OK I'm terrified of C-41

[Chadinko]

I finally purchased a C-41 developing kit from Freestyle and I guess I read too much, because now I'm afraid to use it... at least on anything I want to keep. I don't have a Jobo or anything, just tank processing.

Scaaaary. Those of you who do C-41, is it really, really that finicky?

 

[Vonder]

The most critical part, temperature-wise, is development. Blix is more forgiving and can be redone if not sufficient. But even so, you need to keep the temp stable for 3 minutes and 15 seconds. Pretty easy to do.

I've been doing almost all my own C-41 for years now. If you really get into it, get a water bath and your cares are reduced.

 

[Terry Breedlove]

Ted has couple of videos about developing C41 and it looks super easy. In fact he says to is easier than developing black and white film. Here is his video

 

[canvassy]

I was nervous at first too, but I've been doing my own c41 at home for a few years now. It's not any harder than doing B&W at all, and I haven't screwed up a roll yet.

 

[darkroommike]

Keep in mind, too, that the OCD requirements for temperature control, even with the home kits, assume that you are doing a lot of film AND a lot of RA-4 printing and that absolute precision of color balance from roll to roll is a requirement. If you, like me, print only the occasional enlargement or even employ a hybrid workflow where you can tweak the color balance on individual shots the processing temperature requirement can be relaxed--a little bit. Remember, too, your first attempts at black and white processing, if you're like me everything did NOT come to a perfect completion your first few times, just relax and have some fun.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I was nervous at first too, but I've been doing my own c41 at home for a few years now. It's not any harder than doing B&W at all, and I haven't screwed up a roll yet.

I had the same experience.

 

[Chadinko]

... if you're like me everything did NOT come to a perfect completion your first few times...

The first few times doing black and white... well, let's not go there. Suffice to say that I got used to metal spools in a big hurry and now I won't use anything else. Like my father says: "If you learn to fly hand-propping a tailwheel airplane, you can fly anything."

I'm not planning to ever do any color printing at home; a) I don't have a color enlarger, and b) I loathe loathe loathe printing color. I want to develop it and scan it (HERESY!! I know, but nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!) and the local labs that develop C-41 here are all the way across town.

I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet, RTFM (read the manual) and run a few rolls of 35mm through it before I process the 120 Ektar that I really want to do. I think I can keep a decent temperature in my bathtub by running the hot water.

Sigh.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I'll post results when I do.

 

[Richard Man]

If you use the "evil" hybrid process, then there's nothing to worry about. Keep the temperature within a degree and you will be all set. Remember, you only need to keep that for 3:15, so unless the ambient temperature is far off, a water tub should work just fine. BLIX's temperature can be +- 5 degrees. Easy as pie ;-)

 

[klownshed]

Before i got a Jobo I had much better results at 30°C than at 38°C. There are times in the Tetenal kit instructions for both temperatures but 30 is so much easier to maintain manually, even for a longer time.

Due to the longer times I found it much more forgiving and my developing was more consistent. I just used a plastic washing up bowl as a water bath and topped up with hot water to keep the temperature constant. Ish.

The Jobo makes it much easier to develop consistently at 38°C, but my results at 30 with manual inversions were pretty close.

 

[RPC]

At low temperatures C-41 exhibits crossover and other problems which degrades colors and produces results that are out of spec. This has been shown here on APUG before. Those wishing to develop at low temperatures are strongly urged to run tests to determine acceptability before developing anything important.

 

[frank]

"I'm terrified of C-41."

Remember how you felt before developing your first B+W film?

 

[Neal]

I'm with Frank on this one. Do it a few times and the fear will go away.

Neal Wydra

 

[FujiLove]

If it makes you feel any better, I used to process my own chromes in the kitchen sink when I was 14. I had no instructions other than the slip of paper that came with the all-in-one processing kit. As this was many years before the Internet, there was nothing to read and get stressed about. I got on with it, probably messed up the temperature a bit and those old slides are still as good today as they were 30 years ago.

Don't worry. Have fun and enjoy it.

 

[bvy]

Most of the literature here and elsewhere involves people hooking up fish tanks to temperature regulators and doing all sorts of MacGyvering, the extent of which makes the layperson think it's hopelessly complicated. It doesn't take much more than a Playmate cooler half filled with hot water to maintain solution temperatures in a small tank for three minutes. You'll have to experiment of course, but the developer temperature is the only thing that's critical, and your skies aren't going to turn orange if the temperature drops a few degrees.

 

[Greg Heath]

I finally purchased a C-41 developing kit from Freestyle and I guess I read too much, because now I'm afraid to use it... at least on anything I want to keep. I don't have a Jobo or anything, just tank processing.

Scaaaary. Those of you who do C-41, is it really, really that finicky?

I have only done it a couple of times. It turned out ok. I don't have a Jobo processor either. That's why I bought a "Sansaire Sous Vide Water Food Cooker. It keeps the water in my chem tank within a quarter of a degree. Here is the youtube video. Yes. It's made for cooking and this will give you an idea of what it is and what it does. So I would get a big tupperware box or even what is shown in the video with the clear commercial water rectangle thingy, because it is built better and there is more room to put chem bottles. Accurate to within 1/10 of a degree.........

