A fun movie on Caffenol

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 17, 2012

Enjoy!

http://www.petapixel.com/2011/07/01/how-to-develop-film-using-coffee-and-vitamin-c/

ChristopherCoy · Apr 17, 2012

I didn't realize it was that easy.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 17, 2012

Neither did I. It seems that I consume ingredients of film developer every morning with my coffee and OJ.

removed account4 · Apr 17, 2012

it is pretty much the best, least effort developer that exists
as long as you get the right ingredients it will work ...
and the measurements aren't as critical as the
video-guy said ... i haven't measured anything in almost 6 years

Kevin Caulfield · Apr 17, 2012

Quite a well-made video, but doesn't he put the centre column upside down into the tank? The flat part should be on the bottom.

F/1.4 · Apr 18, 2012

I AM SO DOING THIS!

naeroscatu · Apr 18, 2012

Thanks for the link; now I have an option to drink the developer if I don't like how the film turns out

ChristopherCoy · Apr 18, 2012

What is the "active ingredient" that enables the development?

And if coffee and vitamin c can develop film, why is normal developer so toxic?

removed account4 · Apr 18, 2012

i'm not scientist, but from what i understand from people in "the know"
it is the caffic acid in the coffee that developers
the soda changes the ph ( adds fog too ) and the vit c from what i understand
increases speed and contrast ...

reinhold knows way more than me: http://caffenol.blogspot.com/

it has to be robusta coffee, arabica coffee doesn't have very much ( if any ) caffic acid.
the robusta coffee is usually the cheap stuff that sells in instant coffee, not in boutique coffee shop.

if you are interested ( and have a coffee pot! ) i have a bunch of robusta beans ( GREEN! ) and roasted
that works even better than instant ( for me at least ) ...
instant is mostly robusta, but still often times is "cut" with arabica so it tastes better ...

have fun!

john

Whiteymorange · Apr 18, 2012

If you soak ground coffee for 12 hours in cold water, then filter it out (1 can of cheap coffee to 12 cups of water is what I use), you get a basic coffee syrup of sorts. If you use good coffee, by all means drink it; it makes great iced coffee, watered down a bit (2 or 3 to 1). If you use cheap coffee, use it as developer.

Once you add washing soda, all thoughts of drinking the stuff will quickly leave your mind; it smells like the grease trap in a bad diner kitchen. I have had some film come out quite stained, other film seems just a bit less contrasty when viewed in the sleeves than normal. All have printed beautifully.

Kevin Caulfield · Apr 18, 2012

Kevin Caulfield said:
Quite a well-made video, but doesn't he put the centre column upside down into the tank? The flat part should be on the bottom.

Sorry to quote myself, but can anybody confirm this please?

cscurrier · Apr 18, 2012

I always put the flat part on the bottom. But does it really matter? I don't know.

TorreyS · Apr 20, 2012

yes the column is put in upside down. The Patterson reel has a little stem that will insert into that column and let you spin the reels back and forth instead of rotating the whole tank. Also did you guys catch where he was talking about the film and said 'don't try this at your sister's wedding, use your trusty digital camera', what about your more trusty film camera? Just saying.

Peltigera · Apr 21, 2012

cscurrier said:
I always put the flat part on the bottom. But does it really matter? I don't know.

Ye4s, it does matter. It provides a space underneath the film which allows the developer/fixer to move around when you invert the tank for agitation.

cscurrier · Apr 21, 2012

Awesome. Good to know, Peltigera. Thank you.

BobD · Apr 21, 2012

D23 is easier and smells better

removed account4 · Apr 21, 2012

BobD said:
D23 is easier and smells better

but bobD
if you don't have any metol, or sodium sulfite ...
and just instant coffee ... its impossible to use d23 ...

caffenol is made from stuff you may have lying around your
pantry, not stuff in your darkroom cabinet ...

BobD · Apr 23, 2012

^
1. I don't have any instant coffee, powdered Vitamin C or washing soda in my house. I could go to a supermarket and buy them.

