Absolute simplest and cheapest B&W developing kit?

[drmoreau]

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!

 

[Rick A]

A single reel daylight tank and reel, some developer, stop bath(optional), and fixer. Next you need a completely light tight place to load the reel and tank(total darkness), then process in room light.

 

[drmoreau]

I think I caught most of that but not really sure 100% about all that you're mentioning. What is a "single reel daylight tank and reel"? Why is the stop bath optional?

 

[Tom1956]

A thermometer. You MUST have that.

 

[Ian Grant]

Have a look at this Ilford page, it's a good starting point.

Ian

 

[dehk]

"Next you need a completely light tight place to load the reel and tank(total darkness)" A.K.A. dark bag.

Stop bath, Some use stop bath, some use highly diluted white vinegar, some just use water and rinse it several times.

Day light loading tank - aka developing tank. http://www.freestylephoto.biz/5041-Arista-Premium-Double-Reel-Developing-Tank-with-two-reels
well, that one comes with 2 reels.

 

[ntenny]

A thermometer. You MUST have that.

For black and white in a daylight tank? Only if your darkroom temperature isn't very stable, IMHO.

-NT

 

[BetterSense]

What kind of film do you have?

To develop 35mm or 120 film you typically want a daylight tank, as described above. Then you need developer, and fixer. You need somewhere dark to load the film and somewhere to hang your film up to dry. A bathroom typically works for both tasks.

I have never used stop bath for roll film. You do not need a thermometer, either. "Room temperature" is plenty of precision for black-and-white film.

 

[kb3lms]

Welcome to APUG! You will enjoy this!

To answer your question, Stop Bath is used to halt development quickly, thus preventing your film from over-developing. It is a mild-acid solution. Developers work at high (alkaline) pH, so changing the pH present renders the developer non-functional.

Stop bath is optional because you can also wash the developer away from the film emulsion using water washes. The pH is still reduced (water is pH ~7) and and any remaining developer is quickly exhausted. It is a personal preference based on the look of the film. For basic film developing you can start with the Stop Bath then later try to go without if you want.

IDK what sort of film you are using, but your basic B/W developer is good old Kodak D-76. All films will work fine with D-76.

Go to someplace like Freestyle and order yourself a developing tank (tank and reels come as a kit), D-76 Developer, Stop Bath and Fixer. The link above goes to Freestyle. I have that same tank and it works very well.

For darkness, you can use a closet, basement, whatever. Any place that you can make dark for a few minutes. Don't forget the possibility of loading your tank at night - that takes care of a lot of light right there.

Developing your own film is easy and fun. You can find the basic procedure all over the place by Googling. (Is Googling a word?) The process is pretty forgiving and hard to really mess up.

 

[dehk]

By the way, storage bottles for the chemicals.

 

[GRHazelton]

A daylight tank is one which, after loading with film in the dark, can be used in normal lighting. It has a light trap which allows filling and emptying with developer or fixer without admitting light. If you expect to develop only one roll of film at a time a single reel tank saves solutions, since half filling a two reel tank for processing only one reel may cause problems with over agitation.

I've used a changing bag to load a film tank, but sweaty hands can make things difficult.

A bathroom with a locking door (!) and no windows is a good possibility for loading the reels. Wait till after dark, turn off a hall light or whatever, put a rolled towel against the crack at the bottom of the door. If after 10 minutes - use a timer - you can't see anything, or at the worst tiny glimmers, you're probably OK. If you can sit on the floor with your back to the door and possible glimmers so much the better.

Warn others at home on pain of something not to turn on the hall light!

Practice loading the tank in light with a junk roll of film. When you can do that, close your eyes and load. When you can do that you're probably ready.

I'd suggest putting the tank, film, bottle opener to open the film cassette, scissors to trim the film tongue, etc in a plastic dishpan to keep things together. You'd be amazed how big a small bathroom floor is in the dark when you're looking for the tank top! Believe me, I know....

The choice of tank is a subject of debate between stainless steel and Paterson plastic. I used to have no trouble with stainless, but now I use Paterson. YMMV.

If the film in the tank is immediately rinsed with water after pouring out the used developer there's no real need for a stop since the water will dilute any remaining developer and stop its action. I'd suggest using D-76 diluted 1 to 1. This extends development time enough so that minor timing errors aren't important, and gives consistency without worrying about replenishment. I'd add to Rick A's list a wetting agent a final rinse, Photoflo or equivalent.

And yes, a thermometer as Tom1956 suggests. If you can hold your "darkroom" to 68F that is ideal, but there are tables to give times for different temperatures.

As the Brits might say, Take Courage, Keep Calm, and Carry On!

 

[GRHazelton]

As Derek said, storage bottles for the chemicals. And, LABEL them. Masking tape is OK and let's one keep track of how many rolls have gone through the fixer.

If you load the tank for later processing, put a strip of masking tape across the lid and label Tri-X,or whatever. This is vital; don't ask me how I know!

 

[cliveh]

What would be the ABSOLUTE bare bones kit I'd need just to get b&w film developed to where I can scan it?

