# New to film, looking for advice please.



## Canuk (Jun 26, 2012)

I am new to film, and would like to get into processing and printing my own black and white photos.
I have done a fair amount of research and have found a complete darkroom/devolping kit on kijiji for what I consider fairly reasonable.
I am looking for suggestions for film and chemicals that are easy to work with for a first timer.
The processing equipment also comes with some books that I will be sure to read for even more pointer, but really have no idea when it comes to chemicals.

Thanks in advance for you time.


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## Marcelle (Jun 26, 2012)

film Ilford FP4 or HP5
film developer rodinal/ADONAL
paper processing for multigrade paper *Tetenal Variospeed*
paper processing for any paper *Tetenal Eukobrom*


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## Canuk (Jun 26, 2012)

Thank you very much for your response, I will look into finding a supplier for those chemicals.


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## christopher walrath (Jun 26, 2012)

I have a write up on basic darkroom processing on my website.  Might check it out.  There are many ways to go regarding chemistry.  The Ilford chems are a good reliable way to go.  I would recommend some Kodak chemistry such as HC110 developer, Kodak Indicator Stop Bath and Kodafix.  However, the Great Yellow Father seems to be continually circling around the bottom of the big white bowl so there's no knowing how much longer their soup will be available.

Film, again, I love Kodak TMax 400 but how long can you get it?  Ilford is a good way to go there as well as they are continually devoting their energies toward the film photography community.  Paper, I love Oriental Seagull's papers.  Arista.edu papers are great for beginners from freestlyephoto.biz

There are as many combos as there are photographers who use them.  Just pick something and go for it.


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## Canuk (Jun 27, 2012)

Just an update, I was having a hard time trying to find chemicals that I could get relatively locally. McBain Camera's main store in Edmonton, thankfully still stocks film and B/W chemicals. 
So I picked up some Ilford HP5 400 and ready to get started. I also picked up Ilford chemicals and some 5x7 paper to start with.
The darkroom set up I found has enough parts and pieces for 2-3 complete darkrooms so I think I'm all set now. 
I will post some pics of my set up once I get everything figured out.


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## gsgary (Jun 27, 2012)

If you can't get Adonal (new name for Rodinal) you can get a cheaper version that is as good called RO9


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## Sw1tchFX (Jun 27, 2012)

Caffenol or GTFO.


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## Mike_E (Jun 27, 2012)

Sw1tchFX said:


> Caffenol or GTFO.



Caffenol: Hello


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## djacobox372 (Jun 27, 2012)

Just stic to liquid developer and mix it up fresh from concentrate each time.  Rodinal or hc110 are the most popular.


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## brianentz (Jul 10, 2012)

You never regret reading the book "the film developing cookbook" by Stephen anchel. A great education.


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## timor (Jul 11, 2012)

Marcelle said:


> film Ilford FP4 or HP5
> film developer rodinal/ADONAL
> paper processing for multigrade paper *Tetenal Variospeed*
> paper processing for any paper *Tetenal Eukobrom*



Hi Canuk. Welcome to film photography. It is wholly different ball game. I hope you will stick with it for a while as there is a lot to learn. As you will discover 150+ years of development accumulated quite a bit of knowledge. It is great, that you have a space for a darkroom, that's usually the biggest obstacle for many.

Marcelle, reality check, those materials (less the film) are not available in Canada. We have here expensive Ilford and much more affordable Kodak chemicals and that's what I would suggest for starters. Polymax T, HC110 and Kodafix. This are concentrates easy to work with. There is a plenty of info about HC110 on the net or OP can always ask here. As a paper RC VC should be the most practical for starters and after all they are not so bad.
Quick info about HC110:
Kodak HC-110 Developer - Unofficial Resource Page
Kodak HC-110 made simple


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## timor (Jul 11, 2012)

christopher walrath said:


> However, the Great Yellow Father seems to be continually circling around the bottom of the big white bowl so there's no knowing how much longer their soup will be available.


Kodak is not making this chemicals for years now. The production is in the hands of Canadian company from Brampton ON. operating the plant in Rochester NY. The company name is Champion. Who knows if the Ilford chemicals sold in North America are not coming from the same plant.


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## timor (Jul 11, 2012)

gsgary said:


> If you can't get Adonal (new name for Rodinal) you can get a cheaper version that is as good called RO9


 Canadian name for Adonal or former Rodinal is now Blazinal. I don't know why, patents maybe ?


