Easy and Cheap E 6 processing.

[Skeeterfx20]

Late night and I just finished a couple of rolls of E6. Not that it took that long to process I just soft start until after the Boston NHL game.

I shoot a lot of E6 probably more than I should. After a dispute with a popular lab out on the West Coast I said it was time to do it myself. I was sending 6 rolls in addition to some B&W plus Color.

I use the Tetenal E6 kit. I'm lucky i still have four kits left. I think or hope they will be back in stock. The kit cost me around $68 each plus shipping. I forget the shipping cost but it was inexpensive. I can process 30 - 36 rolls of 35mm per kit. It has always worked out with no problems.

So just from a cost stand point it runs me about $104 to process, that includes cost of the kit, shipping and mounts for 30 rolls. Sending them out was costing me $658.25 for thirty rolls. I did get free scans but I didn't have the choice to not want them. The cost breaks down like this, developing and scanning - $12, mounting $3 and shipping was $5.95 for the six rolls that I would send at a time.

The kit is very easy to mix in quantities of 500ml. I use 500ml Brown bottle, they came from some energy drink my daughter drinks. I needed 4. You have a First Developer, Color Developer, Bleach Fix then Stabilizer.

I load in Paterson one reel tanks. I could do larger tanks but this works for me since you have to adjust times after doing every two rolls. Very, very easy to load these tanks, just cut the corners off the front of the film. I do have SS have reels but just like the Paterson. I have far more tanks than one person needs so there was not extra cost.

I did buy the CineStill temp control system for $100. Yes you can keep the water at temp the old school way. However this makes it so easy when your processing as much as I do. Great, great product. You probably can buy a Sous Vide for half the cost at Wal-Mart to do the same thing.

Processing takes me about a half hour a roll. If I wanted to I could do two at the same time. If I mixed 1000ml then I could do 4 at a time. The only reason is that you have to add time, for example using 500ml I have to increase time for every two rolls. You can develop 6 rolls total with 500ml and if you are using 1000ml then you can do 4 rolls before increasing time.

I'm not going to go through the full process as it is pretty easy.

So the more important question is what are the results? I think they come out far better than what the West Coast Lab was putting out. I have processed Fuji Provia, Fuji Velvia 100, Fuji Velvia 50 and Ektachrome. The colors are vivid, rich, accurate and just outstanding. In addition I don't get any watermarks, streaks etc. Now I accept the final product is in the eyes of the beholder. Just trust me you can't get any better results from a lab.

The only part that I don't like is the mounting process. Slow or at least I am. I wear gloves and hand cut each slide then mount. Just a boring process. Oh how long do I let them dry? Well I process in the evening and generally mount them the next evening only because I have to go to work during the day.

If you have any questions on the kit or the processing just ask I would be happy to give you an answer.

One side note I had gotten lazy and was shipping my B&W out for processing too. Now I do my own again but I use a ten reel tank for that. Im a little backed up on the printing as i just set up my three enlargers and that part of the darkroom is not yet ready to run.

 

[iakustov]

I too develop in Tetenal E6 kit using Paterson tank by hand and like the results. And I would never send the film to process by someone or a lab due to quality issues, I rely on myself.
Since the amount of slides I shoot is not big, I open and use the 2.5l kit when I have about 30 films unprocessed, otherwise the results could be far from excellent if concentrates not used quickly when opened. But this is just my experience.
I too hope Tetenal will start selling E6 kit soon!
I use Leitz Pradovit and Hasselblad projectors and the results are stunning. The only problem is getting the Gepe AN glass slide mounts, as there are not many sources available, especially for 6x6.

 

[Henning Serger]

I am developing my colour reversal films at home with a JOBO CPE-3 processor. I get perfect results at very low costs.
Doing E6 at home is
- extremely easy; getting perfect results is even easier compared to BW because it is a standardised process
- very cheap
- very fast
- delivering optimal, perfect results; you can even surpass the quality of the best professional labs because you have always fresh chemistry (no replenishing like in prof. labs), you can do 2-bath fix, pulling, pushing or slight variation of first developer time to get exactly the results you want
- all is under your own control.
I am using both the Tetenal kit (excellent quality) and the Fuji Hunt E6 kit (optimal, perfect quality).

