B&W Equipment/Developer Needed

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

Hello all! I am about to jump into developing at home. I am going to do color and black and white. I will start with B&W since based on some research and talking to others it is a little bit easier to do than color.

I have a picture attached of my equipment and need help/advice on what other equipment is needed.

Here is a list of what I have

1. Patterson Dev Tank
2. 3 - 1 Liter bottles
3. Digital timer
4. Digital thermometer (probably only need for color?)
5. Film hooks
6. Changing bag
7. Film canister opener
8. not shown - rocker blaster
9. not shown - antistatic brush

Additional equipment
Do I need a film drying cabinet?
Something I was looking at for the dev tank is the Hewes Pro Stainless Steel Reel. I hear that they are much easier to load compared to the plastic ones.
But it looks like they only make 120 reels for Paterson and I would need to get a Jobo tank see link #3 below if that is a good tank. I figured to get one that can do at least 2 rolls unless it's recommended to get a smaller or bigger tank.

Things for me to buy now
(if people think the Hewes Pro reels are worth it over plastic)
1. https://www.freestylephoto.com/150135-Hewes-Pro-Stainless-Steel-Reel-35mm-for-Jobo-1500-Tanks
2. https://www.freestylephoto.com/1500...eel-Reel-120-for-Jobo-1500-and-Paterson-Tanks
3. https://cinestillfilm.com/products/...reiR9i4PC5cVUtO6yGIXtF5-mNQVVWX1HxvSHkpJlGdUB

Anything else that I am missing? should my bottles be different? Do I need funnels and other accessories?

Developer
What developer should I get? I did some research and people were recommending Kodak xTol. I mainly shoot Ilford B&W for now, but have a few rolls of Kodak Max as well.

If I need to split the equipment list from the Developer question let me know.

Thank you in advance for your help getting stared on my developing journey!

Alex Benjamin · Aug 25, 2024

Check out this thread. It will answer a lot of your questions.

A few questions before my first b/w development

I will begin developing 35mm, but will eventually like to move into 120 Chemistry: 1) Do you prefer to buy the developer in powder form and then dissolve in water when needed ? Perhaps this way is more amenable for longer term storage ? 2) Do you use separate developers for developing the...

www.photrio.com

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

Alex Benjamin said:
Check out this thread. It will answer a lot of your questions.

A few questions before my first b/w development

I will begin developing 35mm, but will eventually like to move into 120 Chemistry: 1) Do you prefer to buy the developer in powder form and then dissolve in water when needed ? Perhaps this way is more amenable for longer term storage ? 2) Do you use separate developers for developing the...

www.photrio.com

Awesome thanks! Sorry if it was sort of a duplicate post. I did some searching before posting, but must have missed this thread.

Alex Benjamin · Aug 25, 2024

srtviper15 said:
Awesome thanks! Sorry if it was sort of a duplicate post. I did some searching before posting, but must have missed this thread.

Don't worry about it. And don't hesitate if you have further questions — which you will have inevitably . Lot's of people here to answer them.

rcphoto · Aug 25, 2024

You can use any bottle opener to open film cans.
You do not need a film drying cabinet. I use a coat hanger and a bathroom that doesnt get used much throughout the day.
You will need a funnel sooner or later, cheap ones on amazon can be gotten in a set.
A good stirring apparatus is also helpful.

I have 2 storage bottles, one holds a gallon of fixer, the other I use for a quart of indicator stop bath.

I use HC-110 or equivalent as a 1 shot developer. (you have no idea the can of worms you have opened by asking what developer you should use). My official recommendation for someone just starting out is just pick something one shot and you can adjust as you go along. I would take advice from pamphlets available from ilford. They offer really good starter instructions.

The plastic patterson reels are adjustable and GENERALLY accepted as easier for beginners to use. However, I learned on steel and thats what I prefer to this day.

Just some life advice, accept the fact that you ARE going to ruin some film.

