My first failure...

Ariston · Mar 30, 2019

You guys seem to develop a lot more than me. What is the most economical way to develop if you are only shooting a roll every couple of weeks or so? Just save up the rolls until you can use the whole batch? That would require a lot of patience for me...

Ariston · Mar 30, 2019

Part of the problem may be tjat I like to shoot color and b&w. It would help to stick with one at a time...

koraks · Mar 30, 2019

Use one shot developers from concentrate if you want flexibility and low frequency. Just develop one roll at a time. That's what I do anyway, with both color and b&w.

Ariston · Mar 30, 2019

Koraks, I was using Ilford concentrate, but it only lasts 4 months after opening. My color chemicals seem to last forever. Is there a b&w concentrate that lasts longer?

MattKing · Mar 30, 2019

Ariston said:
Koraks, I was using Ilford concentrate, but it only lasts 4 months after opening. My color chemicals seem to last forever. Is there a b&w concentrate that lasts longer?

Kodak HC-110.
A 1 litre bottle has become somewhat pricy, but depending on which dilution you use, you can expect to process about 160 rolls with it.
If you use it one shot, I highly recommend Jason Brunner's 1+49 dilution over the more standard dilution "B" (1+31).
Jason has an article about that here on Photrio: https://www.photrio.com/forum/resources/hc110-made-simple.220/

koraks · Mar 30, 2019

Ariston said:
Koraks, I was using Ilford concentrate, but it only lasts 4 months after opening. My color chemicals seem to last forever. Is there a b&w concentrate that lasts longer?

Several. HC110 was mentioned, most renditions of rodinal last for quite some time up to many years (but they vary according to type and manufacturer), pyrocat in glycol lasts years, similar developers to pyrocat as well such as Moersch Finol and Tanol, 510 Pyro lasts years (but I'm not sure if anyone sells it readymade) and I'm probably forgetting a few more.
In terms of availability, HC110 is usually easy to get hold of, but Photographer's Formulary at least sells pyrocat and Moersch developers are usually a bit easier to get in Europe than in the US.

MattKing · Mar 30, 2019

A packet of D-76 powder costs less than $7.00 and makes a gallon of stock. Use it diluted, and it will develop lots of film and, if you end up wasting some, it doesn't cost much. The trick is to always have an unopened package in reserve.

trendland · Mar 30, 2019

Ariston said:
I'm really disappointed. I thought that my developer held a lot longer as concentrate. I should have taken the time to read the bottle, because it only holds four months after opened, and I have lost two rolls. Bummer.

Can't belive that - in my whole live I never lost a single roll!
And I did everything wrong what was able to do wrong! I swear : it is not possible to louse bw films! You may destroy "PARTS" of fine characteristis a.s.o. So you have poor negatives!
I compared my negatives with commercial developed bw film of the 60s!
From there I first was informed what poor negatives are !

OK if a newbee first fix a film and after this develope ...... but folks that is NOT possible!
The one and only time I felt bad while developing was a two step developer!
It was brownisch exausted soup! But I felt like "Tarzan in the jungle" I made the job with this soup
(Age estimated 3/4 year) - but it was much more (1 1/2 years) so I extended developing time from 6 - 7 min. up to 20min. THEN I noticed the real age and extended to 27,min. And THEN I noticed I mixed step 1 with step 2 (I began with step 2).... That was it ??????
No that was it not I proced after 30min. with step 1 and give up "Tarzan was depressive"

....so was there ANYTHING to be seen on the film? YES - not my best developed film but not AS worste AS I remember from commercial developing 40years ago!
Friends it is I M P O S I B L E to fail with bw - that is my point!

with regards

mgb74 · Mar 30, 2019

MattKing said:
A packet of D-76 powder costs less than $7.00 and makes a gallon of stock. Use it diluted, and it will develop lots of film and, if you end up wasting some, it doesn't cost much. The trick is to always have an unopened package in reserve.

I'll 2nd this. I've found that D-76, when put into 1 qt glass bottles, filled to the brim, and with a good seal, will last a good 9 months. If it's not perfectly clear when you go to use it, don't even bother. A plus is that I believe every film out there will - by design - give good results with D-76. In other words, film manufacturers make sure their emulsions work at least well with D-76.

Another developer known for long life (even when mixed) is Diafine. It's a 2 bath developer, so a bit more finicky to use.

John51 · Mar 31, 2019

runswithsizzers said:
there is poor suffering student in the medium format photography class I am taking who reports 12 out of the first 14 rolls of 120 film she tried to develop failed to produce usable negatives because she has a physical condition that makes it difficult for her to properly wind the film on the spools. (Now that we know, all the other students have volunteered to load her film for her.)

Would she be able to manage a Rondinax 60?

runswithsizzers · Mar 31, 2019

John51 said:
Would she be able to manage a Rondinax 60?

Well, I don't know about that. I will forward the Rondinax 60 link to the class instructor to see if the school might be interested in getting one.

Presently the university has offered to provide an assistant to the student just for the purpose of loading her film on the reels. That has got to be more expensive than the Rondinax 60, right? The crazy thing is, the assistant is clerical staff and not a photographer. While it's true the assistant can, no doubt, easily be trained to spool film on a reel - it's also true there are 10 other students in class who already know how, are already on site, and will gladly do it for free. Bureaucracies!

mgb74 · Mar 31, 2019

runswithsizzers said:
Well, I don't know about that. I will forward the Rondinax 60 link to the class instructor to see if the school might be interested in getting one.

Presently the university has offered to provide an assistant to the student just for the purpose of loading her film on the reels. That has got to be more expensive than the Rondinax 60, right? The crazy thing is, the assistant is clerical staff and not a photographer. While it's true the assistant can, no doubt, easily be trained to spool film on a reel - it's also true there are 10 other students in class who already know how, are already on site, and will gladly do it for free. Bureaucracies!

A great option for those with hand mobility issues is the discontinued Kodacraft tank with film aprons. Freestyle used to sell a version of this, but now also discontinued. The aprons themselves should be usable in a standard stainless steel tank. Not easily found anymore but do show up on occasion.

Paul Verizzo · Mar 31, 2019

bimmey said:
It only happens to me with images I can't go out and re shoot. Last flub was from not letting the reels fully dry. The film bound up and sections were touching each other. Of course on the best images.

Without fail!

The printer dies when you most need it, needing that boarding pass when you are running late.

The car battery is dead on the morning you have a job interview you desperately need.

As Kurt Vonnegut used to say, "And so it goes.........."

Ariston · Mar 31, 2019

I developed two reels in one tank and they were BLANK. I've never had that happen, but the only common elements were the film stock (HP5) and the chemicals. The rolls were shot in different cameras at different times. But I can't imagine them being completely blank, even if I under- or over-exposed every single frame.

I ordered some HC110. I had been wanting to try it, anyway.

My first failure...

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