Therefore I can highly recommend developing E6 at home by yourself.

Best regards,
Henning

 

[1kgcoffee]

May I ask which lab you are having issues with? For the sake of longevity I think six bath kits are best to use.

 

[Henning Serger]

I too hope Tetenal will start selling E6 kit soon!

They will. There is also a 1 liter kit in the works.
And there are of course the original 6/7 bath kits from Fuji Hunt and Bellini.

I use Leitz Pradovit and Hasselblad projectors and the results are stunning.

I completely agree! The quality of slide projection is absolutely unique and outstanding! You cannot get that with digital.
I am using mostly a Leica Pradovit PC with a Super-Colorplan P2 lens for 35mm slide projection (and sometimes a Kindermann Silent 2500 with the Doctor-Optics MC-B).
For medium format slide projection I have a Rollei Rolleivision 66 with the Schneider-Kreuznach AV-Xenotar.

The only problem is getting the Gepe AN glass slide mounts, as there are not many sources available, especially for 6x6.

You can get all slide mounts you need in Germany. For example at Foto Brenner:
https://www.fotobrenner.de/search/index/sSearch/Diarahmen
Or direct by the manufacturers:
http://www.journal24.com/Pages/Produkte/diawechselrahmen.html
http://www.jensen-diaprojektoren.de/index.php/de/produkte/diarahmen

Best regards,
Henning

 

[Skeeterfx20]

I just ordered and recieved another Tetenal E6 kit from Freestyle. So that is great news.

I don't know I may try one of the other kits but for me Tetenal is so easy and fool proof.

Let's just say the lab is a popular west coast lab and leave it at that. Others may like them, since I can't say one good word I'm just going to pass on the exact name. Besides I owe them a little bit since I know say a lot of money doing my own E6 and reactivating the B&W darkroom. So a big thank you to that lab.

 

[thuggins]

This is a great post. For many years I had a pro lab literally on the corner of my block that did E6 in four hours, so apart from cost there was little incentive to try it myself. The lab moved a number of years ago and after processing a couple of hundred rolls in Tetenal kits, I kick myself for not starting sooner. The process is unbelievably easy and practically impossible to screw up. Reasonable care with time and temperature is all that is required for excellent results. I get at least eight rolls per batch and often get ten, so it works out to under $2/roll including the cost and the shipping of the kit.

For 35mm slides that I may want to project, I do still send it out so I don't have to mess with the slide mounts. Dwayne's does a great job and they are very reasonable. Just be aware that they will not mount all films. They claim that some base material (acetate?) won't cut in their machines, although I've never had any trouble cutting it.

Since the amount of slides I shoot is not big, I open and use the 2.5l kit when I have about 30 films unprocessed, otherwise the results could be far from excellent if concentrates not used quickly when opened.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Please stop repeating this nonsense!

I invariably use a mix for at least six weeks and sometimes as long as two months. The last roll comes out as good as the first. You just have to extend the times accordingly. Granted, the open concentrate will oxidize over time if exposed to air. I had this happen with one of the components in my first kit. But contrary to "popular wisdom" here the chemicals are still usable once mixed and the film from this last batch came out fine.

Since then I aliquot the concentrate into 100ml bottles when mixing the first batch. This not only prevents oxidation it makes mixing the subsequent batches quick and easy. Just make sure to not use PET for the CD concentrate, it will eat thru the bottle. You could also leave the concentrate in the original HDPE bottles and displace the air with CO2 or something similar.

 

[StepheKoontz]

I recently did a short youtube video about E-6 processing in my kitchen sink. I get great results with very little effort.

 

[Skeeterfx20]

You did a nice video.

I use a Sous Vide just way to easy to control water temperature. Once up to temp you never have to worry about it dropping. I have done both pre warm with water and without. It doesn't make a difference. In fact I did 8 rolls with 500ml just preheating the tank without water and there was no difference. I just put the tank in the water bath and put a weight on it. However with that said I mostly pre heat with water.

I use a plastic tub for the processing water for the chems and wash water. That keeps the sink clear for cleaning and yes my wash water goes down the drain.

But as you can see in SK's video the process is really that easy.

