Took the plunge and entered home developing - please help the newbie!

[alexmacphee]

One last thing: since I'm only developing 1 roll in a 2-roll tank, should I only fill the tank half way?

You should be fine doing that with conventional developers. Paterson 120 reel tanks can take two 35mm reels, and they have the volumes for one reel embossed on the underside of the tank, and are (or were) supplied with a plastic clip that is used to keep a single reel in place on the central spindle, though as you'll read, others just pop the second reel on top to keep it in place. There are some developers that require a minimum volume of the concentrate to be present in whatever dilution, such as Rodinal, so you'd need to take that in to account when making up your, say, 1:50 or 1:100 dilution.

 

[Alex1994]

OK I did it!

Here are a few scans of my first ever home-developed negs. Ilford FP4+ souped in stock D-76 for 8 minutes.

Comments and critique very welcome!

 

[Anon Ymous]

Alex, there's something unusual about the photographs. If you look carefully, there's a light band in all of them. It starts roughly from the middle of the photograph and continues downwards for about a quarter of the length. Other than that, things look ok.

 

[alexmacphee]

There's something infectious about your enthusiasm, perhaps because those of us who're older hands at it still remember the buzz you get when you process your own film. Have a look now at your Electro 35, and check the seals, as your frames show some evidence of light leakage. Check the film and see if there are dark bands that cross through the sprocket holes of the film. If there are, that's a telltale sign that the light seals are leaky and need to be renewed. Fortunately, it's an easy and inexpensive job you can do yourself. If that's your problem, you'll get a truckload of advice here immediately.

 

[Alex1994]

Thanks for calling in. Upon further inspection the negatives did indeed reveal some light leaks, which is odd because I had my Electro fully refurbished before exposing this roll. There is a small gap in the leatherette on the front of the camera, but I have no idea how light could go through the body and reach the film. I will put the camera in its case next time, which will certainly help. Besides my next roll is sitting in my OM-1 which I know from experience to be completely light-tight.

I'm still very pleased with the negs, they all came out correctly exposed and with an ideal amount of contrast. Certainly I know that my next roll will be much better since I now know the correct procedure and technique.