Best c41 home development chemicals

[Filmfan101]

Hi, I’ve been developing C41 at home in a manual tank for about a year and a half, I’ve used the Bellini c41 kit and the Adox c41 kit but keep getting inconsistent results with both in different ways. What are people’s thoughts on best chemicals for home C41 dev. I’m in the UK so will need to be available here.

Thanks

P.s @koraks i imagine you’ll have some good input cheers.

 

[ChrisGalway]

In what respect are the results "inconsistent"?

Assuming your chemicals are in date, not over-used or poorly stored, and you are following the instructions to the letter (especially Colour Dev time and temperature), and are doing exactly the same procedure every time, I don't understand why the results should be inconsistent. In my experience, these kits (Bellini and Adox) give excellent results ... every time. So there's something amiss with your processing regimen, I think.

 

[thomasossi]

I started developing color film at home about 2 years ago. I now do E6 as well and have pretty consistent results. I tried the Cinestill, Bellini, Adox and Flic film C41 kits before finally just settling in on the Arista 1Gal kit. At first I was worried about chemical degradation as I mix up about 500ml per month to develop 6-8 rolls of film with. Im on my second kit and have had very consistent results with quality. First kit was used for almost 8 months and comparing the negatives between the first and last batch I really can't tell a difference. It is also very economical to use if you buy the full gallon and just mix out 500-1000ml at a time. Hope this helps!

 

[Spektrum]

P.s @koraks i imagine you’ll have some good input cheers.

If you're looking for advice, first show us your results, which you think are inconsistent. Don't post finished scans, but photos of the negatives against a light background (preferably a white wall). These can be photos taken with your phone. Thanks to the white wall, the automatic WB on the phone won't go crazy.

The Bellini C41 kit and the Adox C41 kit are among the best kits. Adox C-41 is a 100% replacement for the legendary Tetenal Colortec C-41. Bellini uses chemicals in their kits that they produce for professional labs. There's no way the results would be inconsistent due to these chemicals.

I haven't seen your results, but are you sure you're maintaining a constant temperature while 3.15 min developing ?

 

[djdister]

Hi, I’ve been developing C41 at home in a manual tank for about a year and a half, I’ve used the Bellini c41 kit and the Adox c41 kit but keep getting inconsistent results with both in different ways. What are people’s thoughts on best chemicals for home C41 dev. I’m in the UK so will need to be available here.

Thanks

P.s @koraks i imagine you’ll have some good input cheers.

We're just shooting in the dark unless you provide a lot more details:

What film?
What kind of tank and reels?
What method of agitation? Inversion, rotation, continuous?
What kind of temperature control?

 

[mshchem]

Hi, I’ve been developing C41 at home in a manual tank for about a year and a half, I’ve used the Bellini c41 kit and the Adox c41 kit but keep getting inconsistent results with both in different ways. What are people’s thoughts on best chemicals for home C41 dev. I’m in the UK so will need to be available here.

Thanks

P.s @koraks i imagine you’ll have some good input cheers.

Once mixed and partially used, C-41 developer has a shelf life of about 2 weeks in a full bottle.

Check temperature etc.

Are the negatives inconsistent or are you struggling with scanning?

 

[Filmfan101]

I’m developing in a jobo 1520 tank (120 film) using hand agitation, if people can let me know their processes when using the Bellini and Adox kits that’d be handy, I’ve been following instructions that come with the kits.

 

[Pioneer]

I have been using the Cinestill 1 Liter Developing kit for a few years. It really isn't any different than most of the others but all I have to do is call Blue Moon Camera and they can get a couple of kits to me pretty quickly.

I don't even mix my color chemicals until I have 10 rolls waiting to be developed and then I develop them 5 rolls at a time in my Jobo tank, usually in two, or at most four days. After that I am done and dispose of the chemicals. I could probably get more films through but I know after a few years of use that I can get very consistent developing by doing it this way.

No muss, no fuss. I am done in a couple of days and I don't have to worry about the results. That is what I like.

 

[ChrisGalway]

I’m developing in a jobo 1520 tank (120 film) using hand agitation, if people can let me know their processes when using the Bellini and Adox kits that’d be handy, I’ve been following instructions that come with the kits.

How are you controlling the temperature (to +/- 0.5C)? And exactly what agitation, given the Col Dev time is only 3min15sec? Are you re-using solutions? If so, how long between films, and how many films in total per litre (or 500ml)?

In my opinion, it all about the details. They are important, and every time you process you should be doing exactly the same as last time, unless you are deliberately pulling or pushing the Col Dev.

As others have said, both the Bellini and Adox kits are excellent ... if used in date.

 

[koraks]

P.s @koraks i imagine you’ll have some good input cheers.

I agree with the others that in order to solve problems, it helps to understand them first.
AFAIk there's nothing about the chemistry you use that is inherently problematic; either should work fine. So odds are that it's a process parameter that's not under control, and switching chemistry will be a hit & miss (likely the latter) guess.

 

[Pioneer]

I have an old Jobo machine. The rotation no longer works but the heater maintains temp pretty consistently so I rotate the tank by hand. I have several different tanks. Usually for color I use my Multi-Tank 5 which requires 640 ml of solution. I do the normal 3m15s for the first five films and then increase the time to 3m45s for the second 5 rolls. Seems to work out ok. For the seond tank of 5 films I mix the used developer with remaining unused and take the 640 ml out of the mix. As I remember the directions say to increase the time after the first two rolls but since I am doing 5 rolls at a time I increase the time for the second tank of 5 rolls.