New to colour processing.

[acearchie]

Hi there,

I am used to shooting and processing my own ilford B&W film on my diana F+ but have decided that I would like to jump into the world of colour.

I have read various websites today, some say the home processing is easy and some saying it is not!

I was wondering could anyone suggest some starter suggestions and maybe suggest a package that will go together to process some colour film as I find it difficult at the moment with little knowledge to know which film goes with which developer (print, slide, colour negative etc...)

Also any suggesting as to where to buy the equipment will be much appreciated!

Thank you very much!

[frank1]

Way back when photographers had an air of respectability and were not the scum we are today. I used ep2 for negative and e6 for slide.
It's still e6 for slide but ep2 has changed to c41 for negative.
If done on a grand scale ie develop a lot of either film at one time. It can be rewarding but once you start you in for quite a few hours of work.
Well that's how I used to do it, the chemicals don't last very well and are a bit pricey. Don't know what they cost now.
Temperature has to be precise so all in all if your thinking of one or two films at a time I'd say go to a good processor.
It has been a while since I last developed neg or slide so things may have changed. I'm not sure if I could say it was a rewarding experience. More like a lot of twiddling about and making sure the temps were right.
Goodluck with it if you decide to go for it

[Roger_Provins]

Welcome to the forum

I've used Firstcall for many years. They are very helpful if you need advice - give them a phone call.

[acearchie]

...so all in all if your thinking of one or two films at a time I'd say go to a good processor.

I quite enjoy developing my own B&W pictures as I know that I have created the images from start to finish if you know what I mean!

More like a lot of twiddling about and making sure the temps were right.

Through research I have learnt that tentanol chemicals are less strict with temperatures and good results can be had in the home. Is this right?

Also for the c41 process is there a special film I need to buy as I can't figure out which one is colour negative and which is slide etc.

I've used Firstcall for many years. They are very helpful if you need advice - give them a phone call.

Thanks for the firstcall link! I have visited their site before however when I look at the chemicals I am unsure as to which ones to get. Some quote 3 baths, some 4 and some 2. I am unaware of what this is refering to... I may have to give them a ring if the worst comes to the worst!

Does anyone know of a good tutorial/guide/walkthrough which would aid me in what to purchase and how to go about developing?

Thanks very much for the help guys!

[AlexMonro]

C41 is the process for all colour negative film available today, and also some types of black and white film, such as Ilford XP2, known as chromagenic.

E6 is the process for colour transparency (slide) film available today, unless you've got some Kodachrome in the fridge!

[zx9]

Despite doing B&W on and off for about thirty years I processed my first couple of rolls of C41 earlier this year. This Flickr group DIY COLOR tempted me to give the Tetinal kit a go. For temperature control I am using a water bath in my kitchen's 1/2 sink. The colours may not be spot on but are not too far out, anyway if I want fine grain and easy colour correction I can use my DSLR but that is not the point, it is just a bit of fun.

These Link to AP Gallery were from my second roll of home processed C41, posted a month or so ago.

[Benchista]

Colour, either C41 or E6, really isn't that difficult with exactly the same gear as for B&W. For years I used a washing-up bowl as a water bath to keep the chemicals at the right temperature, and it worked fine - a pre-wash gets the film and tank at the right temperature to start with. It's just boring, TBH.

[beejaybee]

It's just boring, TBH.

And frustrating if you let boredom interfere with the process - wrong development time, wrong sequence of baths etc. But then that applies to many things that give you pleasure when you do them yourself & get it right.

[John_K]

The 1stCall link is good and I have used them for many years. If you are heading down the road of processing negatives only, the Tetenal range is as good as you will get easily. I use a 1 litre kit and process the films on a one film one mix of chemicals. There are 3 bottles with colour chemicals in the kit, Two bottles with Bleach-fix, and one bottle with final rinse. I get from 6 to 8 films from a kit depending if I process singly or two in tandem.

I mix 15cc of each of the colour chemicals and add water to make 150cc of ready diluted developer. This is enough for one 35mm film in a 35mm tank for rotary development, 38 degrees for 3mins 15 secs.

For medium format or 2 x 35mm spirals in one tank 25cc's of each colour chemicals plus water made up to 250cc, again use once and throw away. (You can use it again if processing medium format film)

The bleach/fix will make 1 litre and is enough for the full kit. Likewise the final rinse bath.

