Daylight developing tank for whole plate (6 1/2" x 8 1/2")?

Hey folks,

I've started shooting film in whole plate format ... specifically color slide film. While the results look great I'm wondering if there's a better way to develop the sheets other than tray developing in total darkness. Would love to develop at my kitchen sink like I do for roll film and 4x5 sheets.

Does anybody know of a developing tank that will accommodate that format? Dedicated 8x10 tanks don't seem to hold the smaller format, but perhaps there is one out there that will and I'm just not aware of it.

Thanks,
Jason

Jason, I'm not aware of any tank that'll work with WP film and would also like to know if you find one. I've considered making one or two using dark grey electrical conduit, which can be had with thick walls and is light-tight. The challenge with that stuff is finding it in less than 20' lengths. I recently used some for a different purpose and was able with some searching to find an online place that would ship me 5' of the size I needed.

If I were to make tanks I'd glue a cap onto one end and cut a groove in a second cap for an O-ring to fit the other.

"dark grey electrical conduit"...
If you refer to what I understand of it, namely PVC tubings for cables to pull into as guide and cover, I do not see the relation to a daylight developing tank.

If you spoke of PVC sewage tubes...

I have an old tank that will hold 5x7 film hangers (sort of a HP Combi looking thing) "half plate" hangers would also fit. Or you could use the hangers in hard rubber tanks. You could also make BTSZ type tubes to process film in.

I tossed some ideas around in my head, and think maybe a 4- or 5-reel 35mm tank, with the two ends of the reel separated by a spacer may do it. I’ll probably have to machine the spacer out of plastic pipe so it works. I’ll experiment with this and see if it works and post results.

I use a Nikor tank (Q30, holds 4x35mm or 2x120 reels and 30 ounces of fluid) for single sheets of 4x5 or 5x7, but this size isn't quite tall enough for WP (I checked and it's ever-so-slightly too short). A taller tank would be fine as long as you can reach in to retrieve the film.

By electrical conduit I mean the really heavy-duty dark grey PVC pipe used for running underground utilities, among other things. Steve Sherman has successfully made daylight tanks out of this material, and his darkroom is where I first saw it used for this purpose. For my particular project (not a daylight tank) I bought so-called 3" Schedule 80 PVC, which is 3-1/2” outside diameter with 5/16” thick walls. You’d need this or the next larger size, called 4", for WP tanks, depending on which way you want to curl the film into the tank. The big-box stores don’t sell it in sensible lengths and quantities, but pvcfittingsonline.com sell it in 5' lengths - that's where I got mine. I didn't really need it to be lightproof, but I did need Schedule 80 and this was the cheapest way I could get a "short" length - even so, I had about 3' extra.

Don't buy white Sch 80, even at that wall thickness it might be slightly translucent.

If you want to go the Jobo Expert Drum route, the 3005 drum will work great -- I use them for 8x10 and 5x7. I use a Beseler or Unicolor motor base with the auto reverse disabled.

I use a Paterson Orbit tank without the m9tor

BTZS 8x10 tubes work.

BTW...where the heck are you getting whole plate slide film? Just curious.

I travel to an alternate universe where Whole Plate is the standard large format size.


(Just kidding, I cut it down from 8x10).

Jason - the 10 x 8 inch Kodak deep tanks (holding 16litres) work well with whole plate film.

The specific metal carriers are harder to come by than the 10x8, 7x5 or 5x4 inch versions although there are clip versions suitable for suspending the whole plate sheet from the upper rebate, mounted into the same metal insert which slots into the tanks. A little metal work can reshape wrong sized holders back to whole plate.

RJ

I know those tanks would work but I can’t justify mixing up ~4 gallons of E-6 kit for the amount that I shoot. I tray developed the first couple sheets in 32oz.

That's true - it's a large volume and colour chemistry doesn't keep as well.

I wonder whether fashioning whole plate clipped metal flat horizontal sheet mounts to develop (as you do with a tray) in a grid like drawer filing system with spacing, would enable the use of a fractional depth of the 16 litre tank. The system would avoid sheet to sheet contact and work out less expensive than BTZS tubes.

RJ

PVC is made white with TiO2 (titanium dioxide) and is opaque to light. TiO2 is the white layer on instant camera film and the colors move into it as the film develops behind the lightproof layer in front. Grey PVC has carbon black to color it.
The white PVC has a higher resistance to UV-light and therefore a longer life if used in sunny exposed areas.