My mobile darkroom/or better called "dark photographic box" - DIY

Hello,
When I started with collodium (in 2018) I began to build my own DIY mobile darkroom.
Made of a 33 liters black plastic storage box, some wooden plates, a pice of red plast and a color light (12V LED).Interior dimensions are aprox. 25x35x30cm.Weight 5 kilos.
It works with collodium max. 4x5 inch.With traditional b&w-work up to 5x7inch (2 baths only).
I use it also to load the filmholderes with film and photographic papers, to load the 35 filmcanisters with bulk film.

Sounds nice; looking forward to the pictures. Also interested in how you solved the challenge of getting your hands into the box without allowing light in.

Edit: thanks for adding the images - very creative! You illustrate aptly that it doesn't take a complicated, high-tech approach to just get the job done in a basic manner.

Nice!

Looks great!

Quite cool, thank you for sharing it.

Now you've got me wondering how compact one could make an enlarger...

loccdor said:

Quite cool, thank you for sharing it.

Now you've got me wondering how compact one could make an enlarger...

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Thanks for your feedback! Your question about the dimensions of an enlarger points out that my term "darkroom" isn't quite accurate. It should perhaps be called a "dark photographic box," unless that term is already taken.

loccdor said:

Quite cool, thank you for sharing it.

Now you've got me wondering how compact one could make an enlarger...

Click to expand...

There's the WWII-era US Army PH-261 "darkroom in a box" (someone on Reddit got their hands on one - labeled NSFW because the last picture in the slideshow is an image of a nude pinup that was apparently found in the box). Looks like it can enlarge 35mm negatives, but I don't know how large of a print you can make with it.

I also have a small obsession with small, portable darkroom setups. For direct positive paper in the Crown Graphic, I can fit everything in a hiking daypack and a bucket. My "portable" enlarger setup (with an Omega B22) I tried to limit to a maximum print size of 5x7, and then you're looking at filling most of the car trunk.

backseatpilot said:

There's the WWII-era US Army PH-261 "darkroom in a box" (someone on Reddit got their hands on one - labeled NSFW because the last picture in the slideshow is an image of a nude pinup that was apparently found in the box). Looks like it can enlarge 35mm negatives, but I don't know how large of a print you can make with it.

I also have a small obsession with small, portable darkroom setups. For direct positive paper in the Crown Graphic, I can fit everything in a hiking daypack and a bucket. My "portable" enlarger setup (with an Omega B22) I tried to limit to a maximum print size of 5x7, and then you're looking at filling most of the car trunk.

Click to expand...

I suppose if you fixed a wider angle lens with a flat plane of focus, you could do a lot bigger in a small space than typical enlarging lenses.

Well done.

Theodor Bader said:

Hello,
When I started with collodium (in 2018) I began to build my own DIY mobile darkroom.
Made of a 33 liters black plastic storage box, some wooden plates, a pice of red plast and a color light (12V LED).Interior dimensions are aprox. 25x35x30cm.Weight 5 kilos.
It works with collodium max. 4x5 inch.With traditional b&w-work up to 5x7inch (2 baths only).
I use it also to load the filmholderes with film and photographic papers, to load the 35 filmcanisters with bulk film.

Click to expand...

Interesting. What did you make those two long sleeves from? This makes me think of a triangular large format box camera design Ive thought of where two boxes of sheet film could be stored and a third position for the film being exposed. One for unexposed, and one for exposed. With hands in sleeves we can move a sheet from the exposure position to stored, then move a sheet from unexposed to exposure position. The sleeve holdes would be on equilateral triangle sides, the storage and exposure on the rectangular side. This would be a five sided box.

Alan Townsend said:

Interesting. What did you make those two long sleeves from? This makes me think of a triangular large format box camera design Ive thought of where two boxes of sheet film could be stored and a third position for the film being exposed. One for unexposed, and one for exposed. With hands in sleeves we can move a sheet from the exposure position to stored, then move a sheet from unexposed to exposure position. The sleeve holdes would be on equilateral triangle sides, the storage and exposure on the rectangular side. This would be a five sided box.

Click to expand...

Thank you for your request !

The two long sleeves are made of light-blocking fabric with an elastic band at the outer end to prevent any light from getting in. The sleeves are attached to the inside with black Velcro fasteners.

As you've already gathered, the idea comes from the so-called Afghan box camera, which only has one sleeve.
The second sleeve was necessary because it was virtually impossible to load film into the film holders with just one hand.

This was especially true in complete darkness. Here it is a form of a copy of a changing bag....

Experience has shown that sometimes—for example, when loading or changing film/sheet film—it would be better to have the sleeves lower, near the bottom. On the other hand, this would also require a significantly larger base for the darkroom box.

Your idea with the pentagon is very interesting. You could then modify the plastic box, i.e. , I mean the bottom part.

If you actually build it, please post it here in the forum !

PS:
... I'm currently planning a "mini darkroom – just the photo paper development compartment". It must fit in my 60x70cm changing bag. Crazy? Maybe, but it's essential when traveling with my current pinhole camera setup (matchbox-sized to tincan-sized) using photo paper (40x50mm to 10x12cm).

Theodor Bader said:

Thank you for your request !

The two long sleeves are made of light-blocking fabric with an elastic band at the outer end to prevent any light from getting in. The sleeves are attached to the inside with black Velcro fasteners.

Click to expand...

Are these just rolled up and without stitching? So the fabric is loose at the ends going into the box, so that it is flared outward after going through the hole with velcros on the outiside of sleeve and inside of box? I was thinking about cutting off a sleeve from a dark coat or jacket.

Theodor Bader said:

As you've already gathered, the idea comes from the so-called Afghan box camera, which only has one sleeve.
The second sleeve was necessary because it was virtually impossible to load film into the film holders with just one hand.

Click to expand...

Yes, it reminds me of those. I think I would only need one sleeve for my camera.

Theodor Bader said:

This was especially true in complete darkness. Here it is a form of a copy of a changing bag....

Experience has shown that sometimes—for example, when loading or changing film/sheet film—it would be better to have the sleeves lower, near the bottom. On the other hand, this would also require a significantly larger base for the darkroom box.

Click to expand...

What I'm thinking of doing is building an 8x10 camera for using Xray film, which is very cheap, that does not require film holders, but rather uses the box and sleeve for moving film around inside the camera. No need for any solutions or chemicals inside, since that's done at home in my darkroom. This box camera would be a "hyperfocal type" camera with fixed focus and using lens with a very small aperture to capture great depth of field. 8x10 film holders cost about $100 each used, and weight over a pound, so are very heavy if you carry several.

Theodor Bader said:

Your idea with the pentagon is very interesting. You could then modify the plastic box, i.e. , I mean the bottom part.

Click to expand...

I would be building a custom box using 3mm mdf sheeting on a wooden framework using 18mm square wood pieces.

Theodor Bader said:

If you actually build it, please post it here in the forum !

Click to expand...

Thanks for the information. Just planning work for next spring now. I would post on camera forum most likely.

Theodor Bader said:

PS:
... I'm currently planning a "mini darkroom – just the photo paper development compartment". It must fit in my 60x70cm changing bag. Crazy? Maybe, but it's essential when traveling with my current pinhole camera setup (matchbox-sized to tincan-sized) using photo paper (40x50mm to 10x12cm).

Click to expand...