The two things that caused the most problems with uneven edge development were putting in a small ring cut from a 35mm plastic film canister - just enough to take up all the free space between the top reel and the lid of the tank. That keeps the reels from sliding up and down when you invert the tank for agitation. The second was making sure that you're filled all the way up with developer, and don't forget to knock the tank on the counter to free any stuck bubbles. I developed hundreds upon hundreds of rolls this way, mixing 35mm and 120 reels randomly or just one or the other and never had a problem. Those two little tricks were things I picked up at Art Center. Prior to that, there were occasional issues, but after none. I had two tanks that would do 8 35mm reels at once, so I could crank out 16 rolls pretty quickly. And, if you're only doing one roll in a multi roll tank, make sure you fill it up with reels and a spacer as well.
Now that I don't have a wet darkroom any more, I use, and have been using Schulman Photo Lab in Hollywood, by far the best black and white lab in L.A. Still going strong, especially in the fine art market.
The two things that caused the most problems with uneven edge development were putting in a small ring cut from a 35mm plastic film canister - just enough to take up all the free space between the top reel and the lid of the tank. That keeps the reels from sliding up and down when you invert the tank for agitation. The second was making sure that you're filled all the way up with developer, and don't forget to knock the tank on the counter to free any stuck bubbles. I developed hundreds upon hundreds of rolls this way, mixing 35mm and 120 reels randomly or just one or the other and never had a problem. Those two little tricks were things I picked up at Art Center. Prior to that, there were occasional issues, but after none. I had two tanks that would do 8 35mm reels at once, so I could crank out 16 rolls pretty quickly. And, if you're only doing one roll in a multi roll tank, make sure you fill it up with reels and a spacer as well.
Now that I don't have a wet darkroom any more, I use, and have been using Schulman Photo Lab in Hollywood, by far the best black and white lab in L.A. Still going strong, especially in the fine art market. ...Show more →
Peter, thanks for the tips. I think my use of stand development added to the issues.
I have a few more rolls of Panatomic-X, ~1972 that I will fine tune the process with.
I didn't set out to play with such expired film but the experience & results have been worth it.
Steve464 wrote:
What is it? Are the fishies always that jammed together?
It's a large koi pond, with lots of room, but the fishes go into a feeding frenzy when my daughter tosses in some food, which she did a few seconds before I snapped that photo.
rattymouse wrote:
It's a large koi pond, with lots of room, but the fishes go into a feeding frenzy when my daughter tosses in some food, which she did a few seconds before I snapped that photo.
Great images Rattymouse and Jon - particularly like the Koi close-up image
Rollei / Agfa CN200 Digibase apart from the last three that are with Ektar 100 all film self developed with Tetenal C41 kit at 35'C scanned with a Nikon Coolscan 9000
Have just purchased a mint Mamiya 6 with 75mm lens from Japan and the 50mm should arrive shortly. Very happy with the performance of this wonderful rangefinder.
The Hasselblad is great but not 100% happy with the CFi 60/3.5 Distagon - I was expecting it to perform a bit better wide open in the corners and a bit disappointed by the OOF highlight rendering.
