benefits of c41 at lower temp?

AlbertZeroK · Apr 22, 2012

labyrinth photo said:
we really like a low temperature dev, not all the time, but instead sometimes of pulling film ( the low temp seems the lesser of two evils) especially with x-pro. it works really nicely with fuji reala.
as a pro lab it's about offering clients something different and the opposite of the "perfection" of digital, the process knocks back the contrast and allows a richer print. it may not be optimum but it's a creative option.

I agree. I shoot alot of Pinhole and some Holga. Both of which are about content more than anything else. For color perfect photographs, I wouldn't stand develop, but for more artistic looks, it seems quite welcome in my dark room.

darkroom_rookie · Apr 22, 2012

Ron, hopefully this isn't too far OT, but are there any benefits to pre-soaking C-41 sheet film when developing in a Jobo Expert drum? The drum is pre-heated, but not rolled in a water bath during processing, so a certain amount of drift-through is taken into amount (start at 39 deg.C). Could you perhaps give some more details on the pros/cons of pre-soaking?

Photo Engineer · Apr 22, 2012

There was a demo posted here about the benefits of a presoak which does a better job of prewarming the tank before development begins. I refer you to that.

Presumably, this benefit would be present in all cases but would decrease as process temperature goes down. The benefit of a prewet in reducing pinholes is not to be ignored either.

PE

Athiril · Apr 22, 2012

Straight Colour Developers at room temp are rubbish, I've played around with it, tried custom recipes to try and boost contrast, and they are generally just rubbish, not even getting to the colour, but simply dMax - dMin can be really small and difficult to work with in any kind of workflow.

30 celsius aint -too- bad mind you for 8 minutes if you really need something with a longer processing time.

The only thing that gives reasonable useable results at room temp for colour negs is:
Split-Bath development - provides much better results than straight colour dev at room temp.
Rehal development - b&w developer at 20 celsius, wash, fix, wash, rehal bleach, C-41 dev at room temp, wash, bleach, wash, fix, wash, etc.

Presoak for C-41 is great, I never do not use a pre-soak with C-41, if you are typically using paterson hand tanks as well, your temperature is stable enough over 3m 15s.

Sirius Glass · Apr 22, 2012

If Kodak or any others could have found a way to use C41 processing at lower temperatures, then we would have heard about it a long time ago.

The same logic can be applied to the classic statement: If Kodak will no longer make Kodachrome, we will make it in grandma's cesspool!

Sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious.

Athiril · Apr 22, 2012

I'll put it another way; I would not use C-41 at low temperature for even lomo results.

madgardener · Apr 22, 2012

How long should a presoak be? Should the temperature of the presoak be 100F? When I use the Tetanal kit, I get what appear to be tiny spots that don't seem to develop at all. Its easy enough to correct in the GIMP with the healing tool, but its annoying.

Photo Engineer · Apr 22, 2012

Use a 1' presoak, but not more than about 2' at 100F.

For those who insist on using a bogus process at lower temperatures, use a presoak at the same temp you are going to use.

If Kodak could have designed C41 quality into a lower temp process, they would have done it and saved all of the costs of tempering the solutions and washes. They could not.

PE

Athiril · Apr 22, 2012

Don't forget if you presoak @ 37.8 your temperature will drop several degrees.

darkroom_rookie · Apr 22, 2012

Thanks, PE, that reassures me that I'm doing fine so far. Preheat the 3010 drum for 2' in a 39°C water bath, two 30" presoaks at 38.5°C, then dev. starting at 39ºC, since temp. most certainly drops during 3'15" of rolling on a table. Sheets and contact prints on three types of paper came out flawless, at least to my eyes. Water heated with two aquarium heaters cranked up a bit.

John Weinland · Apr 24, 2012

Cooler is Unpredictable

wilfbiffherb said:
im into developing my own film and the rollei digibase kits i use are come with instructions for lower temps. i have always processed at 37.8 but was wondering if there are any benefits of developing at lower temps at all??

I've developed extensive C-41 at both 86 deg F and at 100 deg F and the 86 deg results were unpredictable, and the color often enough tending warm (read unhealthy) in appearance. My standard procedure now is to stick with the higher temp processing.

Trasselblad · Apr 24, 2012

Using press kits I find no significant difference between 37.5, 35 or 30 degrees. Maybe they were designed to give more leeway? Or maybe it's just me. But since temp control as well as time errors are less complicated at lower temps, I tend to use 30C most of the time. Oh, and I also use Fuji C-41. Pro 400H, most of the time. Scans well and with no correction to minor correction needed.

benefits of c41 at lower temp?

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency