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Sous-Vide

Ariston

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Well, I bought some Velvia from Matt, and I am itching to use it. I cannot afford to send it off for processing, so I guess it's time to learn to develop E-6 film.

My main concern is the temperature of the water. I've played it pretty loose with C-41 in the past and had no issues. But slide film is expensive, so I bought a sous vide cooker off the rain forest site (for $38) to maintain a small tub of water at the right temperature.

Has anyone else used one of these for that purpose? I've seen videos of people basically managing the temperature by pouring in hot water as needed, constantly checking the thermometer. I hope the sous-vide works, because the hot water method seems stressful.
 
I have talked to several people successfully using the Sous-Vide to process C-41 film. I never got into the details.
 
It's really very easy, just exercise reasonable care. I've developed hundreds of rolls and never had a problem.
 
Thanks for the link. I had seen people using these on websites - I didn't mean to give the impression that I came up with the idea. I was just wondering if any of my fellow photrio/apug-ers had tried it out. I bought one and put it in a tub of water and it seems to work. I checked it against a thermometer and it was spot on... and that is with the cheapest one I could find.
 
The resolution of temperature to be set varies between models, but that resolution not necesarily coincides with the temperature actually achieved.
 
  • AgX
  • Deleted
Only downside I've read of them is that some don't do low enough temps for film processing.
 
Yes, a sous-vide cooker may not be accurately calibrated....so invest in a good thermometer if you don't already have one...and check the temperatures against the dial on the machine....maybe make notes on the temperature indicated on the machine compared to the temperature indicated on the thermometer. I haven't tried this myself but I hear of lots of people having success. I used to do E6 processing in my kitchen sink sink with a laboratory thermometer and adding more hot water as needed.
 
If the temperature isn't accurate you can check it with a good thermometer and simply set it higher or lower to get the correct temperature. So maintaining a constant water bath temperature is easy. It's difficult to maintain the correct chemical temperature.
 
John51 said:
Only downside I've read of them is that some don't do low enough temps for film processing.
Click to expand...
Colour, or black and white?
My readings indicate that the ~100F for many colour processes is well within their capabilities.
 
I've done C-41 and E6 using the Anova sous vide device. It works great.

I put everything in a small tub of water along with the Anova. I let it get to temp and monitor the temp in one of the chemical bottles. When the target temp is reach, I start. I use a Paterson developing tank and the Jobo 1L wide-mouth bottles for the chemicals. If you've done B&W and C41, you can do E6.
 
Big thumbs up type +1 from me! It makes temperature control so much easier!

Like others have already said, get a decent thermometer or two, so you can check the bath and chems temperatures. Also, I use mine in a big stainless steel cooking pot which I like to think helps it keep a more constant temperature once it's all heated.

As for the resolution of the temperature, I think I can get smaller variations if I use Farenheight on the machine, and Celsius on the thermometers.​
 
I use a monoprice sous vide and had only good results. I typically use 102F for C-41 and always get consistent results. I don't do E-6, but rather "C-41 reversal" and achieve consistent results there as well, as long as I'm not doing something different as part of an experiment with it. For E-6 the first developer is the most critical step. All other steps are mostly to-completion. Make sure to let your chemicals and tank warm up for an hour or more before you start processing.

I've also used a sous vide setup for very hot (115F) lith printing. Requires a large amount of solution, like 4L of developer even with displacement, but the results come up super quick and colorful.
 
I use one, it really does a great job. I set mine to 103 or 104 to account for falloff. It takes about 20 min for my chems to heat up to the right number.
 
We have an Anova sous vide. While I haven't used it for film processing, I have used it for its intended purpose, cooking! Steaks heated to about 125 are excellent, as are thick pork chops heated to 130. Worried about high temps? We do perfect hard-boiled eggs at 194F, far hotter than any photo process I've ever heard of . Waay back in the day I did E-2 or whichever process used a photoflood to reverse the image. It had a relatively low temp IIRC, perhaps 75F, which was easily maintained with a water bath. Somewhat later I did 100 feet of Ektachrome shot on a trip to London and Paris, no problems, the slides have "weathered" well after 40 plus years. Chems from the Great Yellow Father, of course.
I really need to gather my courage and try C- 41 and E-6 with my Anova. Should be a breeze!
 
Cholentpot said:
I use one, it really does a great job. I set mine to 103 or 104 to account for falloff. It takes about 20 min for my chems to heat up to the right number.
Click to expand...
Depending on the water bath container you're using, check Amazon for a "jacket' for a Rubbermaid 12 liter container. I just bought one for under $20 which should make a real difference in heat loss and thus shorten the heating time.
 