Well if you choose a moonless night and urinate into a tray, you could see-saw your film through this for about 10 minutes and then wash it for about a minute in a local stream and then stabilise it in a tray full of water to which you have added lots of salt. Hang in a tree to dry and then scan.

 

[Tom1956]

For black and white in a daylight tank? Only if your darkroom temperature isn't very stable, IMHO.

-NT

Hmmm... I don't think I ever heard anyone underrate the need or value in a thermometer. That would be like going to the bathroom and saying you don't really need toilet paper. You actually don't.

 

[jp498]

For black and white in a daylight tank? Only if your darkroom temperature isn't very stable, IMHO.

-NT

If you're using tmax, temperature is important as the film is very responsive to changes in development. I mix developer one-shot and water comes out of the faucet hot or cold, not room temperature.


My list would be:
Dark place to load reel+tank (could be bathroom at night)
reel+tank
recycled (and labeled) plastic bottles to store chemicals in
thermometer
digital kitchen timer
developer (and cough medicine measuring cup if it's one shot)
water for stop bath
fixer
clothespin to hang negatives to dry

 

[Pioneer]

Call Freestyle

Call Freestyle at 1-800-292-6137. Tell them what you are looking for and they will get you what you need at the lowest cost I know of.

 

[ntenny]

If you're using tmax, temperature is important as the film is very responsive to changes in development. I mix developer one-shot and water comes out of the faucet hot or cold, not room temperature.

Fair points. I don't encounter either issue (don't have the taste for t-grain, and I use DIH2O) and failed to think of them in my first post. OK: you need some way to manage the temperature of your chemistry.

-NT

 

[MattKing]

Working without a thermometer is like working without a light meter - you certainly can do it, but why.

A good article or book helps a lot too.

The Ilford article posted earlier is great. Here is a Kodak article: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/aj3/aj3.pdf

 

[Mike Crawford]

Well if you choose a moonless night and urinate into a tray, you could see-saw your film through this for about 10 minutes and then wash it for about a minute in a local stream and then stabilise it in a tray full of water to which you have added lots of salt. Hang in a tree to dry and then scan.

I have not yet tried this but sounds quite exciting and rustic so lets see what happens the next moonless night!

However, to the OP, all posts here are valid and there will be lots of instruction online and in books, but... if there are any day or evening courses on how to process, is always best to have it demonstrated or taught. It's very straightforward and will seem even more so when shown how!

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I'm into my third year of b/w film developing. Kind of fresh start .
Many rolls scanned and wet printed.
I like to keep it simple.

Was using stop bath at beginning, but it doesn't makes any difference comparing to two, three tap water refills.
What really makes huge difference is the wetting agent, Kodak photo-flo.
And measuring jar.
Storage bottles are easy, just look for them on recycle day .
Works well for gallon of fixer.
For diluted from powder developer I have collapsible canister from outdoors section in local big box store.
Developing tank for two reels and two reels.
For film you can't go wrong with Ilford and Kentmete in XTOL and Kodak fixer. If you want it for scan.
Plastic storage bin to store it all and small tray to work and to dry.
Two clothes hangers, which comes with the purchase in the store. Those with two clips.
One goes on the ceiling lamp, use another's two clips as weight for drying film.

Cheers, Ko.

 

[vdonovan]

http://theartofphotography.tv/episo...ate-guide-to-developing-black-and-white-film/

 

[vdonovan]

Around here there is often used film developing equipment for sale on craigslist for free or for very cheap.

 

[removed account4]

see-sawing film in a tray of instant coffee developer might be cheaper than PEEro
and it doesn't smell foul ...
when i reuse my developer ( caffenol C it comes out to 1¢ / roll ( sheet, print &c )

the OP doesn't even need a daylight tank just a film reel and a tupperware container deep enough for
2-3x the reel size ... and a metal coathanger straightened with a daisy bent on the bottom
and a dark room. and a second container for fixer.
for years i coathanger-processed film in a 3quart tupperware container
... you just raise and lower the film / coathanger slowly
and consistently for whatever time it is required to process the film.
and the tupperware containers are cheap as dirt nowadays at places like the dollar store / family dollar

 

[Tom1956]

Hmmm... I don't think I ever heard anyone underrate the need or value in a thermometer. That would be like going to the bathroom and saying you don't really need toilet paper. You actually don't.

Please pardon my being crude.

 

[tkamiya]

When I was very young, I did basically what jnanian is saying.

My developing "tank" was a discarded tupperware bottom. My chemical storage were jars with tops. Developer of some kind, Fixer of some kind. I had a thermometer that wasn't even accurate.

Pour developer into the tupperware. Take out the film from canister. Hold ends of film by hand and "see-saw" through the developer for whatever minutes. Then next to fixer. I did all that in a closet. I did this at night with all lights turned off. After that, out of closet and washed the film in a kitchen sink.

That's bare minimum.

Not very convenient but it's do-able.

I am going to suggest OP to go pick up a book at a library on basic photography from 80s. That'll give you a good overall picture of what the process looks like. It'll be far more understandable and concise than trying to piece together with bits and pieces of other people's practices.

He/she can get most of what is required right here on APUG classified. Heck, I can give him/her some necessary stuff if money is tight and he is in US....