sp-445 first use review

[moviemaniac]

Yep, thanks for explaining - not saying there's anything wrong with the O-ring, just a slight surprise moment

 

[tim48v]

I've posted an update on our blog: https://shop.stearmanpress.com/blogs/news/a-short-history-of-our-film-holders

 

[mjork]

Just tried out the tank for the first time. I used it to develop color negatives (Kodak Ektar) with the Kodak Flexicolor C-41 chemicals. The end result was great (I placed one photo in the SP-445 flickr pool: https://flic.kr/p/N1UsML). I got very even development and no streaks.

But leakage was a problem for me. I find C-41 bleach the best test to detect that, it's just very obvious when it leaks out. And my first few agitations were causing pretty bad leaks. I put 450ml of fluid in the tank and found that doesn't leave much room for squeezing the tank when closing the caps. I can't squeeze much before the liquid gets pretty close to the top of the fill opening. And I assume some air should be left in the tank for agitation to work effectively? Or is that not necessary? I decided to squeeze just a bit, but apparently whatever I did wasn't very effective to get the tank to close tightly.
My first reaction to the leaking was to press harder on the middle of the lid, but that didn't help. It almost looked like the fluid leaked out of the fill/drain hole, even though the cap was screwed on tight. So then, during the following agitations, I didn't press on the lid itself but on the two caps: the palm of my hand on one cap and the finger on the second cap. That mostly stopped the leakage.

And regarding the caps: they have a transparent insert made out of a different plastic material. When I washed the caps, I found that there was water getting into that insert and getting trapped in there. This seems somewhat concerning depending on what kind of chemical gets trapped in there.

 

[moviemaniac]

Right, further update from me after more testing today.

I tried the modification with one film holder, as suggested. Well, the modification was successful, but there's a new "issue": The wet sheets tend to stick together (I tested it with HP5+). No issue with development, but the adhesion makes removing the sheets from the holder almost harder than from the unmodified carrier.

And further update on the streaking: Against what has been posted, it does NOT stem from the wetting agent, it is mechanical damage to the film. I can see the familiar streaks on the remaining sections of the film holder which were not cut out - even though I removed the sheets from the tank to perform the wetting agent treatment in an external tray.

Since I mainly use Ilford film I have not yet tested the performance/issue with other brands but for now I will have to refrain from using the tank with Ilford films going forward. Even though the streaks don't show up in scans, I like to avoid as much damage to my negatives as possible, you never know how issues might accumulate over time with increased handling once I finally get my 4x5 enlarger...

 

[tim48v]

Haven't had any problem removing sheets from modified film holders. Have you tried pulling one sheet while still submerged?

 

[Simon Howers]

I note that Stearman are moving forward with a 10x8 tank project with provision for double 5x7 holders.
This would be brilliant for me if that included Whole Plate film holders.
Space is limited for me and it would allow me to clear away a ton of stuff in the darkroom.