C41 develop. Time extend vs Replenish

Hello, i've benn developing for allmost 10 years with time extending technique with my Jobo CPE2, i read on the Tetenal manual and i did like this. But maybe you found is better replenisher, because every batch you develop you pour new developer to the batch.

Wich technique you think it's better and priceless? I use Rollei 5L Kit and Fuji Hunt 5L and i get around 60-70 developed rolls.

A friend of mine told me that he uses replenisher technique and he uses 570ml of developer and after that he discard until 470ml and add 100ml of fresh developer. And for Bleach and fix he uses 50ml every batch.

A batch is a group of 5 36exp film in a jobo tank.

Have you found it's cheaper buying cartridge chemicals for V30 and use in the jobo than buying a Kit (Rollei, Fuji, .....)
Thank You

I have only used the time extension technique for C41 development. I use the replenishment method with XTOL and I found that not only works well, but also it is the least expensive way to go. If I knew how to replenish C41 development I would seriously consider using it. Recently I have been not shooting enough color film to collect batches of 16 rolls for use with 1 liter kits, so I have been just sending it to Samy's Camera for processing.

It all depends on what your requirements are. We all differ in how much deviation we accept in our negatives. Some find it perfectly fine as long as their negatives scan OK and they can get reasonable colors out of it with some post processing. Others feel their process is only under control if density measurements on test strips remain within the boundaries set by e.g. Kodak.

In general, kits like the X-Press kit, Jobo, Rollei etc. are not intended to be replenished; there's simply no replenisher marketed for these kits. You may be able to replenish the used kit with replenisher oriented at minilabs, but if you're going to use minilab chemistry anyway, I wouldn't bother with the amateur-oriented kit in the first place.

Re-use of developer will always result in density shifts from one batch of film processed to the next. Whether this is within acceptable boundaries is up to you to decide; see initial remark above.
Re-use of bleach and fix is possible to an extent since both processes should go to completion. Both bleaching and fixing can be done again if they turn out to have been incomplete/inadequate.

jejes said:

cartridge chemicals for V30

Click to expand...

Cartridge chemicals are generally not quite as attractively priced as regular minilab chemistry that's not associated with a particular machine type. It may still be (much) cheaper on a price-per-liter basis than e.g. X-Press.