Any compelling reason to not process a bunch of film at once

nsurit · May 5, 2011

Some time back I bought a large Patterson tank and I now find myself with 15 rolls of film to process. Typically I've processed 2 rools at a time. Is there any compelling reason to not load this big boy up with the 6 or 7 rolls it holds and get after it? Bill Barber

BetterSense · May 5, 2011

Doing anything that you have never done before can come with surprises. You might find that you have unevenness problems processing that many rolls at once. It depends how precious your film is. The only way to find out is to try.

Worker 11811 · May 5, 2011

I process my film a little bit differently depending on the conditions where it was shot. Photos shot on a bright, sunny day might be developed differently than photos shot on a gray day. I don't have a set developing time for every single roll of film. I use judgement.

If you develop ALL your rolls of film at the same time you lose that flexibility. But, if you have a bunch of rolls that were shot under the same conditions or if you always develop film the exact, same way every time this doesn't matter so much. It's more about the way YOU develop film.

I might develop three or four rolls of film shot under the same conditions all at once but, like others say, it is wise to keep all your eggs in separate baskets. If you F-up your development for a large batch, you F-up ALL the film in that batch. Develop in smaller batches to minimize the effects of accidents.

If I have a roll that's really important, I might develop that roll all by itself. That way I can concentrate to make sure I get it just right.

If you're developing run-of-the-mill stuff, there's no harm in developing large batches. It's up to you, really.

Ian Grant · May 5, 2011

As long as you can pour the dev etc in & out reasonably quickly there's no downsides, I've used Paterson tanks for years in all sizes with no processing issues nad I've never heard of anyone else having problems.

Ian

David A. Goldfarb · May 5, 2011

Yes, I try to do as many as once as I can, and my largest SS daylight tank holds 6 120/220 rolls. When I do that much, I usually pour in the developer in the dark with the lid off, or if it's a staining developer, I fill the tank and lower the reels in on a lift rod, put the daylight cap on, and proceed normally. Paterson tanks generally fill faster than stainless, so you might be able to do it all normally in the light, if you are using a non-staining developer with a development time of say, longer than 6 minutes or so. If you have a very short development time, better to lower the reels into the tank in the dark.

I don't worry about pouring out the developer or the other parts of the process through the daylight cap. I think the initial contact between developer and film is more critical.

AlbertZeroK · May 5, 2011

I too find it easier to develop multiple rools at once, unfortunately, I have been shooting a variety of film - which I'm slowing moving towards only shooting 3 or 4 types of film.

MattKing · May 5, 2011

Check your tank carefully if you intend to do this.

I have one Paterson tank where the lid does not latch strongly. It would be a real tragedy if the lid came off with the first agitation.

ic-racer · May 5, 2011

For me, doing less than 6 to 8 rolls of 35mm at a time is just not worthwhile. For 120 I usually wait until I have 6 to 10 rolls.

MattKing · May 5, 2011

ic-racer said:
For me, doing less than 6 to 8 rolls of 35mm at a time is just not worthwhile. For 120 I usually wait until I have 6 to 10 rolls.

To the OP (Bill):

Clearly you should get ic-racer to develop them for you .

mouren · May 5, 2011

You can try stand dev, which would allow you to develop different film, even different speeds, all at once. I have tried this before. I think there is a guy rangefinder forum that has the instructions, forgot the exact name though.

Sirius Glass · May 5, 2011

Something to consider: When I worked in Baker's Photo in Washington DC many years ago, we were told that if a customer bought in a large number of rolls of film from an event or vacation, we were to break up the film into smaller groups. Each group would be sent in on a different day. That way if one batch went bad, all the film was not lost.

Steve

wogster · May 5, 2011

Sirius Glass said:
Something to consider: When I worked in Baker's Photo in Washington DC many years ago, we were told that if a customer bought in a large number of rolls of film from an event or vacation, we were to break up the film into smaller groups. Each group would be sent in on a different day. That way if one batch went bad, all the film was not lost.

Steve

I'm with Steve, the problem with doing 6 rolls at once, is that if something happens, your losing a lot more film.....

If you do a roll or two at a time, then your losing a lot less. Another issue though, I always tried to get film processed as quickly as possible after the shoot. Since I only shoot one or two rolls at a time, I process a roll at a time.

Bill Burk · May 6, 2011

If you want a little reassurance, dip a snip of film in your developer before you pour it in. If it starts to develop in the light, then your developer is probably good.

patrickjames · May 6, 2011

I never develop less than the 5 rolls that my Jobo tanks hold. It is a waste of time. Film developing is the one ting I don't really enjoy doing. I love looking at the negs afterwards, but the process of developing doesn't do anything for me. I usually wait until I have a ton of film to do then I go at it to get it over with. It helps to have multiple tanks too. I often go days between loading the tanks and developing the film too.

cmacd123 · May 7, 2011

patrickjames said:
I never develop less than the 5 rolls that my Jobo tanks hold. It is a waste of time..

That is what I am standardising on also. The jobo tanks I use are a 1520 with a 1530 extension, and 5 reels. I also use the 5 and 3 reel Patterson tanks, with a bit of a preference for the Older system 4 rather then the newer super system 4. The SS4 does fill faster, but the lid is not as secure.

2F/2F · May 7, 2011

The big reason is that any mistakes are multiplied by however many rolls are in the tank. Process 8 rolls at once and make a mistake, and the mistake has consequences 8x as bad.

Even many digital shooters follow a similar line of thought when they use many small memory cards as opposed to one or two big ones.

The most I will process at once is 4, or 8 if I want to roll back to back. I'd rather process 8 back to back in a four-roll tank than 8 singles in a tall tank. Based on my own results, I don't think the agitation is as even in a tall tank.

Martin Aislabie · May 8, 2011

I have never done 8 rolls in one tank - the most I can do is 5

However, I have never seen any difference between 1, 2, 3 or 5 rolls on a tank

You do need to pour the chemicals in at a reasonably consistent rate - otherwise the top reel will get a slightly uneven development time compared to the one at the bottom

The quantity of developer/stop/fix needed for an 8 reel tank is impressive - but manageable with a little planning

The biggest headache for me was could my film drying tent (Durst UT100) cope with 5 rolls in one go - it could - but 8 wet rolls would be tight

Martin

Any compelling reason to not process a bunch of film at once

nsurit

BetterSense

Worker 11811

Ian Grant

David A. Goldfarb

Moderator

AlbertZeroK

MattKing

Moderator

ic-racer

MattKing

Moderator

mouren

Sirius Glass

wogster

Bill Burk

patrickjames

cmacd123

2F/2F

Martin Aislabie

Any compelling reason to not process a bunch of film at once

Moderator

Moderator

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency