Absolute simplest and cheapest B&W developing kit?

[analoguey]

Ah.
I have tried that technique above on a small roll of film recently. How do you get it evenly developed though? I found it quite tough. And it was just a throwaway part roll anyways so I didn't really care much for it.

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[darkosaric]

I think this is a good way to start: not cheapest at start, but in a long term - this is what I recommend.

http://www.fotoimpex.de/shopen/analog-starter-kits/starter-kit-film-basic.html

 

[dorff]

Hey guys, new fellow here. Been shooting digital for ages and just got myself some film gear again. I've noticed that most local places don't even develop film anymore and to be honest I'm not looking for prints, I just want my negatives processed so I can scan them.

Now I have never even attempted to develop my own film before but seeing as how it's hard to find anyone to develop it anymore I'm seriously considering it. What would be the ABSOLUTE bare bones kit I'd need just to get b&w film developed to where I can scan it? Also what film(s) should I use with this setup and any ones to avoid? Thanks!

Where are you based? If you are within ordering distance of a major photographic supplier, then I suggest getting a proper kit that isn't too crippled that it makes life unnecessarily difficult. For me such a kit would be the following:

Equipment
Paterson tank with reel (or more reels, depending on how many films you want to develop)
Thermometer
Film changing bag, or a room or closet that can be made light tight
Timer (I use my phone's stopwatch app)
Jug, for dumping the developer into after development, and a funnel for pouring back into storage bottles
Soda bottles (glass or PET (a 1 in the recycle sign)) with plastic (NOT aluminium) caps, for storing developer and fixer
Film clips, or even plastic clothing pegs, and a dry dust-free place to hang the film to dry

Chemicals
A developer such as HC-110, D76, ID-11, Xtol etc which can be made up to stock and used as such, or diluted 1:1 or 1:3 when used.
Rapid fixer (Ilford, or whatever else you can find)
Wetting agent

Consumables
Negative sleeves
Paper towel, to clean up where you messed developer or fixer (if not in the sink)

You may also choose to use single shot developer. HC-110 can be used that way, and Rodinal MUST be used that way. In that case, dump the developer after use, and don't reuse it. Try not to be tempted by multiple reel tanks until you are good at it. Whatever mistakes you make will affect all films in the tank simultaneously, so it is better to start with one film at a time.

 

[StoneNYC]

I made this for you...

It's a wishlist, with this you will have everything you need.

The only thing you would need that isn't here are gloves if you want to protect your hands from chemistry spill, and a smock and mask if you're ultra concerned about health stuff.

You may change the developer for something else, but you said bare bones so I chose the cheapest liquid developer.

You could add some Paterson film hanging clips for $13 or you could just use some clothes pins...

But basically, this is all you need...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/wl/771A833B26

You could even get a smaller tank to save money but the savings is minimal.

The total cost is $120.04 US dollars and will get you about 25 rolls of B&W. After that it's just the cost of the developer for about the first 100 rolls(give or take), then you will need to replenish your stop and fix.

I chose Rodinal as my main developer and Ilford's ilfotec DD-X as my second developer. Many people also like ilfotec HC or kodak HC-110 as an efficient developer as it lasts a long time and can process many rolls much like Rodinal, but with less grain and easier to ship (Rodinal has a chemical that makes it harder to get from some distributors), I just happen to like Rodinal. But Ilfotec Ilfsol 3, the price was the cheapest of the available developers that were liquid.

Powder developers you would need to mix. I don't suggest starting with powder as there are additional variables to think about like mixing in an area the dust won't contaminate things you might ingest or breathe in etc. So that's why I chose what I did. But at least you'll get started.

 

[dorff]

But basically, this is all you need...

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/wl/771A833B26

You could even get a smaller tank to save money but the savings is minimal.

Stone, good idea, the wishlist. I didn't think of that.

I would leave out the stop bath and get a smaller tank. Not for the saving, but for developing fewer rolls at a time while learning. Also, unless you use all the reels as spacers, sometimes a single reel can shift off the bottom when inversion agitating, and then half the film sticks out of the developer. One can always buy a bigger tank later. Also, normal PET soda bottles are perfectly adequate. It is not necessary to get amber glass bottles.

I haven't used Ilfosol-3 or -S. If the OP uses faster film like TriX, maybe D76 would be a better bet. Otherwise, it should be fine as is.

So all in all, one can shave maybe another $30-40 or so off the list.

Of course, there's always the bay and used stuff. For $100 one can nowadays sometimes buy a whole darkroom.

 

[StoneNYC]

Stone, good idea, the wishlist. I didn't think of that.

I would leave out the stop bath and get a smaller tank. Not for the saving, but for developing fewer rolls at a time while learning. Also, unless you use all the reels as spacers, sometimes a single reel can shift off the bottom when inversion agitating, and then half the film sticks out of the developer. One can always buy a bigger tank later. Also, normal PET soda bottles are perfectly adequate. It is not necessary to get amber glass bottles.

I haven't used Ilfosol-3 or -S. If the OP uses faster film like TriX, maybe D76 would be a better bet. Otherwise, it should be fine as is.

So all in all, one can shave maybe another $30-40 or so off the list.

Of course, there's always the bay and used stuff. For $100 one can nowadays sometimes buy a whole darkroom.

Haha I like that last sentence haha.

Yea I had made a C-41 kit version of this list which ironically was cheaper than the B&W version since the 3 bath kit was only $30 it was less! But basically I know when I started no one made a list that was easy to understand with pictures, so I made these for others to see the products.

They don't have to get them, but it's a start. I would totally substitute the Ilfsol3 for Rodinal but bh won't ship it, freestyle will, but their prices are higher so that would make the wishlist more expensive and the flow of bh website is better.

I started with Ilfsol 3 and produced some really nice images so I don't really think it's as bad as people believe. Much like Rodinal, Ilfsol 3 does much better with gentle agitation instead of rigorous agitation, and will produce much finer grain if you are gentle.