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8x10 B&W Film Processing.

Keith Tapscott.

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Just curious of how some of you who use 8x10 Cameras process your your B&W films? (Deep tanks, trays, drums etc).
Is anyone using FP4 Plus in D-76/ID-11?
 
Keith Tapscott. said:
Just curious of how some of you who use 8x10 Cameras process your your B&W films? (Deep tanks, trays, drums etc).
Is anyone using FP4 Plus in D-76/ID-11?
Click to expand...

Keith, for single sheet processing I use a modified Paterson Orbital processor. For two sheet processing I use a Jobo 2830. I also have the Jobo Expert 3005 drum, up to 5 sheets, but have not used it yet.
 
Rotary processing with an old Unicolor print drum. I've been 'round with all the other methods (except for a deep tank) and this is the most reliable. The Unicolor drum is also used for stand development.

Tray processing with development by inspection is great but I found that I needed to do it frequently to maintain proficiency.
 
3005 expert drum most of the time. But I found that if I need the perfectly even development, I still need to use tray development...for scenes with lots of sky, for instance.

I use FP4+...sometimes D-76, but I usually need more development for alt processes and use Ilford Universal PQ Developer the majority of the time.

Vaughn
 
I use a Jobo Expert 3005 drum on an old Chromega motorized roller. I get perfectly even development using Pyrocat HD. The drum is expensive (got mine used), but I can't imagine doing a single sheet at a time and I don't like multiple sheet tray development for film.
 
Jobo Expert drum - by far the best method for doing multiple sheet development when film does not require extreme contrast manipulation (highlight expansion/contraction for contrast control). Then, it's deep tank and hangers with stand development (no agitation at all, development to completion in very dilute chemistry). Mostly I use Pyrocat HD, 1:1:100. For stand development, cut it in half.
 
Trays & PMK
 
Tanks that allows for 4 8x10 hangers - tanks are just wide enough (3 3/4") to allow for a rack of 9 - 120 reels to be immersed. Usually D76.
Gord
 
Tom Kershaw said:
What do you feel the relative advantages and disadvantages of the 3005 drum are compared to tray processing?
Click to expand...

The expert drum is:
  • Easy to use
  • Consistent
  • Slightly faster than trays normally (because of the constant agitation) - but only marginally when you take into account pre-wash, stop, fix and wash times
  • And can be used in the light once loaded

But:
  • It's limited to 5 sheets (developing less than five sheets in it seems silly somehow, more than five is impossible)
  • All sheets must have the same development time
  • It's a pain in the behind to dry out properly between batches
  • And it's a machine

Developing in trays:
  • Allows you to process as many or as few sheets as you want to (within reason)
  • Allows you to do development by inspection if you want to do this (I've still got to learn this though)
  • And trays have more soul

But trays are much harder to learn... Although once you know how to use trays properly you'll wonder what on earth all the fuss was about. I did anyway!
 
i'm a tray developer myself, one sheet at a time, tri-x in d76 ..... used to use bzt drums and hc110 for a while but had random issues with streaking that i couldn't deal with, so i gave up .....

rich
 
I prefer the drums over the tray as I tend to scratch film otherwise. The PMK give me some leniency as to development time as well so I'm not punished for a slight amount of over development.
 
Jobo CPP-2 processor, Jobo Expert 3005 drum, Bostick & Sullivan's Rollo Pyro, 8x10 T-Max 400.
For 7x17 in groups of two I use two 1500 series tubes locked together, Bostick & Sullivan's Rollo Pyro, HP5+, FP 4+ and T-Max 400.

John Powers
 
Unicolor drum on a motor base. Rollo Pyro.
 
I have used one gallon tanks and hangers for over 30 years and have never had a bad negative. The only films I have tray processed are lith ( over fifty thousand ) and Tech Pan which needs individual developing. My stainless tanks ( bought second hand ) leak; so I am making a new set at work in my spare time.
 
I don't do much 8X10, but when I do I usually process on a Jobo using a print drum. If for some reason the Jobo isn't set up, I may use a Unidrum and Uniroller.
 
A lot of replies seem to favour drum processing. I`ve never heard of Rollo-Pyro, is that designed for rotary processing?
 
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