 

[CMoore]

I recently did a short youtube video about E-6 processing in my kitchen sink. I get great results with very little effort.

`Does she actually have a longer version of this.
At any rate, this definitely takes a bit of the "fear" out of the thought of doing my own E6...thank you
And the above mentioned Sous Vide type devices look pretty reasonable for home use as well.

Anyway....... i am not very knowledgeable about 120 film.
1. Do these frames look a lot wider than 6x7.?
2. I assume there must be projectors that Are/Were available to project this format.?
Thank You

 

[donkee]

I have been thinking about trying out one of those kits. I have about 30 rolls of expired Ektachrome 400 I picked up from an estate sale. It was in the freezer and for $12.00 for the lot I couldn't pass it up. I loved the old days of the Kodak E-6 kit and and cheaper Ektachrome. I am about to start work on B&W positives so maybe I'll get the Tetenal kit and give it a shot, I just love projecting.......

 

[thuggins]

Anyway....... i am not very knowledgeable about 120 film.
1. Do these frames look a lot wider than 6x7.?
2. I assume there must be projectors that Are/Were available to project this format.?
Thank You

As with any film, the film itself has no "frames". It is just a continuous strip. The frames are determined by the camera. Full frame medium format is 6x9, half frame is 4.5x6 and the square format is 6x6. There are also "panoramic" sizes and intermediate sizes.

There are (were) projectors made and I have often though of getting an old overhead projector like we used in school. But 120 images, especially 6x9, are large enough to be easily viewed on a light table. There is no imaging technology anywhere that can compare to directly viewing a good transparency.

 

[StepheKoontz]

`Does she actually have a longer version of this.

Actually I did make a longer version of this video, but then edited it down to 10 minutes as I was not sure if anyone would want to listen to me for 30 minutes lol

BTW the film I developed was shot using a 6X12 back on 120 film.

 

[CMoore]

10-4..... Thanks

 

[thuggins]

Just another thought on the sous vide heater... This would be really handy if you didn't have a supply of running hot water. I've thought about developing while camping where you have cold water, a stove and electricity.

But for home use my process actually works better without a heater. The bath starts at about 110, which allows everything to drift down to 100. The prewash and wash after the first developer come directly out of the bath. That puts it about a half gallon low, which gets replenished by a half gallon at 110. This brings the bath back to just over 100 which is perfect for the color developer. I don't care about the temperature after that as it is not critcal for blix.

 

[mohmad khatab]

Actually I did make a longer version of this video, but then edited it down to 10 minutes as I was not sure if anyone would want to listen to me for 30 minutes lol

BTW the film I developed was shot using a 6X12 back on 120 film.

Very excellent, this is amazing.
I am very happy with this high level,
God bless you

 

[Ko.Fe.]

I have E6 from Argentix.ca, not expensive and even more simple than C-41 to process.

 

[Randy Stewart]

The YouTube video shown in #8 has a significant processing error, also being a deviation from the chem-kit manufacturer's instructions. To conclude the process, she does the stabilizer bath, then (error) she adds a further short bath of water/PhotoFlo to avoid water spots on her drying film. The problem is that the stabilizer is intended to be the final bath and the absorbed solution to dry in the film emulsion. Further washing shown here just washes out the absorbed stabilizer, thereby defeating to some degree the protection of that part of the process. The correct way to handle spotting and drying problems of the sort she tries to address is to mix the stabilizer working solution with distilled water (avoids hard water spotting) and add a few drops of Photoflo (avoids water spotting).

 

[StepheKoontz]

The YouTube video shown in #8 has a significant processing error, also being a deviation from the chem-kit manufacturer's instructions. To conclude the process, she does the stabilizer bath, then (error) she adds a further short bath of water/PhotoFlo to avoid water spots on her drying film. The problem is that the stabilizer is intended to be the final bath and the absorbed solution to dry in the film emulsion. Further washing shown here just washes out the absorbed stabilizer, thereby defeating to some degree the protection of that part of the process. The correct way to handle spotting and drying problems of the sort she tries to address is to mix the stabilizer working solution with distilled water (avoids hard water spotting) and add a few drops of Photoflo (avoids water spotting).

Thanks for the correction