Jobo 2500 for C-41

[ChrisC]

Hey guys.

I'm finally getting into developing C-41 myself which means I'm going to need to get myself a daylight tank for my 4x5's. Currently I process B&W in open trays but would like to do colour in a tank.

I'm looking at and practically sold on getting a Jobo 2500 series tank, and in reading, it seems nearly everyone writes it off and says to go for the Expert drum. Only problem here is the Expert drums are really out of my price range unless I want to go for 6 months without any film!.

2500 series users, are they as bad as they're made out to be? I know it'll probably be tricky to load and I'm fine with that. I'm just hoping the doom and gloom isn't as real as it appears to be.

Cheers!

 

[Photo Engineer]

I use 2500 series drums for 4x5 in C41. It works just fine as long as you stick to using 4 sheets per reel (not 6) and use the recommended chemistry and agitation. Been doing it for years for my C-41 negatives and internegatives!

I use up to 3 2000 series drums with 3 reels making 12 sheets per run sometimes.

PE

 

[ChrisC]

Fantastic.
In all my research I has seen a couple of people mention the 4 sheets per reel trick, but they were far outweighed by the "just go for the expert drum" crowd. Even 4 sheets at 270ml is absolutely fine for me.

 

[L Gebhardt]

I have used both the expert drum and the 2500 tanks for C-41. I never had any issue with the 2500 tanks, even with 6 sheets per reel. I have the 2509N reels with the clip in plastic baffles. I ended up with two 3010 expert drums and I prefer them, but mainly from a loading standpoint (I don't have a loader for my 2509 reels). One nice thing about the 2509N is it holds 6 sheets, the same as a Grafmatic.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I have used 6 sheets for tests. It works, but I do not recommend it.

The 4 sheet / reel arrangement is best IMHO as it agrees with what Jobo recommends.

I do have the loader but not the clips.

PE

 

[Nick Zentena]

Jobo recommended 4 sheets with the old reels. Did they ever recommend 4 sheets with the 2509N?

I've never had a problem with the 2509N. I've never understood why some people do and many others don't.

One advantage of the 2500 is the big tanks can handle lots of sheets.

 

[mpirie]

I use 6 sheets in a 2509n reel too and haven't experienced any problems.

Is the recommendation to use 4 sheets based on agitation concerns or the developing agent to film area ratio?

Mike

 

[Nick Zentena]

Developer flow. The 2509N added the black inserts to help with the flow so Jobo said 6 was okay.

 

[ChrisC]

Fantastic news. Thanks guys.
Looking forward to not having to rely on labs any more!

 

[dwdmguy]

I have the ATL-2300 and it is AWESOME, but....

I used the Expert drum and when back to the following. I simply always found a bit of uneven development. This is an excellent and easy solution.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...an_459809_HP_Combi_4_x.html/BI/4380/KBID/4816

 

[Bob F.]

I've only used my 2509N reels a few times for colour and used 6 sheets with no problems. Perhaps I was lucky but I've also used them dozens of times for b&w with 6 sheets without problem. I suspect the "use 4 sheets" comes from people using the earlier version of the 2509 without the plastic clips, but that is only a guess.

Having said that, they are a bit of a faff to load so if you can find the (considerable) extra cash, the Expert drums would be nice - but they will not fit my CPE-2 in any case so I stick with the 2509Ns.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I don't find hand loading of the 2509 reels very hard, but I must admit that the loader made for the reels helps. Having done it both ways and using expert drums for printing, I can say that they both even out in the end. They are balanced on the cost - ease of use axis and you will just have to decided what is best for you.

PE