Developing (Qns)

[Swatch]

Sorry,I'm new to this,hope I can get some help here.
1)How much does it roughly cost to develop film by myself? (Cost of materials etc)
3)What do I need?
2)Where is Ruby photo,and do they open on Sundays?

Pinhole Camera
Don't know where to post this,but anyway...
1)Must a special type of film be used? If no,can I use "Kodak Gold film"?

Thanks For All Your Help!

[foxtwo]

Hi Swatch, there is no 'special' film for pinhole. it depends on the specifications of your camera-- what dimension of film/paper can you insert. yes, you can use b&w photographic paper to expose your pinhole image on, tat way you can skip worrying about film and just dev the paper instead. the image is inverted of course.

there are some fine pinhole examples on the web, from truck pinholes to matchbox pinholes to a fella using his mouth as a pinhole camera. are you using the pringles container?

[Swatch]

Originally Posted by foxtwo Hi Swatch, there is no 'special' film for pinhole. it depends on the specifications of your camera-- what dimension of film/paper can you insert. yes, you can use b&w photographic paper to expose your pinhole image on, tat way you can skip worrying about film and just dev the paper instead. the image is inverted of course. there are some fine pinhole examples on the web, from truck pinholes to matchbox pinholes to a fella using his mouth as a pinhole camera. are you using the pringles container?

Is developing the paper easier than developing film? Where do I get this paper?

[foxtwo]

Originally Posted by Swatch Is developing the paper easier than developing film? Where do I get this paper?

sure. film needs complete darkness and you won't know the result until after fixing. the photographic paper can be developed under an orange safelight, you'll know in developing whether your exposure is ok.

Get it from Ruby, it's pretty much the 1 stop shop for b&w material.

other stuff you will need, chemistry: paper developer, stop bath (or substitute with water) & paper fixer. equipment: 03x tray or any flat container (eg. tupperware), rubber tongs (or gloves). and of course the safelight, i'm not sure if there are cheap ones or can be DIYed. maybe those with personal darkrooms can advise.

[slingshot]

Originally Posted by Swatch Sorry,I'm new to this,hope I can get some help here. 1)How much does it roughly cost to develop film by myself? (Cost of materials etc) 3)What do I need? 2)Where is Ruby photo,and do they open on Sundays? Pinhole Camera Don't know where to post this,but anyway... 1)Must a special type of film be used? If no,can I use "Kodak Gold film"? Thanks For All Your Help!

http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=198939

[Swatch]

Originally Posted by slingshot http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=198939

I got this msg "Invalid Thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"

[nmk]

Originally Posted by Swatch Sorry,I'm new to this,hope I can get some help here. 1)How much does it roughly cost to develop film by myself? (Cost of materials etc) 3)What do I need? 2)Where is Ruby photo,and do they open on Sundays? Pinhole Camera Don't know where to post this,but anyway... 1)Must a special type of film be used? If no,can I use "Kodak Gold film"? Thanks For All Your Help!

IF you are looking to do home B&W development it will set you back about SGD60 initially. You can buy all the tools from Ruby.

You need:
1) A film developing Tank - Paterson, Jobo or any other brand ($20-$30, comes with the reel onto which the film needs to be loaded)
2) Changing bag ($20.. Darkbag is used to provide a light free environment to remove the film from the film canister (metal case) and load it onto a reel and place it in a developing tank. Get the biggest one you can afford)
3) Film picker (Optional, you can also use a pair of crocodile pliers if you have to remove the cap of the canister. helps remove the film from the canister, brings the end of the film out of the canister. $25 at ruby. buy from Perfectpixels.com SGD13.50 incl. shipping).

4) Developing chemicals. You need a Developer (preferably a liquid based developer, easier to handle) and a Fixer. Optional chemicals include a stop bath, HCA and a wetting agent. The chemicals will cost you between $15-20 (developer and Fixer, depending on the chemicals you choose, more exotic developers/fixers will obviously be more expensive)

For development procedure details http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=45612

5) Measuring Jars - buy from 1.99 shop or if you feel like paying for it from Ruby
6) Thermometer - Ikea has a cheap digital thermometer for $10 (near all the candles and tea light holders and the glass vases), if you find a cheap analog thermometer that will do as well. Tried using a thermometer that is used for body temperature, did not quite work out right.

