film / chemical source

[sadper]

Hi, I understand that some of us actually get the film or chemical imported form somewhere so as to develop their film. I am wandering is there such threat around complied the list and price?

this is because I heard my friend saying he bought the film and cut into the roll he want so I believe there much have alot of source so why not complied this. EBay is a very common place so is of no fun so let share the info here.

 

[oceanpriest]

get from ruby photo, support our local shop. they sell 100feet film also.

chemical is quite heavy, doesn't really save alot if you buy it online from overseas.

 

[magicianhisoka]

get from ruby photo, support our local shop. they sell 100feet film also.

chemical is quite heavy, doesn't really save alot if you buy it online from overseas.

HC 110 sold in 1L bottles now. I think many people cannot finish that within 2 years

For Sadper, might be good to find people to split the chems with!

 

[sadper]

HC 110 sold in 1L bottles now. I think many people cannot finish that within 2 years

For Sadper, might be good to find people to split the chems with!

that is a gd suggestions as I don't really shoot film too so e developing is very minimum.

 

[Scintillation]

For developers, I usually use HC110 (Dilution H, helps to conserve the stuff). Also, HC110 has a very long shelf-life, you can keep it for years and it shouldn't go bad, according to online reviews.

As for 4x5 film, I usually get them from eBay or ask friends to get them for me from Japan if they go there. 4x5 Acros is much cheaper that way.

 

[oceanpriest]

you should choose your developer not based on shelf life or economic alone. most important is how the look you want to achieve

d76 is better choice for beginner. it's cheap, gives good shadow detail, fine grain, good acutance, and not to forget development times using D-76 are available from most film manufacturers. no film manufacturer want to take a risk creating/changing film emulsion that will not perform well in d76.

you can even use d76 as solvent developer at 1:1 to get fine grain image and use it as non-solvent developer at 1:3 to get sharper image

 

[Scintillation]

you should choose your developer not based on shelf life or economic alone. most important is how the look you want to achieve

d76 is better choice for beginner. it's cheap, gives good shadow detail, fine grain, good acutance, and not to forget development times using D-76 are available from most film manufacturers. no film manufacturer want to take a risk creating/changing film emulsion that will not perform well in d76.

you can even use d76 as solvent developer at 1:1 to get fine grain image and use it as non-solvent developer at 1:3 to get sharper image

I'm not basing my choice of developer on shelf-life alone, just giving one of the benefits of using HC-110. Of course, everyone should test out different developers to find out if they achieve the effect they are looking for, but that can be difficult because it's an expensive process based on trial and error.

For me, I use HC-110 because I'm used to it and its effects, as I've taken a traditional darkroom mod in ADM before. It also helps that it's pretty economical, especially when used in Dilution H. For development times, I rely on the Massive Development Chart.

I do agree that D-76 has more resources though, especially on the manufacturer's end, but it's annoying to mix up the stock solution to work with, which is another reason why I recommended HC-110. Also, you can use it for stand development to control contrast and achieve a high acutence as well.

But to each his own I guess, if you like the look of a particular developer, stick with it. These are my thoughts only, sorry if I offended any sensitivities. I'm just sharing what works for me only. Thanks.

I've a thread in the landscape section where I have some samples of my black and white large format work if TS is interested seeing the results.

 

[oceanpriest]

no one is offended here :bsmilie:

just sharing my thoughts only

some people want to be economical in shooting film, but end up doing harm than good

- film canister is reused multiple time, end up negative got scratches
- one shot developer is reused, end up not consistent result
- use tap water instead distilled water, end up got funny things
- buy cheap film from SEA/china, end up got 27 instead of 36 or got kodak gold instead of portra

nowadays silver price keeps going up, compromising on water/developer/etc is not a wise decision.

rodinal and hc-110 sure can keep long time, but storage condition also important. i got small bottle of HC-110 with mould in it after 1 year, another bottle turned into orange colour instead of yellow. anything with water in it can be oxidised, powder form also will go bad. better is buy fresh chemical and finish it as soon as possible.

true, HC-110 in capable hands is excellent developer. can see from scintillation's thread. and ansel adams used HC-110 dilution G as a compensating developer to increase shadow detail without blocking highlights. anyhow choosing the most diluted option for sake to be economic, isn't wise decision. ppl should know the reason why they choose certain dilution.

