New to 4x5: developing questions

[brian steinberger]

I can't believe no one mentioned the cradle! Or some call it the slosher. 6 4x5 sheets at a time in an 11x14 tray. Only drawback is 2L of chemisty. But that doesn't matter to me when using Pyrocat HD since it's very dilute. Most even development I've ever gotten, besides a Jobo, but I get more pronounced edge effects with the cradle, especially with semi-stand. Check it out:

http://www.summitek.com/cradle.html

 

[timeUnit]

I use the combiplan. Works OK. Agitate on the LONG end. You can easily dislogdge the sheets if you tip the tank on the short end. Sometimes the film holding clip on the top of the holder scratches the neg on the non-emulsion side. I will try to smooth them out some day.

My biggest issue with 4x5 is dust in the film holder. I have vacuumed them etc, but can't seem to get 100% dust free negs 100% of the time.

 

[nworth]

For your rather simple setup, either a tank or a tube would probably be best. You can load these in a changing bag and use them just about anywhere. The old Yankee sheet film tank is still available. It will process 12 sheets at a time, but it's main disadvantage is that it requires 56 oz of chemicals for 4X5. Perhaps a better choice is one of the old stainless steel sheet film tanks (Nikkor, etc.). These look like giant editions of the usual round stainless steel tanks for roll film. They also take 12 sheets, but only use a liter of chemicals. They are a little bit harder to load. Perhaps the best choice would be a tube. The Bessler Unidrum is frequently seen on ebay and the used market, and it is very good for film processing. An 8X10 Unidrum with its 4X5 divider will let you process two sheets at a time (four, if you're lucky enough to get a separator clip) with about 200 ml of chemistry as a one-shot. I would stay away from the Jobo tanks unless you have a Jobo machine. They are specially designed for the machine and do not support inversion agitation. You might find a way to use them successfully, but why take the risk? The agitation method and effectiveness is different for the various tanks and tubes, so you may have to experiment a bit to find the right development time and technique for your particular setup.

 

[walter23]

I have recently managed to get hold of an Ebony RSW45 and Schneider 110mm XL second hand. I intended to use it mostly for roll film (and buy a shorter lens to go with the Schneider) since I was very put off the hassle developing 4X5. Since I’ve had it I’ve been thinking about giving 4x5 a go, just how bad is developing it?

I have no darkroom but have a very small bathroom with no windows. Quantity of developer, scratch risk and horror stories of uneven development has ruled out trays, tanks just don’t seem to work for 4x5, which leaves BTZS tubes.

How easy are they to load? I’m a bit of a klutz when it comes to loading even 35mm and 120 so I’m scared! How many sheets am I likely to screw up before I get this right?

Film will be acros in quickload and dev will be exactol lux (pretty resistant to uneven development). How do I hang the sheets up to dry?

I started with processing sheet film and eventually moved to 120 and I found sheet film much easier to deal with. Loading 120 film onto reels is a much bigger hassle than getting a sheet of 4x5 into a tube. You don't have to worry about bending the film, or crinkling the edges by spooling it wrong, or drying your reel between developments, etc.

I'm sure the BTZS tubes work great, but they seem to require a bit more manual intervention than the method I use - the unicolor drum method:

Read here:
http://www.largeformatphotography.info/unicolor/

I've been using this for several months (found a unicolor 8x10 print drum and the roller machine on ebay) and it's simply fantastic. It takes about a minute to get two sheets into the tube, gives very even development, and is very thrifty with respect the chemical volumes (150 ml each of developer & fixer will easily cover the film, and I usually reuse it three times for a total of 6 sheets - could probably get away with more but I haven't tested it to check the limits).

In theory you can put 4 sheets in the 8x10 print drum at once, but I haven't started doing this regularly yet because both efforts have resulted in overlapping sheets during processing - the rubber divider that came with the roller easily slides over the film sheets during processing, and then the sheets slide around and overlap. It's necessary to find a suitable divider / clip and I haven't been able to do this yet (I haven't tried too hard either).

You do have to use the print drum, because it's got ridges to hold the 4x5 sheets in place (it's designed to process multiple 5" wide prints with it's internal grooved holders, or single 8x10s). It keeps the sheet sort of suspended just above the outer wall of the tube so chemistry can circulate. Because the film isn't in contact with most of the tube you can also load it wet - I usually finish fixing, throw my sheets into a washing tray and rinse the drum, then go back to the walk-in closet to reload the drum before it dries. No problem if you keep one "loading hand" dry by wiping it on a shirt.

The only downside to this method is that if you're processing a large amount of film it becomes an all night chore, especially if you've got longer development times. I'm doing 100 speed films for ~11 minutes development + 3 mins fix and if I've got 18 sheets (my film holder max) I'm usually at it from 6pm until midnight. One of those manual agitation tanks might be better for large batches.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I use a Unicolor Uniroller setup. Mine leaks _a lot now_ but i've been using it for four years. Just have to find another drum, not too hard or expensive either.
Lets me do 2 to 4 sheets at a time. I'd like to find a jobo drum that will work on the uniroller. Works good for me as I don't process a lot.

In regards to 120, I used to use plastic reels and could never load them.
Try stainless steel, Hewes or Kindermann. It really makes a major difference.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

The uniroller is daylight-safe. I've done all my processing in a kitchen too.. Just load the film in a darkened closet.