GRHazelton said:
While I haven't used it for film processing, I have used it for its intended purpose, cooking! Steaks heated to about 125 are excellent, as are thick pork chops heated to 130. Worried about high temps?
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Woah there... You do what?! You do realise that this is an analogue only thread, no Food-ital hybrid funny business here!

I don't eat meat, but my wife does. (Totally unintended 'Fnar fnar!' right there)

According to her, I cook fillet steaks better than she does, I'll have to give my Sous Vide a go for it's proper purpose... So, 125°F, right? Do you sear it as well? And if I was to throw a couple of rolls of C41 in a tank of Digibase and shorten the time, would there be a colour shift?
 
GRHazelton said:
Depending on the water bath container you're using, check Amazon for a "jacket' for a Rubbermaid 12 liter container. I just bought one for under $20 which should make a real difference in heat loss and thus shorten the heating time.
Click to expand...

I used to use a foam cooler. It fell apart.

I'm going to put a basket in my bucket at some point though, the floating jobo tends to wander around. I'd rather have it in once place.
 

I'd suggest that you hit the internet for cooking times. 125F is pretty rare, and yes a sear is advisable to give the proper crust to the finished product. We toss it on the really hot Weber for perhaps 90 seconds per side. You want the grill marks! A really hot cast iron skillet would also work, although the edges of the steak probably wouldn't sear as they do on the Weber. Without the sear appearance is ... not terribly appealing. One of the advantages of sous vide cookery for steaks is that the lovely meat can be held for quite a while before searing, giving time for the salad, or another adult beverage. Being carnivores we've not tried veggies a la sous vide, although the Cooks Illustrated book mentioned below touts the wonders of them. Note that the cook times are quite long.
Our technique is to put the meat into a zip-lock bag with a probe from a remote thermometer inserted into the center of the meat. Obviously this won't work with eggs! We set the alarm on the remote thermometer to the needed temp and let things rip! You can also put rubs or marinades on the meat before putting in the zip lock. Do be sure that the bag doesn't admit water. Cooks Illustrated has at least one book on sous vide cookery; they test their recipes carefully. So far no Casseroles a la C-41, though.
Perhaps we need a long thread on sous vide?? Getting hungry! We're getting a MASSIVE steak for the Fourth, along with bakers, salads, perhaps a mint julep or two. Life is good just south of Atlanta!
 
I use a sous vide purchased off Amazon and an old Home Depot bucket, it works fantastic. The temp on mine is dead on (checked with a Jobo color thermometer, which matches my Kodak Process). It makes color so easy, I just fill it up in the sink, turn it on and relax for 20 mins and then it's up to temp.
 
  • anthony234
  • Deleted
  • Reason: cooking advice, not developing advice
  • anthony234
  • Deleted
  • Reason: cooking advice, not developing advice
A sous vide is only needed if need the water bath to be at temperature for an extended amount of time. Otherwise, it's far easier to follow these steps (using C-41 as an example):

  • Have a bath of water at 110F simply by adding enough hot tap water. The 110F number depends on your ambient and the tub size, but this number is easy to discover experimentally (using water instead of chemicals)
  • Put your chemistry bottles into the tub, put a thermometer into the developer, and leave them sit.
  • After a while, check the temp.
  • Once the temp is at 100F, start developing. Not much is going to change during the next 3 minutes 15 seconds.
A sous vide only allows you to keep the steady state, which is only needed when you're doing several runs.

P.S. I actually start developing at 101F to allow for 1F heat loss during pouring.
 
Steven Lee said:
A sous vide only allows you to keep the steady state, which is only needed when you're doing several runs.
Click to expand...

A sous vide also allows you to avoid wasting a lot of water (and the energy to heat it) by running just enough to immerse your chemical bottles and tank and heating that. You don't fill your pipes with heated water and waste the energy that heated that, you don't have to run any more than the minimum amount of water, you don't have to waste water and energy adjusting the temperature in the bath. Plus, the sous vide keeps the water circulated so you can be sure the entire bath is very close to the same temperature.
 
@Donald Qualls An engineering/efficiency geek in me instantly activated upon seeing your message! Some rough calculations: heating 5L of water by 18C takes about 90kcal or just about 0.1Kw/h. This is about $0.017, taking the average energy cost in the USA. That's what you're optimizing: for the most efficient way to spend less than 2 cents.

I would argue that your central heater is more efficient than sous vide because it may be using a cheaper energy source (gas in many states) and it is insulated. Meanwhile, a sous vide will be fighting the temperature loss due to ambient and driving the pump. I also don't see how any water is wasted? It's trivial to fill up the tub with water of desired temperature, and it will be well-mixed too. Just open the hot faucet and start filling up the tub. Eventually it will get hotter, then you open the cold faucet, and you're done. Not a single drop of wasted water. After a while you won't even need the thermometer, because 110-115F feels just slightly warm and you don't have to be precise.
 
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