as long as people know why they use certain film/developer combination and what kind of look they want to achieve, can already

shooting film is always troublesome and expensive

if want less trouble and economic, there's always digital option

 

[Scintillation]

no one is offended here :bsmilie:

just sharing my thoughts only

some people want to be economical in shooting film, but end up doing harm than good

- film canister is reused multiple time, end up negative got scratches
- one shot developer is reused, end up not consistent result
- use tap water instead distilled water, end up got funny things
- buy cheap film from SEA/china, end up got 27 instead of 36 or got kodak gold instead of portra

nowadays silver price keeps going up, compromising on water/developer/etc is not a wise decision.

rodinal and hc-110 sure can keep long time, but storage condition also important. i got small bottle of HC-110 with mould in it after 1 year, another bottle turned into orange colour instead of yellow. anything with water in it can be oxidised, powder form also will go bad. better is buy fresh chemical and finish it as soon as possible.

true, HC-110 in capable hands is excellent developer. can see from scintillation's thread. and ansel adams used HC-110 dilution G as a compensating developer to increase shadow detail without blocking highlights. anyhow choosing the most diluted option for sake to be economic, isn't wise decision. ppl should know the reason why they choose certain dilution.

as long as people know why they use certain film/developer combination and what kind of look they want to achieve, can already

shooting film is always troublesome and expensive

if want less trouble and economic, there's always digital option

Haha, true lah. Aiyah, I'm no master, still learning from the laojiaos here. But for me I cannot see any differences between tap water and distilled water, in school we used distilled water but at home I just use tap water, lol! Distilled water will be the most ideal solution lah, but so far I've had no problems with tap water, hahaha. Shouldn't be so budget though, lol!

Yeah, film price is increasing. Ektar 4x5 is so expensive now.

 

[oceanpriest]

Haha, true lah. Aiyah, I'm no master, still learning from the laojiaos here. But for me I cannot see any differences between tap water and distilled water, in school we used distilled water but at home I just use tap water, lol! Distilled water will be the most ideal solution lah, but so far I've had no problems with tap water, hahaha. Shouldn't be so budget though, lol!

Yeah, film price is increasing. Ektar 4x5 is so expensive now.

yeah actually for some developers, the manufacturer already add extra ingredients so they can work well in many different condition of tap water in different part of the world. just to play save, we use distilled water for developer.

 

[azzurri]

HC 110 sold in 1L bottles now. I think many people cannot finish that within 2 years

For Sadper, might be good to find people to split the chems with!

But the good thing about HC-110 is that it can last very long. Even after expiry, you can still use it without much problems

 

[sadper]

understand that different pp use different developer so as to get different result. some even to the extend that they come out with their own temperature and timing. so no offence here.

just hoping can share where the source u guys are getting from. Local shops such as Ruby etc is common shop that as a film shooter should know and for beginner to go there and grab their stuff from.

 

[Scintillation]

understand that different pp use different developer so as to get different result. some even to the extend that they come out with their own temperature and timing. so no offence here.

just hoping can share where the source u guys are getting from. Local shops such as Ruby etc is common shop that as a film shooter should know and for beginner to go there and grab their stuff from.

I get developers from Ruby Photo. For film, usually camp at eBay to grab good deals. I'm not sure about buying developers online and shipping them in though, may have issues with that because they are chemicals. IIRC, rodinal is tricky to bring in.

 

[lualua]

I ship chemicals to mix my own developers, mostly in powder form as I like to mix my own concoctions. No problems so far.

 

[zguy]

very valid points raised here. Different considerations for different folks. The shelf life of the developer is my main consideration as I do not shoot black and white film so often. So I use HC110 dilution B as one shot developer.

 

[sadper]

I ship chemicals to mix my own developers, mostly in powder form as I like to mix my own concoctions. No problems so far.

Hi don't mind share with us where u ship from and which website?

 

[lualua]

Hi don't mind share with us where u ship from and which website?

I bought them from eBay stores and ship them over using concierge service. PM me if u are looking for limited quantities of chemicals. I may just have them. But do bear in mind that the developer will end up more expensive than those u buy off the shelve. What developer are u trying to mix?