How many roll film tanks?

(Icius) wrote in message . com...
Thank you all for your input on this. Perhaps I will try both and see
which I prefer.

As far as Uranium Committee's post goes...well...I can only respond
with the words of the great Michael Scarpitti in this post:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e... i_s51#link38

where he says:

"One more point. It is a mistake to presume that everything new is
better than everything old."

Yes, and proper roll film processing instructiona can be found dating
to the 1930's. American photographers were WAY behind the
Germans/british in adopting and refining development techniques for
the miniature format.

Adams knew very little about miniature technique, in fact. He's the
LAST one I'd turn to for advice on 35mm technique. It would be like
asking Herbert von Karajan about how to play the sitar.

(Icius) wrote in message . com...
Thank you all for your input on this. Perhaps I will try both and see
which I prefer.

As far as Uranium Committee's post goes...well...I can only respond
with the words of the great Michael Scarpitti in this post:

http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=e... i_s51#link38

where he says:

"One more point. It is a mistake to presume that everything new is
better than everything old."

Yes, and proper roll film processing instructiona can be found dating
to the 1930's. American photographers were WAY behind the
Germans/british in adopting and refining development techniques for
the miniature format.

Adams knew very little about miniature technique, in fact. He's the
LAST one I'd turn to for advice on 35mm technique. It would be like
asking Herbert von Karajan about how to play the sitar.

Lloyd Erlick-Usenet Lloyd at @the-wire. dot com wrote

Lloyd Erlick-Usenet wrote

I develop either ten or twenty roll batches of
120-format film. I set up a line of tall cyclindrical
ABS plastic tanks in my sink, and fill them with all
the requisite solutions. Then I turn off the lights and
slip my rolls out of their light tight tank, on the
lifter, into the first solution. In the dark, and it's
not only easy but pleasant. So, to each their own.
Everyody works out a suitable method.


IIRC your method of agitation is lift and lower. Could you
expand on that?
I'm not all that wedded to pouring in then pouring out. Dan

oct1904 from Lloyd Erlick,

Yes, I agitate the film by lift and lower. (I got
divorced from pouring in then pouring out. The
honeymoon didn't make it and there wasn't enough
sex...)

Anyway, lift and lower is simple in the dark, which is
why I adopted it. My tanks are quite tall compared to
the level of solution I need inside, so they have quite
a bit of head room. This makes it easy to slide the
rolls up and down. I simply lift and lower gently, two
or three times each thirty seconds. It's easy to find a
consistent method that works for the setup, so I can be
consisitent from sesion to session no problem.


The five reels are lifted clear then lowered? Or are the
five lifted within the solution then lowered?
If they are lifted clear then I can see that bottom reel
receiving a lot of travel within the solution and the top
reel, little. If lifting within, additional top reel
solution will be required, say, a reels worth. Is
that the case?


*[in the dark]
-plain water pre-soak,
-developer,
-stop1, stop2, stop3, stop4 [all plain water stops],
-fix1,
*[white light]
-fix2,
-multiple rinse,
-HCA1,
-HCA2,
-proper film wash,
-hang in dustless place,
-squirt distilled water down both surfaces of each
hanging roll,
-walk away.

In each bath the rolls are lifted and lowered for
agitation.

I use six tanks without covers, plus two fixer tanks
that close up air tight, so they are also fixer storage
containers. I don't have to pour my fixer back and
forth, just prepare, use and store in the tank. By the
time fixing is complete, I've rinsed out the first
tanks and used them to set up my hypo clear baths.


All those stops and I'm not sure even one is necessary.
In the begining all fixers were created acidic. To maintain
that acid fix, an acid stop was created. But then there is a
lot of Old Testement B&W film and paper processing being used.
In years gone by I've lifted and lowered sheet film when
tank processing. I've read that Bruce Barnbaum does also.
Some darkroom workers fault the method. They think tray
or rotary results yield less uneven development. Is
that a problem with you? Dan

Lloyd Erlick-Usenet Lloyd at @the-wire. dot com wrote

Lloyd Erlick-Usenet wrote

I develop either ten or twenty roll batches of
120-format film. I set up a line of tall cyclindrical
ABS plastic tanks in my sink, and fill them with all
the requisite solutions. Then I turn off the lights and
slip my rolls out of their light tight tank, on the
lifter, into the first solution. In the dark, and it's
not only easy but pleasant. So, to each their own.
Everyody works out a suitable method.


IIRC your method of agitation is lift and lower. Could you
expand on that?
I'm not all that wedded to pouring in then pouring out. Dan

oct1904 from Lloyd Erlick,

Yes, I agitate the film by lift and lower. (I got
divorced from pouring in then pouring out. The
honeymoon didn't make it and there wasn't enough
sex...)

Anyway, lift and lower is simple in the dark, which is
why I adopted it. My tanks are quite tall compared to
the level of solution I need inside, so they have quite
a bit of head room. This makes it easy to slide the
rolls up and down. I simply lift and lower gently, two
or three times each thirty seconds. It's easy to find a
consistent method that works for the setup, so I can be
consisitent from sesion to session no problem.


The five reels are lifted clear then lowered? Or are the
five lifted within the solution then lowered?
If they are lifted clear then I can see that bottom reel
receiving a lot of travel within the solution and the top
reel, little. If lifting within, additional top reel
solution will be required, say, a reels worth. Is
that the case?


*[in the dark]
-plain water pre-soak,
-developer,
-stop1, stop2, stop3, stop4 [all plain water stops],
-fix1,
*[white light]
-fix2,
-multiple rinse,
-HCA1,
-HCA2,
-proper film wash,
-hang in dustless place,
-squirt distilled water down both surfaces of each
hanging roll,
-walk away.

In each bath the rolls are lifted and lowered for
agitation.

I use six tanks without covers, plus two fixer tanks
that close up air tight, so they are also fixer storage
containers. I don't have to pour my fixer back and
forth, just prepare, use and store in the tank. By the
time fixing is complete, I've rinsed out the first
tanks and used them to set up my hypo clear baths.


All those stops and I'm not sure even one is necessary.
In the begining all fixers were created acidic. To maintain
that acid fix, an acid stop was created. But then there is a
lot of Old Testement B&W film and paper processing being used.
In years gone by I've lifted and lowered sheet film when
tank processing. I've read that Bruce Barnbaum does also.
Some darkroom workers fault the method. They think tray
or rotary results yield less uneven development. Is
that a problem with you? Dan