B&W film developing - Which shop?

[jdredd]

Hi

im afraid i just dont shoot enough B&W to try this myself... so for the moment have been relying on shops to develop.

i have been sending it to riceball and so far the results have been ok. was wondering if there was anywhere else i might try. any of you tried other shops with good results?

also, is there anyone that does custom developing i.e. to a formulation that you specify? most of these places use a standard formulation, but theres some formulations i would like to try but cant unless i DIY.

 

[yeocolin]

Ruby Photo, which is just next to The Camera Workshop, does B&W processing and printing from the darkroom, just behind Funan Centre.

Fotohub also does B&W processing, but only on certain films.

 

[clubgrit]

Try it, start doing it, have fun ... and then you might find yourself shooting more B&W

Then even if you shoot just 5 or 10 shots, you can develop it instantly within 30 minutes, without a darkroom ...

Hi

im afraid i just dont shoot enough B&W to try this myself... so for the moment have been relying on shops to develop.

i have been sending it to riceball and so far the results have been ok. was wondering if there was anywhere else i might try. any of you tried other shops with good results?

also, is there anyone that does custom developing i.e. to a formulation that you specify? most of these places use a standard formulation, but theres some formulations i would like to try but cant unless i DIY.

 

[CZJena]

Try it, start doing it, have fun ... and then you might find yourself shooting more B&W

Then even if you shoot just 5 or 10 shots, you can develop it instantly within 30 minutes, without a darkroom ...

Wow you make it sound fun. Please kindly enlighten me.

 

[chiif]

For a start, just go to Ruby, look for Mr Ho and tell him you want to learn how to process B&W film.

Then he will introduce you 4 kinds of chemical: developer, stop Bath, fixer and wetting agent. And he will tell you to get the clip, thermometer, meansuring cylinder and a tank. If you do not have a dark storeroom, then u need the black changing bag to extract the negatives and put into the tank.

Get a dummy roll of negative from him to learn how to "walk" the negatives into the reel.

Check out these 2 web sites on the steps and procedures:
http://www.photogs.com/bwworld/bwresources.html
http://www.fecalface.com/SF/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=344&Itemid=92

After doing a few times, you will get a hang of it... it's actually quite fun experimenting with the timing, solution portion and temperature.

Personally, I reduce the amount of developer used and increase the time for developing and add ice cubes to lower the temperature to 15 degrees... the output is pretty interesting.. ;p

Try it out... the experience it's much more satisfying than using shooting in DSLR.

 

[CZJena]

Hey Chiif thank you for your guidance ... spark my flame up for bw now. Just wonder if those stuff (chemical and equips) are expensive to began with. My dream work to be done on 14" paper someday. Realized for quite awhile that small prints/image of my photos sucks, and get amazing only after blown up above 8" (8R), perhaps due to my fond use of wide-angle.

 

[chiif]

Budget for about S$100 for the first run... subsequently you only need the developer and fixer.

You do not necessarily need a stop bath, so you can shed a couple of dollars. In theory, you only need the developer and fixer. The wetting agent (last stage) will give your negatives a more shinny feel to prevent dust from settling on it (which is important). So I would say, developer, fixer & wetting agent is really necessary.

The wetting agent can also be used to clean lens as it is anti static. Read from somewhere...

Thermometer is not necessary, just do agar-ation. Mr Ho told me the cooler the developer is, the finer the picture will turn out... I haven't tried sub 10 degrees yet... but have tried 15 degrees. ;p

It's not really economical if u shoot only 1 roll in a month.... normally, i shoot 2 rolls and develop at one goal. The tank can take 2 rolls at one time. Try with different film. I started with the cheapest Ilford PAN 400 first. Then I experimented with finer grain FP4 and Delta.

One good thing is that you can develop 120 film on the tank as well. So can go medium format if u are tired with 35mm.

 

[chiif]

Here are some photos I took and developed on the same day last week. Well, to me, it beats digital as the fun factor is 10x using digital.

Taken using the CV Nokton 40mm/f1.4 S.C wide open on PAN 400 (cheapest B&W film)

 

[Keng Yong]

And here's the link to a lot of film/developer data

http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.html

 

[clubgrit]

It sure is fun ... well, Chiif has done the honors, he has explained it well.

BTW, in addition, the recommended temperature to use is written inside the box of the film, so don't throw it away ...

Now, my question to Chiif ... Let's say you are developing at 15 degrees (which is not the usual recommended temperature for most film - CZJena, take note), and recommended is 20 degrees, how much percentage less do you cut from the recommended development time ? Just curious, and does it really lead to finer grain ?

Wow you make it sound fun. Please kindly enlighten me.

 

[chiif]

It sure is fun ... well, Chiif has done the honors, he has explained it well.

BTW, in addition, the recommended temperature to use is written inside the box of the film, so don't throw it away ...

Now, my question to Chiif ... Let's say you are developing at 15 degrees (which is not the usual recommended temperature for most film - CZJena, take note), and recommended is 20 degrees, how much percentage less do you cut from the recommended development time ? Just curious, and does it really lead to finer grain ?

Good question! My answer is: I don't know.... Haven't made a comparison, but that was what I heard, cooler temperature will gives finer grain. ;p

To me, processing is like cooking. I don't usually follow cook book receipe, I just cook by my taste butt and what I have in my fridge. Cooking is an ART, not science. BUT baking is SCIENCE. If u deviate from the baking receipe, you will get bread instead of cake.

