Best place to develop B/W films

[benwal]

Hi,

I've been developing my Black & White films with Ruby for quite some time. So far so good.

BUT, there is the small problem of some negs having watermarks on them.

1. Is there any way I can get rid of the watermarks?
2. Anyone can recommend a better place to develop my films?

Thanks!

Cheers,
Larry

 

[aero]

I develop mine at fotohub

http://www.fotohub.com/

 

[fastshot]

The best place to develop B/W films is: - at home ~ with tender loving care

 

[kgston]

The best place to develop B/W films is: - at home ~ with tender loving care

Agreed!! Self developent is always the best.. No need to worry if your films is going to be processed in nearly exhausted developer..

Watermarks can be removed by washing ur film under tap water and drying it again, just make sure there are no droplets on the film after using a clean and dry soft cloth to wipe it dry.. den leave it out in a dust-free environment to let the emulsion dry..

 

[jungsangchoe]

at home

 

[bene123]

I have to agree best place is to develop is at home to get the best results.

 

[schmuak]

use photoflo

 

[jtb]

http://www.ktcolour.com.sg/film.html

 

[rain-man]

home is best. it allows you to experiment with different developers e.g. Rodinal, and try different developing process including stand development.

 

[bohome]

hi guys. i'm still contemplating if i should develop my own films. my question is do u guys think or notice that there's a distinct quality difference when u develop ur own films? or is it a matter of assurance that u know what is happening to ur films?

 

[kgston]

hi guys. i'm still contemplating if i should develop my own films. my question is do u guys think or notice that there's a distinct quality difference when u develop ur own films? or is it a matter of assurance that u know what is happening to ur films?

I think its more of inconsistent results when I develop outside... When I develop it myself, the negs somehow looks better in my opinion..

 

[bohome]

thanks for the reply kgston.
i've just been reading quite abit about how we should develop our own films instead of sending it to the shop. and honestly i'm quite torn. hahaha
if there are good reasons why i should do it then i probably will.

 

[zk-diq]

thanks for the reply kgston.
i've just been reading quite abit about how we should develop our own films instead of sending it to the shop. and honestly i'm quite torn. hahaha
if there are good reasons why i should do it then i probably will.

for own process, we can have better control in tone and contrast. However you need to know all about basic / advance in film processing. visually a good exp. neg will be rich in tone, you can see through from the darkest patch and some shade in the lightest tone area.

 

[kgston]

thanks for the reply kgston.
i've just been reading quite abit about how we should develop our own films instead of sending it to the shop. and honestly i'm quite torn. hahaha
if there are good reasons why i should do it then i probably will.

Well.. from my experience, there aren't alot of good reasons going for doing your own film processing. Firstly, it isn't going to be much cheaper.. buying all the stuff for the first time will set you back at least by a hundred or two. You only can save if you develop a lot of rolls and use the cheapest developer, which I believe is besides the point of self development. Secondly, its going to take up time and effort and quite a bit of water..

But on the other hand it is definitely going to be more satisfying when your roll comes out of the tank. You will also find as zk-diq pointed out, that your negs will looks better than those sent to the shops, that is if you have done everything properly. And lastly, you can do all sorts of other stuff like coffee development and BW slides development if you have your own development kit.

To summarize, if BW photography to you is about minimizing cost, time and effort, then perhaps sending to a shop would be better. But if its about maximizing quality, control and creativity then self development is for you. Practically, the logical choice would be to send the film out, but if you are using film, then it shows that you have seen photography beyond as something practical. Practical photographers only shoot digital, not film

Alternatively, if you don't feel like going out to buy all the stuff, you can join one of the few major photography clubs in Singapore with a darkroom like SAFRA or PSS, and all that you need would be there for you, including enlargers for self printing, paper not included

 

[Shawn]

Well.. from my experience, there aren't alot of good reasons going for doing your own film processing. Firstly, it isn't going to be much cheaper.. buying all the stuff for the first time will set you back at least by a hundred or two. You only can save if you develop a lot of rolls and use the cheapest developer, which I believe is besides the point of self development. Secondly, its going to take up time and effort and quite a bit of water..

But on the other hand it is definitely going to be more satisfying when your roll comes out of the tank. You will also find as zk-diq pointed out, that your negs will looks better than those sent to the shops, that is if you have done everything properly. And lastly, you can do all sorts of other stuff like coffee development and BW slides development if you have your own development kit.