2. If I didn't have any sulfite or metol around the house I could order them online and have them delivered to my door.

Crunching numbers for the above two choices results in:

1. Getting dressed, going out to my car, driving to market, finding instant coffee, powdered C (if they have any) and washing soda. Getting in line and then paying for it and drving home.

VS

2. Ordering sulfite and metol online, waiting for it it arrive, opening front door and picking up the chems.

Sorry, but D23 still wins as easier. And it still smells better too.

Now, if I already had instant coffee, powdered vitamin C and washing soda in my house it's true that I could simply use them but only because the effort expended to obtain these ingredients was already expended so it really can't be claimed to be less effort to obtain them.

And, I suppose one could order instant coffee, powdered vitamin C and washing soda online too which might seem to even out the effort except that lifting them would require more effort than lifting the sulfite and metol, not to mention the greater shipping costs involved with the grocery store ingredients.

So D23 still wins.

Richard S. (rich815) · Apr 23, 2012

BobD said:
Sorry, but D23 still wins as easier. And it still smells better too.

But not as fun! ;-). Coffee? Vitamin C? Neato! But after the smell the fun is gone fast....

BobD · Apr 23, 2012

rich815 said:
But not as fun! ;-). Coffee? Vitamin C? Neato! But after the smell the fun is gone fast....

We who mix our own have plenty of fun mixing "real" photo chems from scratch. So, I think you mean "cool" rather than "fun."

And, "cool" is what also gives us things like Lady Gaga and plastic cameras with crappy lenses that cost $150 and sell like hotcakes to people who think they are "cool."

So, what I'm trying to say is, you're right. Mixing up caffenol may well be more "cool" than mixing D23, but it's not easier nor more fun.

removed account4 · Apr 23, 2012

BobD said:
^
1. I don't have any instant coffee, powdered Vitamin C or washing soda in my house. I could go to a supermarket and buy them.

2. If I didn't have any sulfite or metol around the house I could order them online and have them delivered to my door.

Crunching numbers for the above two choices results in:

1. Getting dressed, going out to my car, driving to market, finding instant coffee, powdered C (if they have any) and washing soda. Getting in line and then paying for it and drving home.

VS

2. Ordering sulfite and metol online, waiting for it it arrive, opening front door and picking up the chems.

Sorry, but D23 still wins as easier. And it still smells better too.

Now, if I already had instant coffee, powdered vitamin C and washing soda in my house it's true that I could simply use them but only because the effort expended to obtain these ingredients was already expended so it really can't be claimed to be less effort to obtain them.

And, I suppose one could order instant coffee, powdered vitamin C and washing soda online too which might seem to even out the effort except that lifting them would require more effort than lifting the sulfite and metol, not to mention the greater shipping costs involved with the grocery store ingredients.

So D23 still wins.

different strokes for different folks ...

i've been mixing my own developer from scratch since the 90s :munch:

i have chems on the shelf to make d23, as well as mortenson's glycin variant and a few others ...
but haven't had any reason to use them ...
i roast ( or not this time around ) the beans, shake in the other chemicals
and use the chemistry for 3-6 months without mixing new ...
process film and prints in it ... its a pretty easy all purpose universal developer.

but i can see why folks would say " d23 " or d76 " or "xyz " is better ... its because they are used to it
and have no reason to switch ...

BobD · Apr 23, 2012

^ Thank you for missing the point so eloquently.

removed account4 · Apr 24, 2012

BobD said:
^ Thank you for missing the point so eloquently.

i suppose i did miss your point, what was it ?

to use coffee developers you have to expend energy to purchase the supplies,
and it takes less effort to wait for metol or sulfite to arrive from artcraft of the formulary?

it costs a few cents to get coffee c and soda when you are grocery shopping ..
while shipping charges from the formulary and artcraft are in the dollar amounts ...

or was it .. caffenol smells bad ?

yup, it smells bad

A fun movie on Caffenol

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