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## gsgary (Jul 11, 2012)

D-76
1. Metol 2grams
2. sodium Sulphite (crist) 200grams
or sodium Sulphite (anyhydrous)
3. Hydroqueuinone 5grams
4. Borax 2grams
5. water 1000cc


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## bhop (Jul 11, 2012)

djacobox372 said:


> Just stic to liquid developer and mix it up fresh from concentrate each time.  Rodinal or hc110 are the most popular.



I agree on the liquid developer.  I use Clayton F76 developer and Arista for the rest, all available from Freestyle photo.. dunno if they ship liquid chemicals to Canada though..


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## timor (Jul 11, 2012)

bhop said:


> djacobox372 said:
> 
> 
> > Just stic to liquid developer and mix it up fresh from concentrate each time.  Rodinal or hc110 are the most popular.
> ...


I heard about F76. B&H will ship...but minimum of 12 1 liter bottles. They don't keep the stock. 
It is good to be in California, close to Freestyle. The shipping costs lately (Canadian fault) are rapidly growing.


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## MattxMosh (Jul 13, 2012)

What ever you choose, stick to the same thing for a bit until you understand how differences in you variable change one film. It'll flatten out the learning curve a bit. You dont want to jump from HP5+ & D76 to Adox CMS 25 & RLS. But it sure is fun.


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## Canuk (Jul 17, 2012)

Thanks for all the info, I have went with the Ilford brand for chemicals and papers to start with any ways, they were the easiest for me to acquire somewhat locally.

A little update on my progress, I have been shooting some cheap color film and just having the film developed at walmart (oh the horrors! I know, lol), but it was more to test my cameras to check for light leaks and such before adding my developing into the mix. 
My son was carrying my newly acquired Canon A-1, and dropped it, so I needed to get a new camera. Just getting through the first roll of film with my reconditioned Canon AE-1, I will post some pics as soon as I have a chance.
Thanks 
Brent


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## AaronLLockhart (Jul 17, 2012)

Do you have to dedicate a room to doing this, or can you use any room in your home as long as U.V. light isn't involved?


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## ann (Jul 17, 2012)

AaronLLockhart said:


> Do you have to dedicate a room to doing this, or can you use any room in your home as long as U.V. light isn't involved?




Doing traditional darkroom work requires a room that can be blacked out, meaning no light . We work under "safe light" with printing, no light at all when loading or unloading film for development.


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## Canuk (Jul 17, 2012)

I do have my space in my laundry room in the basement set aside for the darkroom, just have to find the time now, lol.


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## timor (Jul 21, 2012)

Good luck to you with the darkroom. Mine is shearing space with some junk in the storage room. No running water, but is large enough for 16x20 and is always ready. Lots of fun.
Any questions, always ask.
Ciao.


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## compur (Jul 21, 2012)

I wouldn't recommend Rodinal as a first developer.  It's wonderful stuff but a newbie is best served with a general purpose developer which Rodinal is not. 

Kodak HC110 (liquid) or D76 (powder) or Ilford ID-11 (powder) would be my recommendations. Liquid is easier to mix and powder is cheaper to ship.

FYI:
D76 is the most popular B&W developer of all time by far and for good reason.  It's a great place to start because it is the developer that all others are compared to. It produces an excellent balance of fine grain and sharpness. ID-11 is virtually identical to it and HC 110 is very similar in its results.


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## timor (Jul 22, 2012)

I think Rodinal is as "general purpose" film developer, as it gets. And is the easiest to handle. Much more flexible, then D76, delivers excellent results. Was created specifically for still photography about 40 years before D76, while D76 was created for needs of cinematography to replace unreliable pyro developers. Turned out it was not that good and soon was replaced by better stuff. However Kodak was left with huge capacity to produce it so it marked it as still photography developer with very low price. D76 become very popular. It is a good developer with nice tonal range but is has too much sodium sulfit to produce good grain. Rodinal grain, I agree, is bigger but sharper and well define. Kodak answer to Rodinal is HC110. I like it to, however this thick syrup requires more skill in handling then easily flowing Rodinal. I would rather suggest Rodinal,( Blazinal is new Canadian name ) as a starter.


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## Canuk (Aug 31, 2012)

Finally got my darkroom set up and developed my first roll of film. The film turned out fine but maybe a little dark. Set up the enlarger and played around w/ getting some hard prints. Printing my own photos was a lot of fun and has a pretty steep learning curve, lol. 
More reading and testing is required. Once I get a scanner I will try and post some examples here.


