E6 Processing and Chemistry Update / Status Needed

[bascom49]

Today I sent five rolls of 120 Velvia film off to my favorite lab to be developed and scanned.
Total price with shipping (next day USPS )both ways will hit right at 125 bucks.

I had thought that having the lab do my E6 processing would be cheaper than me rounding up the chemistry
but now I'm not so sure.

Now I'm thinking that I should process myself and then have only certain frame scanned as opposed to having the whole batch scanned.
After all, try as I do for some reason not all of my shots are keepers

I have a Jobo CPP2 with all of the tanks so I'm ahead of the curve there.

My question ? I'm leary of the three bath kits. Iv'e heard that the film is not as color stable as the 7 bath method.
If I'm going to process at home I would really like to go the 7 bath way,
and would like to know if this is doable. ?

I hate the fact that we can not get the 7 bath Fuji Hunt kits in this country.

Would I have to buy the bulk Kodak chemistry ? If so could I safely store it for the long term ?

Any suggestions from anyone as to how I could acquire the necessary chemistry would be of great help.

Thanks,
Charles

 

[wildbill]

lots of recent threads on this topic.
you CAN get the fuji kits in this country but it's very $$.
Trebla
cpac
kodak

as for the 3 bath kits and their "stability", that's been covered to death so do a search.

 

[nickrapak]

You could probably save a decent amount of money going with standard mail delivery rather than express mail. Just saying.

 

[wogster]

You could probably save a decent amount of money going with standard mail delivery rather than express mail. Just saying.

You may find the ideal, is to split the difference. In the US is Priority Mail, you get a tracking number, it's 2-3 days, and it's 1/3rd the cost of overnight mail. For Canadians the equivalent would be Express Post.

 

[Athiril]

Id personally buy the individual Kodak parts from B&H if I lived in the U.S. and replenish if you can. Otherwise still inexpensive.

People say there is small retained silver and grainier images with 3 bath (Combined bleach+fix)

 

[pukalo]

Do not be concerned about using the Tetenal E6 3 bath kit. I started out using the Kodak 7 bath, and still have 1 1/2 Kodak 5 Liter E6 kits left, howvere, after trying the Tetenal. I far prefere it. Results just as good, and much much simpler and more user friendly to mix up and use. Bear in mind that the Tetenal3 bath kit has been around since at least 1992, and is very high quality, German engineered (and made in Germany) chemsitry. The Tetenal 3 bath kit, and their Blix in particular is suited to home use, with the chemistry being designed to make 3 runs before being discarded, without silver retention issues. For us home users this is perfect. For large volume lab usage though, it is not (and was not designed for this). With the Tetenal Blix, you must use it within 2-4 weeks of mixing. I do all 3 runs in 1-2 weeks, as I shoot a lot of E6. The advantage of the 7 bath Kodak and Fuji kits is for lab usage, where initial chemistry is mixed up, then kept constatntly monitored and replenished, as many many films are run through. The 7 bath is stable and controllable for this type of industrial style usage. With mass film development, proportional chemistry costs are far lower than with blix based systems. The Teretenal 3 bath blix kit is not suited to such industrial scale usage, at least not at the same costs. - it must be mixed and used 3 times, then discarded.
But this is not an issue for home users. In fact, it is perfect. Far cheaper than buying 25 gallon quantities of 7 bath E6 chemicals, the same quality, and much easier and simpler mixing and processing.
I too did much research and was leery before trying the Tetenal kits. But I dont remember ever finding a single post with people who had used the Tetenal kit yeats ago and now have fading or other issues. And the results after trying spoke for themselves and ended all questions I may have had. Sparkling, beautiful chromes, with good skin tones, good dynamic range, great colors, and no issues with retained silver.
So, I highly suggest giving Tetenal a try. The 5 Liter kit works out to less than $2/roll, and you have same day results if you desire. Check out Freestyle Photo in the US. Avoid the Arista kits, they dont include the required stabilizer, and have other issues (see previous posts). Lower quality stuff, and you dnt save much either.

 

[pukalo]

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/c1002-Color-Chemicals-Color-Slide

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/102034-Tetenal-Colortec-E-6-Kit-5-Liter?cat_id=1002

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/1020316-Tetenal-Colortec-E-6-Kit-1-Liter?cat_id=1002

 

[EASmithV]

i can do like 14 rolls for less than $50. in a dishtub. with better results than local pro labs. make sure you get stab for the E6 kit. I'm using kodak flexicolor III

 

[MARKNABIA]

In edmonton, I send my 120 slide to london drugs, 2 weeks maximum waiting time $8 per roll, develop only...i don't like them to scan my film...

 

[pukalo]

Tetenal E6 samples. Done last weekend in my kitchen sink using only a hi tech styrofoam cooler with water overflow holes punched near the top, a digital cooking thermometer, a Paterson 5 roll hand developing tank, and some tapping on the kitchen sink to get the temp just right...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pukalo/8117959928/in/set-72157631840248271 all in this set = Tetenal E6, scanned with Kodak f235
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pukalo/8117937199/in/set-72157631840220843 all in this set = Tetenal E6, scanned with Nikon 9000

 

[bascom49]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
pukalo's explanation as to the difference between the 7 bath for commercial use and the tetanal kits for home use is very helpful.

EASmithV, could you share your workflow and the chemistry you that you use ?

Thanks,
Charles