7) A healthy dose of patience and a sense of humour (you will need this more than any of the rest)

Those are the essentials. Have fun developing.

[brian]

Here's some additional inputs based on my experience:

Originally Posted by nmk IF you are looking to do home B&W development it will set you back about SGD60 initially. You can buy all the tools from Ruby. You need: 1) A film developing Tank - Paterson, Jobo or any other brand ($20-$30, comes with the reel onto which the film needs to be loaded)

>> I find it difficult to find Paterson/Jobo (although I have a Jobo 4-5 roll tank waiting for me in Seattle when I go next... bought from Adorama.com before they ran out of stock) in singapore. Ruby do have a cheaper AP brand tank that does it just as well. I think its <20S$. And processes up to 2 rolls of 135 at a time.

Originally Posted by nmk 2) Changing bag ($20.. Darkbag is used to provide a light free environment to remove the film from the film canister (metal case) and load it onto a reel and place it in a developing tank. Get the biggest one you can afford)

>> Get the changing bag. I originally started without one but to load the film you'll have to lock yourself in a dark room and load the film. With the dark bag you can load anytime anywhere. But since you're still loading the film by feeling alone (since you can't see what's in the bag during loading), practice, practice, practice before loading your precious film.

Originally Posted by nmk 3) Film picker (Optional, you can also use a pair of crocodile pliers if you have to remove the cap of the canister. helps remove the film from the canister, brings the end of the film out of the canister. $25 at ruby. buy from Perfectpixels.com SGD13.50 incl. shipping).

>> For me film picker really is optional. Its not that easy to use, and you'll be frustrated in the beginning. What's better is to make sure you manually rewind the film and keep the leader out of the film canister when you rewind. Or else, a brut force method would be to use a can opener and pry open the film canister directly. All in the dark of course.

Originally Posted by nmk 4) Developing chemicals. You need a Developer (preferably a liquid based developer, easier to handle) and a Fixer. Optional chemicals include a stop bath, HCA and a wetting agent. The chemicals will cost you between $15-20 (developer and Fixer, depending on the chemicals you choose, more exotic developers/fixers will obviously be more expensive) For development procedure details http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=45612

>> Ruby sells some developers but seems that the easiest one to find is Kodak TMAX. If you're into Rodinal, the last time I stocked up on mine, I got it from Ron's Camera over at basement of Adelphi across the road. He sells mostly collectible cameras, but he's got some chemicals and films as well. Don't stinge on developers, demand is more than supply, so if you see, just buy. Saving 50c will not get you far.

Originally Posted by nmk 5) Measuring Jars - buy from 1.99 shop or if you feel like paying for it from Ruby

>> Get just one jar to go up to 100mL. the rest just keep on adding. They're all the same. So save here if you want. You'll want to keep some 0.5L and 1.5L mineral water bottle to keep the used chemicals to be recycled, like the fixer and stopbath... Make sure you label it as poisonous so that people dont think its 7-up. Mineral water bottle = free.

Originally Posted by nmk 6) Thermometer - Ikea has a cheap digital thermometer for $10 (near all the candles and tea light holders and the glass vases), if you find a cheap analog thermometer that will do as well. Tried using a thermometer that is used for body temperature, did not quite work out right. 7) A healthy dose of patience and a sense of humour (you will need this more than any of the rest) Those are the essentials. Have fun developing.

Here's a few more suggestions:

8) Rubber gloves: Get at pharmacies, they're cheap and disposable. You WILL get chemicals on your hands during development. S$5-10 for pack of 100?

