I started with a Paterson tank and it's easy to load but it always seems to leak fixer...
I got hold of a Kinderman stainless tank and the other day I got a bunch of reels so I am going to play with them shortly.
I've already got the hang of loading 35mm onto them using a scrap film practicing in daylight before going into the dark, something I reccommend even with a Paterson if you haven't loaded before.
I've also gone down the route of sticking with one dev and a couple of films and learning them before branching out.
I went with ID11 as that was all my local camera shop had and I've got a bulk loader which I had Plus X in and now I have Delta 400 in and I've dabbled with a couple of other films (loving Acros 100!) but seriously resist the temptation to try heaps of films and chems at the start. I'm at the point now where I am starting to experiment with different chems and films to see where it takes me.
I got a good mercury thermometer. It's a pain to read but oh so accurate.
Also got some spirit thermometers which are less accurate but easier to read.
I've used a digital, damn it's easy just reading a screen! But have a real one as a backup for if the digi dies...
Timer...I have a clockwork timer that is rather erratic so I use the timer on my iPhone.
A friend of mine has a digital countdown shower timer which works a treat.
I have also set up multiple timers for each step on my laptop and just hit go for the appropriate one at the start of each step but honestly it wasn't worth the mucking around...
I usually dev mine at a higher dilution (ID11 at 1+3) as a one shot which has a longer dev time so minor inaccuracy in timing has less effect anyway and one shot means easier consistency and no calculating extra times or replenishments.
Works for me.
The Ilford wash regimen of fill invert dump etc works but do it a bit more than they say.
Acros in particular seems to need a lot more wash...
Drying...I have a set of film clips, upper ones to hold the film and lower ones weighted to keep a bit of tension on to reduce curling.
I hang them from a coat hanger over the shower rail but I've just got a plywood drying cabinet with racks and ventilation slots but keeps most dust and insects away and most important the bloody kittens!
They just LOVE the taste of silver jelly and kitten tooth marks really mess up your negs!
There is nothing nicer than opening that tank and pulling your very first roll of begs off the reel....enjoy and welcome to the club!