Sidd · Aug 25, 2024

rcphoto said:
can of worms

Ha Ha Ha Indeed!

srtviper15 welcome to wonderful world of film photography.

xya · Aug 25, 2024

I usually do B&W the lazy way. That's Rodinal 1:50 and semi stand dev. Rodinal is cheap, keeps ages. You put the film into the solution, agitate 4 times, let it stand 30 minutes, agitate once more and wait another 30 minutes. Fix and that's it. Works well with Ilford. But that's a personal preference. Other will not agree...

Sirius Glass · Aug 25, 2024

After using several developer, I prefer XTOL in the form of replenished XTOL.

JerseyDoug · Aug 25, 2024

xya said:
I usually do B&W the lazy way. That's Rodinal 1:50 and semi stand dev. Rodinal is cheap, keeps ages. You put the film into the solution, agitate 4 times, let it stand 30 minutes, agitate once more and wait another 30 minutes. Fix and that's it. Works well with Ilford. But that's a personal preference. Other will not agree...

I have not tried semi stand development with Rodinal 1:50 but I have used it successfully to develop HP5 Plus semi stand at 1:100. My standard first try when using Rodinal for a new film is 1:50 for 15 minutes with several gentle inversions to start and one or two gentle inversion at one minute intervals.

I do recommend Rodinal as a first developer for people just starting to develop film at home, but only if I am satisfied that they will take seriously the admonition to wear eye protection and nitrile gloves. Undiluted Rodinal is highly caustic. Think lye or drain cleaner.

grahamp · Aug 25, 2024

The only thing I would add to the initial kit is a graduated measure (600ml to 1,000ml), and maybe one around 50ml if you are using high dilutions.

Reel types and developer choice are very much down to the individual. Everyone has their own opinion - sometimes several!

Try and find some old film to practice loading with - it does not matter what it is as you won't be developing it. Practice helps. A lot. You will be doing it by touch eventually.

Write out your process steps, and use your phone as a timer (stopwatch function). Work consistently (eg left to right, right to left), clean up or remove used items as you go.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

rcphoto said:
You can use any bottle opener to open film cans.
You do not need a film drying cabinet. I use a coat hanger and a bathroom that doesnt get used much throughout the day.
You will need a funnel sooner or later, cheap ones on amazon can be gotten in a set.
A good stirring apparatus is also helpful.

I have 2 storage bottles, one holds a gallon of fixer, the other I use for a quart of indicator stop bath.

I use HC-110 or equivalent as a 1 shot developer. (you have no idea the can of worms you have opened by asking what developer you should use). My official recommendation for someone just starting out is just pick something one shot and you can adjust as you go along. I would take advice from pamphlets available from ilford. They offer really good starter instructions.

The plastic patterson reels are adjustable and GENERALLY accepted as easier for beginners to use. However, I learned on steel and thats what I prefer to this day.

Just some life advice, accept the fact that you ARE going to ruin some film.

Thank you for the recommendations!

I will get some funnels. And additional storage bottles.

I will look into 1 shot developer! And some videos on the process. Didn’t meant to open up a can of worms on what developer to use. I’ll have to get my popcorn out and watch lol

Thanks! I might just try with the reels I have and look into stainless soon!

I’m definitely prepared to ruin some film. I’m gonna pop a roll in my camera and just fire off semi random shots that I don’t care about too much so I won’t be disappointed when I ruin a few haha.

Thanks again!

Rick A · Aug 25, 2024

Go to the Dollar store and buy a cheap funnel, three (3) identical cheap plastic one quart measuring cups, and a cheap digital count down timer (I buy mine at Wallyworld). You will need the measuring cups to develop the film LABEL THEM for developer, stop, and fix. Buy a notebook and keep accurate notes of everything you do. Accuracy is important but so is being consistent.

Alex Benjamin · Aug 25, 2024

Since you're starting black and white home development, my suggestion regarding chemistry would be to keep it as simple as possible. Forget powder for now—especially Xtol since it's sold in 5 litres packages, which would mean you need a big enough bucket to mix it + additional plastic bottles to store it. It's also not practical to have that much if you're going to shoot and develop only occasionally, as its shelf life, once mixed, is limited.

