Developing Kodacolor-X in B&W chem.

FerruB · Jan 7, 2018

Hi guys,

This Christmas I found the Kodak Retina of my grandfather (I think...). The camera had a roll of Kodacolor X that I would like to process it. Do you think it may develop well in B&W Pyrocat HD? I only make B&W and Pyrocat is my favorite developer. If not I have Ansco130 or maybe somewhere D-76...

The camera, in very good condition, I suppose is a Kodak Retina type 126 with a Carl Zeiss Tessar 1:3.5, 5cm. Am I correct?
Cheers,
Ferru

trendland · Jan 7, 2018

Hi FerruB,
Kodacolor X is a discontinued color emulsion and has to develop in a discontinued process ( C22 ) - as you may know.
The approach with normal sw process makes therfore sence - from my oppinium - just to see what is on the film.
But you should imagine its date - (production was 1963 - 1973 in the UK)
I would give you the hint to try it with a normal developer like D76.
As we know the box speed of ISO 80 I would have a try with times given to simular bw films with todays speed of ISO 25 because it is hart to overdevelope this film.

Bon chance

PS : If you have doubts just cut the film and make a test run to 3 - 4 frames.
Then make corrections.

removed account4 · Jan 7, 2018

hi ferru
i would recommend you take your color film and
develop it in ansco 130 .. not pyrocat or d76
use the developer about 1:6 for about 6mins @ about 72ºF
no idea how much damage ( you know, cosmic rays, heat radiation &c )
your film has experienced but ansco130 or even d72/ dektol** will treat your film right.
depending on the level of fog you might or might not have the dreaded orange mask
i haven't processed ancient color film like that, just stuff within the last 20/30 years
and i use coffee to stain the negative, so the mask isn't so bad.
good luck with your experiment !
and have fun!
john
** if you use dektol its still 1:6 / 6mins but 68ºF NOT 72 ..

BAC1967 · Jan 7, 2018

I got good results developing it in beer, it’s similar to a caffenol recipe so that may work as well. The film below was expired in 1973, I cut the exposure index in half for every decade out of date. I have also had good results developing old color films is Rodinal, semi-stand 1:100 for an hour.

The Recipe:
Beer (cheap Lager, I used Fosters) - 12oz
Sodium Carbonate (Arm & Hammer Washing Soda) - 2.75 Tsp
Ascorbic Acid Powder (Vitamin C) - 1.25 Tsp
Salt (Morton's Iodized Table Salt) - 1/4 Tsp

Developed at 20 degrees C for 20 minutes. Agitate first 30 seconds then 15 seconds every minute. Normal fix.

Warning - Add the Ascorbic Acid after the Sodium Carbonate to avoid a foam explosion.

Gun at Illahee State Park by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Illahee Pier by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

FerruB · Jan 8, 2018

Thank you guys for your thoughts!
BAC1967, the results you got with the "beer recipe" seem very good and I should have all the ingredients to try!
Cheers
Ferru

FerruB · Jan 12, 2018

So at the end I used Ansco130 1+6 @20C for 7 min with inversion every minute...however the film came out entirely dark. Not sure if very over-developed or something else went wrong...but I think any potential negative is gone forever.
Anyway thanks for the advice
Cheers,
Ferru

removed account4 · Jan 12, 2018

i'm sorry you had trouble
you could bleach it back
... mix a small amount of potassium ferricyanide
put the film on a reel and with a hanger / rod slowly agitate the film in your tank
it will lighten your film so you can get the images and print it ... after you bleach it, put it back in fixer and wash it..

Ismundvision · Jan 20, 2021

I used the recipe berenol on an old kodacolor x from mid 80`s .It seems to work But a strange thing as you can see there i som kind of a waterstamp ”kodacolor” What is that ? I tried to upload a photo but it doesnt work

Developing Kodacolor-X in B&W chem.

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