I ran into a 1 quart CineStill Color Simplified 2-Bath Process kit at a thrift store for $7.99 (with tax $8.39). This seemed like a pretty reasonable price. Amazon.ca has it listed for over $100! The box mentioned one kit could process up to 24-rolls!
We will return to that subject later.
I also have at least one Ansco plastic tank that requires slightly more chemistry and doesn’t warm up in water baths as quickly. These tanks are agitated with a stirring rod down the center.
We can leave the tanks subject for now. I only mentioned them to justify why I would buy the kit in the first place.
But then we get to the second piece of idiocy. I am facing 10-rolls of 35mm film on the shelf in front of my computer. I bought them to use during our summer Society photo shoots. I will probably never shoot them!
I didn’t shoot film because —
Luckily one of the Edmonton Photographic Historical Society members offered to take the kit—and even pay me for it—because he has a darkroom and wanted to try it. By coincidence he had just gifted me with a completely useless—in its present form— Braun F900 flash so I said we were even.
While the kit was in my hands I scanned the instructions. I will give you the six sheets. Please note—
The recommended processing (for rotation and inversion methods) happens at 39ºC (102ºF) for the presoak and developer steps. Developing takes 3.5 minutes after a optional 1 minute presoak (in water). For the following Bleach&Fix and washing steps the temperature can be between 24ºC and 40ºC (75ºF and 105ºF). It is recommended you add 1ºC (2ºF) if you aren’t using a temperature control bath, but this isn’t recommended for rotation or inversion processing.
I found it hilarious you can process film at room temperature, but it would take 50 minutes at 22.22ºC (72ºF) for the developer step. The remaining time—bleach&fix, wash and Stabilizer/Final rinse—remain the same as the high temperature steps (about 11 minutes).
One quart of solution can process eight 36-exposure 35mm or 120 rolls in the same session. There are a lot of things to consider if you want to push that recommendation. How long are you going to take to process multiple rolls? What contaminants might have been mixed in with the water? Ideally you will see a slight deterioration in the developed rolls density before your results fall below acceptable.
To quote Dirty Harry, “Do you feel lucky Punk?”
They cheerfully mention later that optimal results are only possible using fresh developer once! The mention of one kit being able to process 24-rolls refers to mixing used solutions with fresh solutions added without really explaining amounts.
If that doesn’t put you off there are a half page of warnings about what the chemistry can do to damage you. Damage to eyes is a big threat, but all the liquid concentrates are dangerous if swallowed and your skin can be irritated too.
We will return to that subject later.
- I have Nikkor tanks that have the main advantages of
- requiring small amounts of chemistry—a single 35mm tank takes just 8-oz, a single 120 tank takes 16-oz but will also take two 35mm reels
- as well as conducting heat well in water-baths
I also have at least one Ansco plastic tank that requires slightly more chemistry and doesn’t warm up in water baths as quickly. These tanks are agitated with a stirring rod down the center.
We can leave the tanks subject for now. I only mentioned them to justify why I would buy the kit in the first place.
But then we get to the second piece of idiocy. I am facing 10-rolls of 35mm film on the shelf in front of my computer. I bought them to use during our summer Society photo shoots. I will probably never shoot them!
I didn’t shoot film because —
- I am too cheap to ever pay what they demand now for processing
- push come to shove—I have very little reason to take any photographs
- digital image capturing is simple, costs almost nothing, and is all I need
Luckily one of the Edmonton Photographic Historical Society members offered to take the kit—and even pay me for it—because he has a darkroom and wanted to try it. By coincidence he had just gifted me with a completely useless—in its present form— Braun F900 flash so I said we were even.
While the kit was in my hands I scanned the instructions. I will give you the six sheets. Please note—
The recommended processing (for rotation and inversion methods) happens at 39ºC (102ºF) for the presoak and developer steps. Developing takes 3.5 minutes after a optional 1 minute presoak (in water). For the following Bleach&Fix and washing steps the temperature can be between 24ºC and 40ºC (75ºF and 105ºF). It is recommended you add 1ºC (2ºF) if you aren’t using a temperature control bath, but this isn’t recommended for rotation or inversion processing.
I found it hilarious you can process film at room temperature, but it would take 50 minutes at 22.22ºC (72ºF) for the developer step. The remaining time—bleach&fix, wash and Stabilizer/Final rinse—remain the same as the high temperature steps (about 11 minutes).
One quart of solution can process eight 36-exposure 35mm or 120 rolls in the same session. There are a lot of things to consider if you want to push that recommendation. How long are you going to take to process multiple rolls? What contaminants might have been mixed in with the water? Ideally you will see a slight deterioration in the developed rolls density before your results fall below acceptable.
To quote Dirty Harry, “Do you feel lucky Punk?”
They cheerfully mention later that optimal results are only possible using fresh developer once! The mention of one kit being able to process 24-rolls refers to mixing used solutions with fresh solutions added without really explaining amounts.
If that doesn’t put you off there are a half page of warnings about what the chemistry can do to damage you. Damage to eyes is a big threat, but all the liquid concentrates are dangerous if swallowed and your skin can be irritated too.
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