To summarize, if BW photography to you is about minimizing cost, time and effort, then perhaps sending to a shop would be better. But if its about maximizing quality, control and creativity then self development is for you. Practically, the logical choice would be to send the film out, but if you are using film, then it shows that you have seen photography beyond as something practical. Practical photographers only shoot digital, not film

Alternatively, if you don't feel like going out to buy all the stuff, you can join one of the few major photography clubs in Singapore with a darkroom like SAFRA or PSS, and all that you need would be there for you, including enlargers for self printing, paper not included

I can contribute one good reason to develop youself though, I remembered I sent my first 2 rolls of BW to 2 different labs once, and the negs came back ruined! Botchy development, cloudiness, and splotches here and there. Some parts of the emlusion seemed like they peeled from the negative itself. And some of shots I had were dear to me, and I had to do a lot of PS salvage work to bring them back, still most shots were gone.

After that, I never trusted the labs to develop my BW film. I mean after all the effort put into composing, exposing, etc, we shouldn't let it go all to waste just because of someone's mistake. if it should be anyone's mistake during development, I rather it be mine, at least I would have learnt something from it all

My 2 cents on this issue.

 

[bohome]

thanks guys. and my apologies to benwal for hijacking this thread. hehe

i think i might just give it a go.

 

[Genie In A Lightbox]

Hi,

I've been developing my Black & White films with Ruby for quite some time. So far so good.

BUT, there is the small problem of some negs having watermarks on them.

1. Is there any way I can get rid of the watermarks?
2. Anyone can recommend a better place to develop my films?

Thanks!

Cheers,
Larry

You can try distilled water from supermarkets. Use it for the final rinse. If not, buy wetting agent as a last resort.

B&W films is best developed by yourself so that you get consistent results. I won't entrust my negs to anyone. Once ruined, it can never be undone.

 

[alanpotpot]

I have tried fotohub. Some marks on one of the strips but the others are ok. Will try some other lab next.

On self-development vs developing on the lab, I just rent a small room so self-development is out of the question. I can't even buy a flatbed scanner because of space constraints. It will fit yes but things will get a little bit crowded. Even if I have the space, I still would rather have my film developed. I like to learn it. But I doubt if I would want to do it.

Maybe will try Fee Fee at hong lim complex next. The search is on!

 

[nstclicks]

On self-development vs developing on the lab, I just rent a small room so self-development is out of the question. I can't even buy a flatbed scanner because of space constraints. It will fit yes but things will get a little bit crowded. Even if I have the space, I still would rather have my film developed. I like to learn it. But I doubt if I would want to do it.

Maybe will try Fee Fee at hong lim complex next. The search is on!

Actually, you don't need much more than a table-top to do developing. The only thing is having access to a sink and running water. Might annoy your flat-mates unless you have an attached bathroom. Of course, if you don't even have space for a scanner, you would probably find it more convenient to just give the film to a lab and get back a CD with scanned images.

But the time taken to go to a lab and having to wait for the negs are what swings the decision for me.

 

[Genie In A Lightbox]

I have tried fotohub. Some marks on one of the strips but the others are ok. Will try some other lab next.

On self-development vs developing on the lab, I just rent a small room so self-development is out of the question. I can't even buy a flatbed scanner because of space constraints. It will fit yes but things will get a little bit crowded. Even if I have the space, I still would rather have my film developed. I like to learn it. But I doubt if I would want to do it.

Maybe will try Fee Fee at hong lim complex next. The search is on!

You don't need a lot of space to develop negatives. You need access to running water. Preferably at the toilet. I advise against using kitchen sink where food is prepared or utensils are washed because the chemicals are very toxic. If you have children and flatmates, you got to be careful and considerate.

For scanning, the photo labs provide decent scans. You may try for 4-base scanning which should be adequate for sharing on the internet e.g. flickr, facebook or tumblr. You may be disappointed with the performance of majority of the flatbed scanners sold in the market because their primary function is still digitizing documents. So it is all about your expectations. You got to use one then you can know. You may have to experiment around to develop your own scanning method and workflow to optimise the quality of images. If your budget allows, dedicated film scanners e.g. nikon coolscan 5000 offers good quality scans. Or you can save all the hassle by giving the negatives to the lab to scan. Time is money.