E6 home developing - what do I need?

[Kugerfang]

I'd like to try shooting slides but there's only one place in our entire country that can process E6. I looked at our country's distributor for Kodak products and it appears that they do have E6 chemicals for sale. Which of the following do I need? (besides stuff like the tank, graduated cylinders, thermometers, etc.)

COLOR REVERSAL CHEMICALS

E-6 FIRST DEVELOPER REPLENISHER40L
E-6 REVERSAL BATH & REPLENISHER 2X50L
E-6 COLOR DEVELOPER REPLENISHER 2X20L PART A
E-6 COLOR DEVELOPER REPLENISHER 2X20L PART B
E-6 PRE-BLEACH & REPLENISHER 40L
E-6 BLEACH & REPLENISHER 10L
E-6 FIXER & REPLENISHER 10L
E-6 PROCESSING KIT 5L ( to make 1 gl)

It appears that the kit is the cheapest. How many rolls can 5 liters process? I'm planning on developing black and white first though. (for practice) Hopefully I can get the chemicals before my parents buy me a new DSLR...

 

[Mike Wilde]

You will need a first developer starter, and a colour developer starter, although there is a work around to make the CD starter from the FD starter with some added acetic acid.

Start with the kit. Each litre of the working solutions will process at least 4-35mm 36 exposure films; 8 if you extend the first developer times. Read Kodak Z-119 from the Kodak web site; it explains e-6 processing inside and out

The bulk chemicals are a LOT of capacity. They do allow you to mix by the litre. The $$ up front are a big turn off to most home workers. They don't keep well forever, particualrly in warm climates.

If you have not done b&w processing yet, work on getting proficient with that, then make the step to the kit for e-6.

E-6 is a 100F/38C process, so temperature control is the challenge for me. First developer time/temperature control is the finicky-est part of the process to me.

Good luck. I recommend that slides become a part of you home routine after b&w processing is very familiar to you.

 

[drumlin]

I've only ever used the Kodak 5 L kit (6 bath) that is no longer available here in the USA. It was easy and affordable. I've heard others have had good luck with the 3 bath kits from tetenal and others.

Temperature control requires patience and attention, but it's not as difficult as some make it sound. Apug is a great resource. Get your chem's and equipment and hit the forum with specific questions.

Dont give up. Unreeling your first roll of transparencies is an experience you won't soon forget.


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[polyglot]

Go get a 5L kit; they can be had from a couple of online sellers like Ag Photographic. The Fuji 5L kit will develop 45-50 rolls (makes it about $3/roll incl shipping) and has bleach+fix capacity for 2-3x that; note that it's 5 litres not a gallon. If you don't get the kit then yes, that list of chemicals is exactly what you need. 40L of the developers will do about 400 rolls though, which is rather a lot for an amateur; the chems will probably oxidise before you use them up.

Get a bunch of practise (about 100 rolls at least) first with B&W processes and in particular, make sure you can reliably make perfect negs (exposure and development contrast) from finicky films like Pan-F and TMX. You will need temperature control for the E6 and the usual recommendation for that is a Jobo rotary processor. If enterprising and technically-minded, you can also make up a little sous-vide bath for your film using a slow cooker and PID controller and use that to keep the 38C.

The other option is that you can try C41. The chemicals are much cheaper (25% of the per-roll cost) and a little more forgiving wrt temperature control because you get the opportunity to colour-correct while printing whereas with E6 you must be exact because the slide is the final prodcut and there is no postprocessing opportunity unless you scan. The films are also generally cheaper than E6, at least in 35mm.

 

[AlbertZeroK]

definately get use to black and white.

E-6 requires temperature control, which can be hard. Lots of steps, make sure you have time when you get ready to run the film.