I would go with liquid developers, and one that is easily available.

Rodinal is a great developer, but can be hit and miss when one is just starting to develop; takes a while and some experience (and experiencing) to learn what it can do, to find its sweet spot for each film, and how to get the most of each different dilutions.

HC-110 or Ilfotec-HC are also excellent, but you will need one of the smaller graduate (or a seringe) to get the amounts right.

Ilfosol 3 is an excellent all-around developer. Dilutions (1+9 or 1+14) are easy to figure out. Gives good results with just about any film. Personally, it would be my choice for a starter kit.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

xya said:
I usually do B&W the lazy way. That's Rodinal 1:50 and semi stand dev. Rodinal is cheap, keeps ages. You put the film into the solution, agitate 4 times, let it stand 30 minutes, agitate once more and wait another 30 minutes. Fix and that's it. Works well with Ilford. But that's a personal preference. Other will not agree...

I will look into this! Thank you

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

Sirius Glass said:
After using several developer, I prefer XTOL in the form of replenished XTOL.

View attachment 377103

Thanks! I really want to use XTOL but might use that after I get some experience with development first!

Update: Replenished XTOL is just kepp topping it up as you use it with fresh powder correct?

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

JerseyDoug said:
I have not tried semi stand development with Rodinal 1:50 but I have used it successfully to develop HP5 Plus semi stand at 1:100. My standard first try when using Rodinal for a new film is 1:50 for 15 minutes with several gentle inversions to start and one or two gentle inversion at one minute intervals.

I do recommend Rodinal as a first developer for people just starting to develop film at home, but only if I am satisfied that they will take seriously the admonition to wear eye protection and nitrile gloves. Undiluted Rodinal is highly caustic. Think lye or drain cleaner.

After some research and other replies on this thread I’ll probably look into Rodinal and use proper protection when handling.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

grahamp said:
The only thing I would add to the initial kit is a graduated measure (600ml to 1,000ml), and maybe one around 50ml if you are using high dilutions.

Reel types and developer choice are very much down to the individual. Everyone has their own opinion - sometimes several!

Try and find some old film to practice loading with - it does not matter what it is as you won't be developing it. Practice helps. A lot. You will be doing it by touch eventually.

Write out your process steps, and use your phone as a timer (stopwatch function). Work consistently (eg left to right, right to left), clean up or remove used items as you go.

I will add those to the kit!

Ok, I might just start with what I have first and move to stainless from there!

I will try to find some old film to practice loading with! most on Ebay is pretty expensive! worst case I will just buy a few rolls of Kentmere Pan 400 for $5.29 to try opening and loading! I'll also check Marketplace and Craigslist for old film.

That is a great idea for writing out the steps! I do have a dedicated kitchen time to use. And I will keep in mind the consistently and cleaning up.

Thanks!

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

Rick A said:
Go to the Dollar store and buy a cheap funnel, three (3) identical cheap plastic one quart measuring cups, and a cheap digital count down timer (I buy mine at Wallyworld). You will need the measuring cups to develop the film LABEL THEM for developer, stop, and fix. Buy a notebook and keep accurate notes of everything you do. Accuracy is important but so is being consistent.

I will make a trip today or early this week probably! I do have a timer already pretty sure it has the countdown feature. I have a few notebooks that are lying around I will label them and take accurate notes. I'm also planning on getting a shot notebook that has a section for development notes, so that will come in handy as well.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

Alex Benjamin said:
Since you're starting black and white home development, my suggestion regarding chemistry would be to keep it as simple as possible. Forget powder for now—especially Xtol since it's sold in 5 litres packages, which would mean you need a big enough bucket to mix it + additional plastic bottles to store it. It's also not practical to have that much if you're going to shoot and develop only occasionally, as its shelf life, once mixed, is limited.