9) Clothes peg: To dry the film at the end of the rinse cycle, use your clothes peg from your laundry yard. They will do. S$0 if you use your own, or steal it from your neighbour... just make sure its not the ones to clip around the whole pole. It should be able to clip the film end without warping it too much.


And... No Ruby and other camera stores in the vicinity are closed on Sundays.

[nmk]

Originally Posted by brian Here's some additional inputs based on my experience: >> For me film picker really is optional. Its not that easy to use, and you'll be frustrated in the beginning. What's better is to make sure you manually rewind the film and keep the leader out of the film canister when you rewind. Or else, a brut force method would be to use a can opener and pry open the film canister directly. All in the dark of course.

I bought my film picker recently (was using a plier to get the lid of the canister off before that) and its a pain to get right, I spent the better part of an hour figuring it out. Suprisingly enough there are no detailed instructions on the web. I finally stumbled across a photo.net description which was some help.

The funny part is, once you get it right its very easy to do so again and again. It like riding a bicycle I guess. Once you know how you cant quite forget.

Anyway, I might put up an article later on how to use a film picker (for others like me who struggle with this innocuous invention).

[student]

Originally Posted by nmk I bought my film picker recently (was using a plier to get the lid of the canister off before that) and its a pain to get right, I spent the better part of an hour figuring it out. Suprisingly enough there are no detailed instructions on the web. I finally stumbled across a photo.net description which was some help. The funny part is, once you get it right its very easy to do so again and again. It like riding a bicycle I guess. Once you know how you cant quite forget. Anyway, I might put up an article later on how to use a film picker (for others like me who struggle with this innocuous invention).

Right from the beginning, I was told by my instructor that a film picker was not necessary. And he was right!

I have been doing film processing for about 6 years, with many different film formats. I have never used a film picker. I use an ordinary can opener to open the cannister from the side, and "flop" out the film. That's it!

Takes me 5 seconds to open the cannister!

[nmk]

Originally Posted by student I use an ordinary can opener to open the cannister from the side, and "flop" out the film. That's it! Takes me 5 seconds to open the cannister!

The only problem I have ever faced in "flopping out the film" is that when you are loading onto a reel you have to constantly make sure that the bunch of film hanging below is not impeding your loading and have to stretch it out (doesnt have the weight of the canister to hold it down) but hey with practice it gets a lot easier.

[student]

Originally Posted by nmk The only problem I have ever faced in "flopping out the film" is that when you are loading onto a reel you have to constantly make sure that the bunch of film hanging below is not impeding your loading and have to stretch it out (doesnt have the weight of the canister to hold it down) but hey with practice it gets a lot easier.

That never happen because the reel is placed such that only a little "hang down", and when I am reeling the film in, both my hands/little fingers act as "guards" to make sure the negative is "straight" for loading.

Takes me about 30-45 seconds to reel in a 35 mm.

[nmk]

Originally Posted by student That never happen because the reel is placed such that only a little "hang down", and when I am reeling the film in, both my hands/little fingers act as "guards" to make sure the negative is "straight" for loading. Takes me about 30-45 seconds to reel in a 35 mm.

Now I know what to do.. Thanks for the tip.. Been having a little trouble withh this

[brian]

Originally Posted by nmk The only problem I have ever faced in "flopping out the film" is that when you are loading onto a reel you have to constantly make sure that the bunch of film hanging below is not impeding your loading and have to stretch it out (doesnt have the weight of the canister to hold it down) but hey with practice it gets a lot easier.

Especially when you can't see at all when loading the film! But it takes practice, and a few messups.

I find it also convenient, when you pry open the canister, when you reach the end of the film roll you can just tear the film away from the spool, no need to cut it with scissors anymore.

[Wisp]

Originally Posted by student Right from the beginning, I was told by my instructor that a film picker was not necessary. And he was right! I have been doing film processing for about 6 years, with many different film formats. I have never used a film picker. I use an ordinary can opener to open the cannister from the side, and "flop" out the film. That's it! Takes me 5 seconds to open the cannister!

That's true, but I use the film picker because I recycle my canisters for bulk loading