darkroom: a little confused

[harvestnow]

*** hey, thanks to StreetShooter.

i went to buy the chemicals form ruby on sat. haven't got a chance to try out though.

bought the

1. AP Developing Tank($20)
2. Black color bag($30) - so expensive...
3. Kodak T-MAX developer 757mL($16)
4. Ilford Hypam Rapid Fixer 1L(shld be $10)

goin to buy the 2 syringes soon for mixing chemicals.

anyway, i've got a roll. FP4(125asa).
all shot under-exposed (asa on cam, 125), plan to PUUUUSH 3 stops.

well, i dun mind the grain, learnt to appreciate it.

but 1 more thing i dun quite understand. is that ...

1. i don't know how to shake.. haha... dunno whether i shld shake by intervals, or constantly shake, etc?

2. if 1 roll, 500mL water shld be enuff right?

3. and if it is 500mL, i suppose the equation should be...
Tap Water(500mL) + Kodak T-MAX developer(125mL) = 625mL
am i right?

4. for fixing, same right?
Tap Water(500mL) + Ilford Hypam Rapid Fixer(125mL) = 625mL

hope that someone can answer my questions. =) hee...

[leewt214]

Originally Posted by harvestnow *** 1. i don't know how to shake.. haha... dunno whether i shld shake by intervals, or constantly shake, etc? 2. if 1 roll, 500mL water shld be enuff right? 3. and if it is 500mL, i suppose the equation should be... Tap Water(500mL) + Kodak T-MAX developer(125mL) = 625mL am i right? 4. for fixing, same right? Tap Water(500mL) + Ilford Hypam Rapid Fixer(125mL) = 625mL hope that someone can answer my questions. =) hee...

1. There is no right or wrong way to aggitating, usual you experiment and stick to what you're used to. It is recommended to aggitate at regular intervals. Too much aggitation, your negatives will be very contrasty, too little aggitation, they'll be flat. As for me, when i pour in the chemicals, i usually give mine tanks 3 hard knocks on the table top to dislodge the air bubbles. My method of aggitation is to invert the tank 180 degrees and back, and half a twist 3 times every 30s. This method is describe in Ansel Adam's The Negative.

2. for 35mm, 500ml is more than enough. Look at the underside of your tank, it should tell you how much chemicals are needed. I usually use 400ml. Bythe way, 400, 500ml is the total amt of develop and water added together, not water alone.

3. This would depend on the concentration. For example, to mix 1+1 of tmax developer mixed to 500ml, i'll add 1 part of developer to 1 part of water, which would be 250ml of water and 250ml develop. check out www.digitaltruth.com for the appropriate concentration of the developer to water and the developing time.

4. For hypam rapid fixer, you're suppose to mix 1+4. which is 1 part of fixer to 4 parts water. Add 100ml of fixer to 400ml of water to make 500ml.

5. you need a thermometer to measure the temp of your developer as it'll affect the developing time. The developing time is usually given in 20 degree celcius. In general, substrated 30s from the developing time for every 1 degree increase in temp. Eg, 8min in 20 degree would be 4min in 28 degree. Play ard with it until you find a system that works.

[b18]

Originally Posted by harvestnow *** hey, thanks to StreetShooter. i1. i don't know how to shake.. haha... dunno whether i shld shake by intervals, or constantly shake, etc? 2. if 1 roll, 500mL water shld be enuff right? 3. and if it is 500mL, i suppose the equation should be... Tap Water(500mL) + Kodak T-MAX developer(125mL) = 625mL am i right? 4. for fixing, same right? Tap Water(500mL) + Ilford Hypam Rapid Fixer(125mL) = 625mL hope that someone can answer my questions. =) hee...

1. You don't shake [ like shaking Pearl tea ] but you agitate.
That's like top -> bottom -> top -> bottom -> ... .
Do that for the first 30s .. and 5s every 30s til dev time is up.

2. 500mL of water ? Last time I develop, it was 300ml for 1 roll or 600ml for 2 roll of the total solution. [D76 and water]

=bob=

[hangdog]

1. haha, yes, not "shaking", as some pointed out, its "agitate". Its really just inverting the tank, and righting it again. or as some say, top -> bottom -> top -> bottom , or in another words, turn upside down -> turn rightside up -> upside down -> rightside up, .... and repeat.

aigitation is 10 seconds once you pour in the chemical mixture, and then 10 second on the minute every minute. After each agitation, out the tank down, tap the top a few times to dislodge air bubbles.

You can find some of these info (about temp, how often to agitate, ...etc) by downloading the PDF files associated with the product you are using from ilford's web site. Its important to follow the instruction recommended for the product you use. Some developer need agitation, some need a lot, some don't need. There are no hard and fast rules.

2. amount of mixture (yes, not just water) depends on the tank you are using. For the developing tank I am using, 300 ml is enough for 1 roll of film. 600ml for 2 rolls, and it will start overflowing if I pour more. What is important, is that there must be enough to fully immerse the film you are developing. haha, too much never mind, too little, .... oh oh, (I hope you will never find out...).

[harvestnow]

hee... hey, thanks to everyone. =)
i've managed to achieve what i wanted! yeah!