I would go with liquid developers, and one that is easily available.

Rodinal is a great developer, but can be hit and miss when one is just starting to develop; takes a while and some experience (and experiencing) to learn what it can do, to find its sweet spot for each film, and how to get the most of each different dilutions.

HC-110 or Ilfotec-HC are also excellent, but you will need one of the smaller graduate (or a seringe) to get the amounts right.

Ilfosol 3 is an excellent all-around developer. Dilutions (1+9 or 1+14) are easy to figure out. Gives good results with just about any film. Personally, it would be my choice for a starter kit.

Good points on avoiding powder for now. I do have big enough buckets on hand to mix but probably best to save that for later after I get some experience with it.

Thank you for the recommendations for the developers I will look into Ilfosol 3 and see about getting it.

MattKing · Aug 25, 2024

The thermometer is important for black and white as well. Temperature matters - particularly in the developer stage.
It would be better to consider stand or semi-stand development as a special purpose alternative, rather than a place to start.
Nitrile gloves are a good habit to start out with - even though many of us have gone years without gloves.
It can really be fun!

MattKing · Aug 25, 2024

srtviper15 said:
I will add those to the kit!

Ok, I might just start with what I have first and move to stainless from there!

I will try to find some old film to practice loading with! most on Ebay is pretty expensive! worst case I will just buy a few rolls of Kentmere Pan 400 for $5.29 to try opening and loading! I'll also check Marketplace and Craigslist for old film.

That is a great idea for writing out the steps! I do have a dedicated kitchen time to use. And I will keep in mind the consistently and cleaning up.

Thanks!

If you sacrifice one roll for practicing loading you can, and even should, keep re-using it for that purpose.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

MattKing said:
The thermometer is important for black and white as well. Temperature matters - particularly in the developer stage.
It would be better to consider stand or semi-stand development as a special purpose alternative, rather than a place to start.
Nitrile gloves are a good habit to start out with - even though many of us have gone years without gloves.
It can really be fun!

Ok! I will use the thermometer for the process. I also have a sous vide that I picked up on a Black Friday sale to prepare for my color development process. Do I need to keep the temperature consistent the same as color?

Ok, I have plenty of nitrile gloves to use for the process.

srtviper15 · Aug 25, 2024

MattKing said:
If you sacrifice one roll for practicing loading you can, and even should, keep re-using it for that purpose.

Ok, that sounds good. I’ll just throw that roll
In my cart from B&H for $5.29 on my next order. I’ll only get 1 experience opening the film canister and cutting it, but that’s fine! And a good amount of practice with loading the film.

MattKing · Aug 25, 2024

srtviper15 said:
Ok! I will use the thermometer for the process. I also have a sous vide that I picked up on a Black Friday sale to prepare for my color development process. Do I need to keep the temperature consistent the same as color?

Ok, I have plenty of nitrile gloves to use for the process.

Consistency is rewarding in this endeavour.
But with black and white, as long as you are within a few degrees of 68F/20C, you can maintain consistency by making simple time adjustments.
In my case, my workflow means that I always develop at the ambient temperature in the room - there are simple formulas/graphs/tables or calculator dials that make the adjustment simple.
You won't be using a sous vide though for black and white, as they aren't set up to maintain temperatures near to room temperature.

MattKing · Aug 25, 2024

srtviper15 said:
In my cart from B&H for $5.29 on my next order. I’ll only get 1 experience opening the film canister and cutting it, but that’s fine! And a good amount of practice with loading the film.

You don't have to cut your practice roll from the spool.
In fact, many of us don't cut the spool off until the reel has been almost completely loaded.

B&W Equipment/Developer Needed

srtviper15

Alex Benjamin

A few questions before my first b/w development

srtviper15

A few questions before my first b/w development

Alex Benjamin

rcphoto

Sidd

xya

Sirius Glass

JerseyDoug

grahamp

srtviper15

Rick A

Alex Benjamin

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