Developing two rolls of film at once

hiroh · Jan 30, 2023

I have 500ml Jobo tank and I always develop one roll at the time, because I tend to develop as soon as I shoot it. I'd fill the tank with 500ml of liquid. I realized I'm wasting chemistry, so I better wait a bit and develop two at the same time. Now, for the first time, I have two Tri-X 35mm rolls undeveloped, and I want to double check if I have to do anything different in this case? I'd usually follow Massive Dev Chart, so for example, if it suggest 5:30min at 20c in XTOL (stock), do I have to do the same if it's for the one or two rolls?

rcphoto · Jan 30, 2023

hiroh · Jan 30, 2023

rcphoto said:
yes

Quick and short, thanks!

Sirius Glass · Jan 30, 2023

hiroh said:
I have 500ml Jobo tank and I always develop one roll at the time, because I tend to develop as soon as I shoot it. I'd fill the tank with 500ml of liquid. I realized I'm wasting chemistry, so I better wait a bit and develop two at the same time. Now, for the first time, I have two Tri-X 35mm rolls undeveloped, and I want to double check if I have to do anything different in this case? I'd usually follow Massive Dev Chart, so for example, if it suggest 5:30min at 20c in XTOL (stock), do I have to do the same if it's for the one or two rolls?

Depending on the Jobo tanks and reels you have you can develop multiple rolls with 500ml for chemistry. If you use replenished XTOL, not only will you not waste one shot chemistry, you will also save a lot of money.

gone · Jan 30, 2023

I know you didn't ask this, but in the true spirit of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished", I might mention that for any kind of film developing, I now only do 1 roll of film at a time. That way, if something goes wrong only 1 roll will have problems.

And yes it did, and that is why I do it that way now.

Moose22 · Jan 30, 2023

Wait -- you're using Xtol Stock? Because you said you're wasting chemistry.

Not one shot, but stock, it doesn't matter how many times you fill the tank it's how many rolls you do. Basically, you get 15 rolls per liter, and you adjust times 15% after the first 5, then 15% more after 10, then at 15 rolls developed you discard and move on to the next liter.

So doing it one at a time is not wasteful. Pour in as much as you like, pour it back into the bottle of working solution, and mark 1 roll wherever it is you keep count. It's very economical and you do not have to be precise about the amount in the dev tank.

Anyway, If you mean one shot, sorry for all the words if I'm wrong, but to your initial question times are the same whether you're developing one roll or multiple rolls in the tank at the same time.

MattKing · Jan 30, 2023

No change with stock X-Tol - just make sure you have enough developer in the tank to cover the reels and provide the appropriate air space above - the tank will often indicate the minimum volume necessary on the bottom.
It won't be a problem with stock X-Tol, but if you start using more dilute developers, in some cases you need to use a larger tank, because each roll uses up some developer, and with high dilutions you can end up with too little stock developer in there for the amount of film.

hiroh · Jan 30, 2023

Moose22 said:
Wait -- you're using Xtol Stock? Because you said you're wasting chemistry.

Not one shot, but stock, it doesn't matter how many times you fill the tank it's how many rolls you do. Basically, you get 15 rolls per liter, and you adjust times 15% after the first 5, then 15% more after 10, then at 15 rolls developed you discard and move on to the next liter.

So doing it one at a time is not wasteful. Pour in as much as you like, pour it back into the bottle of working solution, and mark 1 roll wherever it is you keep count. It's very economical and you do not have to be precise about the amount in the dev tank.

Anyway, If you mean one shot, sorry for all the words if I'm wrong, but to your initial question times are the same whether you're developing one roll or multiple rolls in the tank at the same time.

I used XTOL, D76, Rodinal and I'm looking at the unopened bottle od HC-110 right now, which I never tried but would love to experiment. Have in mind that I'm not that long into film and I'm still learning.

I think I'll use HC-110 tonight for these two rolls. I'm looking for the best times and dilutions. And I'm thinking doing it separately for each roll with different times/dilution so I can compare.

Both rolls are Tri-X, shot at ISO200, on the bright day, with very contrasty shadows. So I'd like to keep it contrasty, but still be able to see details in shadow. Any suggestion about the dev times with HC-110?

bags27 · Jan 30, 2023

Ah....you're seeking the HOLY GRAIL. We've all been there. Great fun to try different developers. I still try new ones. I know the HOLY GRAIL is out there, I know it is, I know it is, I know it is....

Sirius Glass · Jan 31, 2023

bags27 said:
Ah....you're seeking the HOLY GRAIL. We've all been there. Great fun to try different developers. I still try new ones. I know the HOLY GRAIL is out there, I know it is, I know it is, I know it is....

And it is called Replenished XTOL!

bags27 · Jan 31, 2023

Sirius Glass said:
And it is called Replenished XTOL!

Lots of folks say that. I'm a long time and happy pyrocat user but have some xtol to mess around with next.

Donald Qualls · Jan 31, 2023

hiroh said:
Any suggestion about the dev times with HC-110?

Been a while since I used HC-110, but I usually used Dilution G (1+119) or unofficial Dilution H (H is half of B, so 1+63 from syrup instead of 1+31). Dilution G is slow enough working to allow for 3-minute agitation intervals to give compensating effect. I don't have my charts accessible from work, but Massive Dev Chart times usually work well for me (others will surely disagree; I can only speak from my own experience).

cmacd123 · Jan 31, 2023

I almost always do 5 rolls at a time - 6 if all 120, in a jobo 1520 and 1530 combo.

Developing two rolls of film at once

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