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## bhop (Aug 31, 2012)

compur said:


> FYI:
> D76 is the most popular B&W developer of all time by far and for good reason.  It's a great place to start because it is the developer that all others are compared to. It produces an excellent balance of fine grain and sharpness. ID-11 is virtually identical to it and HC 110 is very similar in its results.




I've been using Clayton F76 (D76 clone) for years.. never felt the urge to try something else.  All the b&w in my flickr stream is developed with it.


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## timor (Aug 31, 2012)

Alright, congrats ! Give us specs about the dev process you used.


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## Derrel (Aug 31, 2012)

I think Rodinal is a CRANKY developer....I have developed a few hundred rolls of Tri-X in Rodinal....it produces big, bold, crisp GRAIN...Roddy negs have a "look"...some like it...some loathe it...

D-76 diluted 1:1 with water, or HC-110 Dilution B are, IMHO, much better general-purpose developers for traditional silver-based B&W films. A 16-ounce bottle of HC-110 will develop over 200 rolls of film...and is a reasonable price to ship, and it keeps well and mixes reasonably easily. If you're shooting "old-style" (ie, NON-T-grain-emulsion) B&W films, I think either D-76 diluted 1:1 with water or HC-11o DIlution B are very,very hard to beat.


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## gsgary (Aug 31, 2012)

Derrel said:


> I think Rodinal is a CRANKY developer....I have developed a few hundred rolls of Tri-X in Rodinal....it produces big, bold, crisp GRAIN...Roddy negs have a "look"...some like it...some loathe it...
> 
> D-76 diluted 1:1 with water, or HC-110 Dilution B are, IMHO, much better general-purpose developers for traditional silver-based B&W films. A 16-ounce bottle of HC-110 will develop over 200 rolls of film...and is a reasonable price to ship, and it keeps well and mixes reasonably easily. If you're shooting "old-style" (ie, NON-T-grain-emulsion) B&W films, I think either D-76 diluted 1:1 with water or HC-11o DIlution B are very,very hard to beat.



Rodinal is not best with Tri-x but with FP4 it is a match made in heaven

Although this is 26 years out of date Tri-X in Rodinal







And FP4 in Rodinal


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## amolitor (Aug 31, 2012)

I love Rodinal primarily because it has the shelf life of gravel, which is perfect for an on-again off-again film guy like me.


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## timor (Aug 31, 2012)

Derrel said:


> If you're shooting "old-style" (ie, NON-T-grain-emulsion) B&W films, I think either D-76 diluted 1:1 with water or HC-11o DIlution B are very,very hard to beat.


From practical point of view; easy to buy, easy to keep, simplicity of use I agree. Performance ? It's arguable. Some people say Xtol is hard to beat, and what about glycin, something like Edwal 10 ? But then you can't buy it, you have to mix yourself, not practicable right ?


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## gsgary (Aug 31, 2012)

coffee is also good


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## Mike_E (Aug 31, 2012)

amolitor said:


> I love Rodinal primarily because it has the shelf life of gravel, which is perfect for an on-again off-again film guy like me.



So does instant coffee.


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## Canuk (Sep 1, 2012)

timor said:


> Alright, congrats ! Give us specs about the dev process you used.



Loaded my film in the can, Ilford HP5+
Ilfosol 3 developer mix 9-1, agitation 5 inversions per min, tapping can after, for 7mins @ 20*C (as per film box)
Ilfostop -  mix 19-1, 30 secs of inversions, left for 2mins
Ilford Rapid Fixer, mix 9-1, 5 inversions per min, tapping after for 5 mins.
Washed film w/ inversions 5 - new water, 10 - new water, 20 - new water, running water for 3 mins, washed w/ photflow then hung to dry.

Thats what I did, I think next roll I may develop for slightly less, maybe 6.5 mins


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## gsgary (Sep 1, 2012)

when fixing i use continuos agitation for 3mins


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## Derrel (Sep 1, 2012)

Mike_E said:


> amolitor said:
> 
> 
> > I love Rodinal primarily because it has the shelf life of gravel, which is perfect for an on-again off-again film guy like me.
> ...



Same with Kodak's HC-110 concentrate AKA "syrup"...I have used the stuff five,six years out of date, with great results!!!


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