how do u develop 4x5 B&W negative film... efficiently?

[boochap]

I am new to this B&W LF... any innovative ideas to offer?

Thanks!!

[kex]

i'm using a tray about 6x8" for developing 4x5 neg..just dump it in and give a few rock every minute..

if u do more than 2 sheets,it is easier to use a drum like jobo 3010..

[student]

When I first started, I used a tray, and processed up to 10 sheets at a time. Only time when I got some negatives scratched was when I tried to process 8x10, 5x7 and 4x5 sheets together!

Never again!

I still use the trays for sheets larger than 4x5.

For 4x5 sheets, I use a Jobo tank which could process up to 6 sheets at a time. Most of the time I process 12 sheets at a time. Agitated like for smaller films.

[student]

Sorry, when I looked at the original post again, I realised I did not answer your question.

First thing is, what equipment and facilities do you have at your disposal? There is no question that the most efficient means is one of the automated Jobo equipments. But they are bulky, and expensive.

If you are doing small quantities of development. then using a small tray like what Kex mentioned is very doable. To begin, do not try more than a few sheets. You can only do the "rocking" method as mentioned by Kex if you are doing ONE sheet. For more than one sheet, use the shuffling method.

Due to the fact that it is very troublesome for me to make my room COMPLETELY dark, I now develop all my 4x5 in a hand-held cannister and agitate in a similar way to those for the smaller film formats. But the simpler method is the tray.

[boochap]

ok thanks for the suggestions... will try the simple method first.

but how "COMPLETELY dark" must be the room... zero visibility at finger distance?
can the negative tolerate safety lamp?

[kex]

develop negative in total darkness pls..

a frd of mine claim that a small green light is harmless,but i never try b4..

Safety light is definitely no no...

[student]

Originally Posted by kex develop negative in total darkness pls.. a frd of mine claim that a small green light is harmless,but i never try b4.. Safety light is definitely no no...

Basically - TOTAL DARKNESS!

Using a green light is a method for "Developing By Inspection". Meaning one looks at the negative to decide of development is adequate.

My understanding of DBI is this. It is not that the green light does not fog film. It does. One can use DBI because after a while of development, the film becomes less sensitive to light. So towards the end of development, a very brief exposure (< few seconds) to green light would be safe. Green was chosen because apparently our eyes simply perceive it as brighter.

[catchlights]

Originally Posted by boochap ok thanks for the suggestions... will try the simple method first. but how "COMPLETELY dark" must be the room... zero visibility at finger distance? can the negative tolerate safety lamp?

If you use tray processing method, it has to be TOTAL DARKNESS, if after a few mins, you can see some light came in from somewhere, it is not TOTAL DARKNESS, if you can't have a completely light proof darkroom, suggest you use a daylight tank to process 45 film.

[boochap]

okok, total and complete darkness..!!

after a few mins to check for some light came in from somewhere, plus another couple of ten minutes to dev and then fix..*phew*

think i better go buy a 4x5 dev tank.

Thanks!!


btw, saw that nikkor stainless steel 4x5 dev tank in the ebay.. call for 150+USD. how fantastic is this can that ppl are so willing to pay so much for it?

[kex]

i saw one 4x5 dev tank for sale on CS 1 week or so ago..

selling for $40 only.

not sure whether it is sold..