To me, processing B&W is an ART, not SCIENCE. I prefer to experiment. How the grains and how the contrast turn out excite and surprise me everytime. I don't ask for perfection in processing, like wise, I don't ask for perfection in the dishes I cook.

As for the time. I use T-max, 100ml solution to 550ml of water ;p . With PAN 400, I think process for 16min at about less than 20 degrees (which is double the time for PAN 400) The result is what you see above. I did increase the contrast a little on PS and reduce the brightness a little. But that's all I did.

Try it for yourself, but make sure you do not have important shots in the negatives. And don't hold me liable for any undesirable results.

 

[The_Cheat]

SS wrote about darkroom processing years ago... you may refer to the entertaining thread here: http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=45612

 

[CZJena]

Chiif & guyz really thanks for all the important pointers. Very eager to try out. Just to get it right, the developer-fixer-wettingAgnt is just for the film right? The next will be paper and enlarger? that will require darkroom i guess. gdday!

 

[Keng Yong]

Chiif & guyz really thanks for all the important pointers. Very eager to try out. Just to get it right, the developer-fixer-wettingAgnt is just for the film right? The next will be paper and enlarger? that will require darkroom i guess. gdday!

CZJena,

Both film developing and printing(paper) needs chemicals for developer-stopbath-fixer. The ones used for film are different for paper. Stopbath can use the same. Chiif is right, stopbath is optional. Some even use vinegar. Printing requires paper, enlarger and darkroom.

The the feeling of holding a finished silver print in hand is indescribable. :thumbsup:

 

[clubgrit]

Thanks, well, from your photos, it does seem that grain is well-controlled in the shadows/dark areas for ISO 400. Will try processing at 15 degrees or less

Good question! My answer is: I don't know.... Haven't made a comparison, but that was what I heard, cooler temperature will gives finer grain. ;p

To me, processing is like cooking. I don't usually follow cook book receipe, I just cook by my taste butt and what I have in my fridge. Cooking is an ART, not science. BUT baking is SCIENCE. If u deviate from the baking receipe, you will get bread instead of cake.

To me, processing B&W is an ART, not SCIENCE. I prefer to experiment. How the grains and how the contrast turn out excite and surprise me everytime. I don't ask for perfection in processing, like wise, I don't ask for perfection in the dishes I cook.

As for the time. I use T-max, 100ml solution to 550ml of water ;p . With PAN 400, I think process for 16min at about less than 20 degrees (which is double the time for PAN 400) The result is what you see above. I did increase the contrast a little on PS and reduce the brightness a little. But that's all I did.

Try it for yourself, but make sure you do not have important shots in the negatives. And don't hold me liable for any undesirable results.

 

[chiif]

Hi CZJena,

One mistake I normally make is not in the processing the film. It's in getting the film reel in to the reel. Sometimes the negatives get stuck and I end up trying and trying and in the end, kana scratches on the negatives and exposed half of the 36 shots. This you need a little skill and skill comes with lots of practise and mistakes. Don't give up.... Once you get it right, the satisfaction is hard to describe.

In the end, I bought a black bag from Mr Ho. My store room is just not light tight enough.

One thing to take note is don't rewind the film all the way back, leave a little hanging out so that you can extact the negatives without using the film picker.

Have fun!

 

[CZJena]

Got it, i'd brought a Kaiser reel 2 years back and time to put it to use, 1st thing for me is to find one nice enlarger, preferrably to enlarge 6x9 as well for my voigtlander and makina rangefinder. Just wonder if others do order chemicals from overseas. Chiif, i wish you luck on your new enterprise. Passion is contagious.

 

[Keng Yong]

Hi CZJena,

One mistake I normally make is not in the processing the film. It's in getting the film reel in to the reel. Sometimes the negatives get stuck and I end up trying and trying and in the end, kana scratches on the negatives and exposed half of the 36 shots. This you need a little skill and skill comes with lots of practise and mistakes. Don't give up.... Once you get it right, the satisfaction is hard to describe.

In the end, I bought a black bag from Mr Ho. My store room is just not light tight enough.

One thing to take note is don't rewind the film all the way back, leave a little hanging out so that you can extact the negatives without using the film picker.

Have fun!

Hi Chiif,

I find that I have the same problem as you loading film if my reels are not totally dry. Maybe it's just me. Conversely from what you do, I like to rewind the film entirely back into the roll, leave it for some time before processing, so that the film curves in the same way as the rest of the roll. I have more success loading the into the reels this way. Again this is just me.

regards,
KY

 

[chiif]

Hi Keng Yong,

Yes. Nowadays, I pull out the entire roll then load from frame 36 first. Don't have the "stuck" problem at all. Don't understand why?????


Thanks CZJena, for your encouragement. Infact, I have to thank everyone who have supported me on my Voigtlander products. I hope everyone who have bought stuff from me are 100% satisfied with what they bought.

I am just a lucky guy who manage to mix 2 things I love to do best and make it a living, business and photography. And it is YOU, MY CUSTOMERS, who help to make this happen for me! Thank you everyone for supporting me...

Once again, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR VISITING CHIIF CAMERAS!

 

[csisfun]

Hi Chiif,

I find that I have the same problem as you loading film if my reels are not totally dry. Maybe it's just me. Conversely from what you do, I like to rewind the film entirely back into the roll, leave it for some time before processing, so that the film curves in the same way as the rest of the roll. I have more success loading the into the reels this way. Again this is just me.

regards,
KY

It's not you! Certainly having wet reels are dangerous.