Product: Immersion Circulator Model No: SA3.07us Power: 100/130VAC~50/60Hz Max Current: 10 Amps Coil Wattage: 1100 Watts Temp Range: 0-100˚C (32-212˚F) Min-Max Water: 3 - 6.5 inches Dimensions: 4 x 5 x 14.5 in

They make a European powered one too. Sure you can build your own and a lot of people do, but I don't have time for the hassle. $176. Amazon is pretty fast shipping. I got mine at Sur la Table for $200 because they were local. It's great for heating water to keep chems at a very regulated temp and you can cook steaks in it too. See trick the spouse into a gift for her....and then you can borrow it from time to time for your photo exploits. That's thinking.

Sure, you can do it also in a sink, and I have done that too, but I usually look like a swam the backstroke in a shirt fumbling around trying to keep the water at one temp.

Just practice before you do it. Have a system in mind. The right size containers like 250ml or 400ml cups to pour in and pour out the developer/chems. The more organized you are the better and more relaxed you will be during the process. It's different, it just takes some planning. It all works out when you rinse and pull it off the reel

Greg

 

[Greg Heath]

The first few times doing black and white... well, let's not go there. Suffice to say that I got used to metal spools in a big hurry and now I won't use anything else. Like my father says: "If you learn to fly hand-propping a tailwheel airplane, you can fly anything."

I'm not planning to ever do any color printing at home; a) I don't have a color enlarger, and b) I loathe loathe loathe printing color. I want to develop it and scan it (HERESY!! I know, but nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!) and the local labs that develop C-41 here are all the way across town.

I suppose I'll have to bite the bullet, RTFM (read the manual) and run a few rolls of 35mm through it before I process the 120 Ektar that I really want to do. I think I can keep a decent temperature in my bathtub by running the hot water.

Sigh.

Thanks for the encouragement, folks. I'll post results when I do.

Your Dad was right with that advice....

 

[Greg Heath]

Ted has couple of videos about developing C41 and it looks super easy. In fact he says to is easier than developing black and white film. Here is his video

LIKE.

 

[Jeff L]

I was very curious about what would happen the first time I developed C41 (JOBO press kit from B&H) I shot a test roll so nothing good would be ruined during my first attempt. I was pleasantly surprised how well everything turned out. Time and temp very important. I added a stop bath immediately after developing (thanks PE) and my results and consistency improved a lot.
Not nearly as hard as you think.
Good luck!

 

[Theo Sulphate]

Ted has couple of videos about developing C41 and it looks super easy. ...

That does look easy - thanks!

 

[mshchem]

If you use the "evil" hybrid process, then there's nothing to worry about. Keep the temperature within a degree and you will be all set. Remember, you only need to keep that for 3:15, so unless the ambient temperature is far off, a water tub should work just fine. BLIX's temperature can be +- 5 degrees. Easy as pie ;-)

Yeah, what Richard says. Easy. If you are off a degree you will either gain or lose speed. Kodak Ektar will produce decent prints 2 stops under exposed and probably 4 stops over. Your scanner calibration is what you should fear. Use the Force.
Best Regards Mike

 

[klownshed]

But bear in mind that this forum, like all others on the inter webs, exhibits Newton's Third law of the Internet.


For every opinion, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

;-)

 

[John51]

I had a quick look for sous vide and came across this:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/...er-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html

Using a beer cooler with hot water. What got my attention was this quote:

previous testing had shown me that it loses about 1 degree per hour when it's in the 140°F to 150°F range.

So should be about the same at the temps we need for C41/E6 eh?

 

[destroya]

its not very hard to do, once you get over the fear of doing it. get some cheap drugstore film shoot it and use that as a sample roll, not something important. as mentioned above, temp is key. I bought a very large turkey slow cooker for $25 at walmart day after thanksgiving that i use for a water bath. set it in the warm area and it works perfectly for me. I have done hundreds of rolls of c41 and e-6 this way and have never had any issues

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I would recommend a metal tank rather than plastic for better heat transfer.

Because of the short development time and long fill time, fill the tank first and then drop the loaded reel into it.

Water and electricity do not mix. Avoid heaters and circulation pumps.

Use a good grade thermometer that you know is accurate. If necessary calibrate it first. A mixture of water and ice will have a temperature of 0C (32F). At sea level water boils at 100C (212F). If needed you can find correction tables on the net for your altitude. Cheap digital thermometers are often not usually very accurate. If necessary buy a lab grade thermometer at least for calibration purposes.

Convenient chart here. Notice that the chart of Fahrenheit also uses elevation in feet but the chart of centigrade uses meters!

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/boiling-points-water-altitude-d_1344.html

 

[dpurdy]

I processed C41 for awhile by hand in a commercial lab. I didn't use any gloves or any other protection, just dipped my hands and forearms into the tanks to lift out baskets of film reels for agitation. Didn't take very long to become very allergic to the developer and get scarlet colored rash everywhere my arms and hands had touched it. Pretty stupid but it was how I was shown to do it by my boss. So my advice is just to keep it off your skin... though I am sure not everyone would develop the reaction.