Lowering PH in homebrew ECN2

lantau said:

So what I do is to mix the Prebath, I use the carbonate version at pH 10.0, and hang the undeveloped film in the dark. I use the MOD54 film clips. They have a good grip on the film, but you still need to be careful not to apply too much force. The prebath is in a bottle and will last a long time. I wet a microfibre cloth with a small amount of it and wipe up and down the film base, twice. Rinse the cloth with tap water and repeat. Rinse again and repeat. Remjet will be gone. The exact technique of how to hold the film and wipe is up to you. I make sure the emulsion side stays bone dry. The cloth needs only be wet, not dripping. At the end I use a paper kitchen towel to wipe the cleaned surface dry. Takes a wipe or two.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips. I processed 2 35mmV3 and a 65mmV3. following your way of remjet removal. Same as you, I hung the film. The first try I had missed bits, the second attempt was a lot better, I think with practice it is a good way to do it. The 65mm was a Pig to deal with, the film had been on the roll for months and wanted to curl and twist when I hung it on the clips. Wider clips would make life a bit easier, maybe I could use wide 'bulldog clips'. After the film dries I use Mr Muscle Glass cleaner on kitchen towel to wipe the film back. I am going to add that step into the removal step after drying with paper kitchen towel. I have 400+ft of very old EXR I can uae that to practice in the light, the backing on that stuff is a nightmare to remove.
Here are scans of today's results. They are a little light because when i plug in the scanner it is auto set to +20 brightness, I always forget to zero it . But it's the grain and colours I am really interested in for now.
First up is V3 500T, next is V2 500T. Both films shared the patterson tank.
I think the V3 film is a little better though not great, that stuff is over 5 years out of date. I really think fresh vision film is the way to go for me. I have loads of old Fuji Eterna that has the same strong grain issues.
I'll do another test tomorrow . I think your backing removal suggestion is very good and I'll be doing it your way from now on.

Photo Engineer said:

Automated processes do a good job

Click to expand...

I sent a text to my Lab mate asking if there is any way he can run all my film through the remjet and straight to dryer, I never got a reply LOL. But then I will have film that has all the reported problems CineStill has because the backing has been removed!.

Remjet is there to prevent halation.

Photo Engineer said:

Remjet is there to prevent halation.

Click to expand...

It is for that reason i do not go with CineStill, I have enough problems LOL. The sun came out for a short while today so I quickly got my stuff together and ran out the house to shoot some V3 500T (2011) with filter. I used the sealed pour off developer I got. It was very windy, everything was moving. I'm slowly learning how exposure affects colour and grain. The Canon T70 has Average or Center weighted light meter, I play with that to see the effect. Processing wise, with all the advice/tips I have implemented There is not much room for improvement. I really need to concentrate on the metering side,
Rage Quits and goes back to C41 .

Photo Engineer said:

Well, these are ECN films, so the developer appears to be the right general formula.

PE

Click to expand...

I got some very fresh V3 500T. It has made a world of difference. Please have a look at the scans.
The grain and colours are a lot better.
I can see from the food cans that the colours are a little off, could be the cheapo scanner or the processing temps were off a little.