The temperature is fairly critical + or - 1/2 a degree is required, as is the timing. Even with the rotary constant agitation the full 3 mins 15 seconds is required.

If you advance to making your own colour prints the Kodak 5 litre kits are to be recommended. Economical and the chemicals seem to last forever. I once used the same initial developer plus the necessary starter chemical and replenished after each print and the 'soup' was still producing the goods 18 months later from a Nova deep-tank processor. When I say 'soup' it was just that, with 1/4 inch of sludge in the tank when I got around to cleaning it out.

[dileas]

I mix 15cc of each of the colour chemicals and add water to make 150cc of ready diluted developer. This is enough for one 35mm film in a 35mm tank for rotary development, 38 degrees for 3mins 15 secs.

I'm about to start my first foray into colour neg processing, and have the Tetenal 1L kit. Is it OK to process one film at a time, or should they be batched up to the capacity of the kit? I've been told that once mixed up or opened, the shelf life clock ticks fast. I'll be using a steel tank from my monochrome processing kit, as I don't have any colour processing kit at all.

[John_K]

I mix 15cc of each of the colour chemicals and add water to make 150cc of ready diluted developer. This is enough for one 35mm film in a 35mm tank for rotary development, 38 degrees for 3mins 15 secs.

I'm about to start my first foray into colour neg processing, and have the Tetenal 1L kit. Is it OK to process one film at a time, or should they be batched up to the capacity of the kit? I've been told that once mixed up or opened, the shelf life clock ticks fast. I'll be using a steel tank from my monochrome processing kit, as I don't have any colour processing kit at all.

No the colour chemicals are pretty stable. I have a part used kit which I have developed 3-4 films. The colour developer will darken when it is opened, but again it does not appear to make much difference. Use the dilutions I suggested 15ccof each chemical + water to make 150cc. Throw away after use.

The Bleach fix can be made up into 1 litre as this is inert and will last months or until the kit is used up. Likewise, the final rinse, make it all up and just pour back into the full bottle after use.

[P_Stoddart]

Way back when I had my E6 35mm slides messed up by a lab in 2000. I started processing my own E6 using chemical packs from Jessops. No longer available I believe.

I used to get temperature control by microwaving the chemicals one at a time in 20 seconds burst until they were at the correct temp. In the end I worked out the exact time to zap them to get the precise temp needed. All my slides came out fine.

But I switched to digital because it is so time consuming to do. It also is quite expensive because you have to buy the chemical for several film processing at a time. Then you can only store them for re-use for a limited time. As they will go off like food products.

Thing I really hated was drying them and avoiding wet marks etc. Never really mounted them because I feed the images straight into the computer via a scanner.

[PeteE]

I started colour slide processing in the 1960's with FERRANIACOLOR from Italy -- now I am showing my age ! It was CHEEEEEP CHEEEP and you could get cassette refills -- I used it a lot when Barking Photographic Society used to cover the Barking Carnival with about 8 photographers all loaded with Ferraniacolor, rush back to our HQ in Eastbury House Barking,I would process the films in multiple tanks usuing 2.5 Litre amounts I made up myself from the chemical formula, dry and mount the slides,rush them to the Carnival Ground and show them to the Great Unwashed Barking Public on our Club projector!

[John_K]

I have been processing colour for at least the last 15-20 years although due to a chemical sensitivity I now cannot process colour for prints. I don't do E6 now either although I still use slide film. Processing slides is just too repetitive.

C41 film development, Tetenal kits are the business and the bottles of concentrates do have a considerable life. It is easy, however you biggest problem is the temperature which should be within +/- half a degree of 38C . A litre kit will process 6x35mm films, on a use once and throw away basis with a rotary processor, but when processing a lot of films at once you may be able to get double that number out of a litre kit.

The best thing to avoid wasted effort and materials is to invest in a JOBO CPE2 processor for the films, and a NOVA deep-tank for papers. The Nova will get your temperature just right and hold it there almost indefinitely.

RA4 chemicals have such a long life, even the working solutions. With my NOVA using 10cc replenishment for each 10x8 print I actually had chemicals in the tank for 18 months and it was still working as well as when I started. I only changed it because of a build up with black sludge