a lot of B&W in my future so as well as continuing my adventures with caffenol this also looks entertaining.
 
I reversal developed FP3 a couple of times in the 1960s.

I can't say that I was impressed by the results.
 
Vinegar and 3% H2O2 are not particularly hazardous. Just don't gargle with vinegar or shake 3% H2O2 on your chips. Mind you Glacial Acetic acid and >68% H2O2 could get you in hospital or in orbit, respectively. May try that reversal formula. Less risky mix to make than my home-brew developer Parodinal (Headache tablets, drain cleaner and wine bottle steriliser).
 
Mrs Nod gets 40% peroxide for one of her hair clients. Might be a DIY job for her highlights!!!
 
I remember trying a commercially available B&W reversal kit on a roll of Ilford FP4 120 in the late 70s (in the days when I developed my own films) and it seemed OK. I also used to roll and develop my own slide films (Barfen E6 bulk slide film and an E6 developing kit, which ISTR was quite temperature critical). Happy memories, but it's a lot easier to pop a roll of film in a pre-paid envelope and send it to AG Photolab these days!
 
I tried black and white reversal, also using Ilford film, in the 1970s trying to save on the cost of Agfa Dia-Direct, a dedicated reversal film. The results weren't good enough to replace Dia-Direct but that was probably partly due to my processing ineptitude. So I stuck with the Dia-Direct and later Agfa Scala. Both films used proprietory processing so they were expensive, comparable to Kodachrome.

At school we used to reversal process 16mm cine film, the school darkroom had a big tank dedicated to 16mm.
 
Never done it; never really wanted to, which is perhaps odd since I prefer black and white.

The only thing I took away from the idea and descriptions thereof years ago was that the difference between colour reversal films and most films designed for black and white was that after processing, the colour films showed a clear base, whereas the black and white films had tinted bases. There are a few black and white films coated on a clear base that would in principle be better suited to reversal processing.
 
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