Caffenol CM Christmas Bulbs

I use Caffenol in one form or another for all of my black and white work. Love the tones i get from it. Need to try it with some expired C-41 now, too.

I just started using it...this is my 5th roll. The 100 speed films it seems are pretty easy to get in the ballpark, but I started having fogging issues with higher speed stuff, and then it was really my own fault, because my fixer was kaput. So I mixed up all new chemicals. This was the first roll of C-41 I have done. I got a deal on the "bay". 160 NC -22 rolls for $11. All expired, but I am totally blown away by it's quality.

Can you give me any pointers on how you meter your shots. Some have reported that they meter then reduce the aperture a stop.. is that true for all films. Tell me about your Caffenol developing.

Greg

I have to admit that I'm pretty new to the whole home developing thing. I'm not eve sure what you mean by 'fogging issues...'

I started out a few months ago using Reinhold's Caffenol recipes and adding just a little more coffee for good measure. I also add 15% more Arm and Hammer washing soda to compensate for the water content and an extra couple of grams of Ball Fruit-Fresh Produce Protector (ascorbic acid) that I found in the canning aisle at Wal-Mart to account for the dextrose and silicone dioxide. Everything else is just like your recipe in the description. Pretty simple really.

So far, I'm really happy with the results. I've probably only developed 6-8 rolls myself, so far. Any issues I've had have been my own rookie mistakes. I'm trying to find the items to set up a darkroom so I can make my own prints using Caffenol as well. Right now I just scan the negatives and send them to the lab.

Jeff