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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / April 2004E6 Developing at Home - Is Jobo the right equipment?
Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too much, so I'm considering developing these films at home in order to save some money Could someone advise me on the most suitable equipment and chemicals for home developing. I did some investigation and it appears that Jobo tanks (1500 & 2500 series) are my best bet. I'm not sure, however, whether those tanks can work alone, or should be used with Jobo processors such as CPE-2 Plus or CPP-2. Also, I'm not sure whether I should go for Jobo lift or no lift. Please feel free to recommend whatever equipment and chemical that you believe are best for home developing. On a typical day, I usually need to develop 6-10 rolls of 120 in one session. Many thanks in advance for your contributions. Hani I use a Jobo CPE-2 and have used it to process many rolls of E6. The Jobo makes the job boring. I would also storngly suggest that you get the lift kit. : Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly : 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too : much, so I'm considering developing these films at home in order to save : some money : Could someone advise me on the most suitable equipment and chemicals for : home developing. I did some investigation and it appears that Jobo tanks : (1500 & 2500 series) are my best bet. I'm not sure, however, whether those : tanks can work alone, or should be used with Jobo processors such as CPE-2 : Plus or CPP-2. Also, I'm not sure whether I should go for Jobo lift or no : lift. : Please feel free to recommend whatever equipment and chemical that you : believe are best for home developing. On a typical day, I usually need to : develop 6-10 rolls of 120 in one session. : Many thanks in advance for your contributions. : Hani  SignatureKeep working millions on welfare depend on you ------------------- fwp@deepthought.com > Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly > 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Plus or CPP-2. Also, I'm not sure whether I should go for Jobo lift or no > lift. Both tanks can be used without a processor but since you are doing E-6 and need some sort of temp control the processor will make your life much easier. The 2500 tanks can handle 4x5 and smaller. The 1500 can't handle 4x5. So the simplest is to just go with the 2500 type tanks and reels. The setup will cost a little more for reels and tanks plus it'll use a little more chemistry but you won't have two setups and that should save you money overall. Kodak sells a 5litre E-6 kit I think. Considering how much you seem to be processing no use going smaller. If you're doing enough rolls then you might want to consider bigger but that depends on processing enough rolls before the chemicals go bad. A couple of suggestions. Go to the Kodak website and download the E-6 manuals. Then go to the Jobo website and download the manual for one of the processors. Nick > Could someone advise me on the most suitable equipment and chemicals for > home developing. I did some investigation and it appears that Jobo tanks > (1500 & 2500 series) are my best bet. I'm not sure, however, whether those snip > Please feel free to recommend whatever equipment and chemical that you > believe are best for home developing. On a typical day, I usually need to > develop 6-10 rolls of 120 in one session. Others have advised about Jobo processors etc., and I use a DuoLab with success for 35mm, but your problems may revolve around how often is a "typical day" ? For successful and repeatable processing, E6 chemicals need to be either fresh or in a known state of replenishment. SignatureM Stewart Milton Keynes, UK www.megalith.freeserve.co.uk/oddimage.htm http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/ms1938/ > Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly > 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Hani Don't bother. Send it to a a lab. You cannot get the same consistency as a pro lab, and it takes time. Time is money. I agree. You can get E6 processed almost anywhere in one or two days. Doing it yourself, at least if you want consistent results, takes a lot of care and the chemistry isn't cheap. I do use the JOBO for BW, BW Slides, unsharp masks and inter-negatives, however. , > > Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly > > 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > Don't bother. Send it to a a lab. You cannot get the same consistency > as a pro lab, and it takes time. Time is money. The reason I process transperencies at home is cost and convenience. Most of what I do is 4x5 and there are no pro labs that are less then a 45 minute drive. It's also expensive. I got Kodak's one shot E6 kit for ~$60. It's a 5liter kit and I can mix it as I use it. With my Jobo I can process for 36mm rolls of film with 500ml or 6 sheets of 4x5 film with 270ml. It takes me 40minutes to mix the chemistry before use. I put it in my processor and turn it on and do somthing else for a couple of hours. At the same time I turn on my tempering tank with 12 1 liter bottles of water for washing. From start to finish the processing take ~30 minutes. The quality of my results are as good and at times better then what I get from a pro lab (the last time I brought 4x5 transperencies to the closest pro lab they wrecked all 15 sheets that I brought in.), it costs a lot less then a lab and even when taking the time it takes to load the tanks and mix the chemistry it takes less time. Even if you decide not to process your own slide film on a regular basis it is something that you should do at least once. BTW - how do you get BW slides? : I agree. You can get E6 processed almost anywhere in one or two days. : Doing it yourself, at least if you want consistent results, takes a lot of : care and the chemistry isn't cheap. : I do use the JOBO for BW, BW Slides, unsharp masks and inter-negatives, : however. : , : > "Mehawitchi" <facesdxb@emirates.net.ae> wrote in message [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] : > Don't bother. Send it to a a lab. You cannot get the same consistency : > as a pro lab, and it takes time. Time is money. SignatureKeep working millions on welfare depend on you ------------------- fwp@deepthought.com > Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly > 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too > much, so I'm considering developing these films at home in order to save > some money It is doubtful you will save much money, because the Jobo cost is high, and the chemicals are expensive in small quantities. The reasons for doing E-6 yourself are to process large format or odd sizes, and to gain push and pull control over the Ektapress versions. It's false economy to think you are going to save money. In terms of what I would recommend for equipment.... I like the ATL-2000 or current equivalent. It's fully automatic and easy to get repeatable results. Used you may be able to get one for about $2K. For tanks, the standard small tanks are fine for 135/220. But for large format you should really get the 3000 series tanks -- like the 3005 or 3006. Those give the most consistent results. They put a waterbath around the tubes so the film stays +/- nothing for the whole process. The Jobo 2509N tank works well for 4X5 E-6 processing, if you load it correctly. Use the loading tools Jobo supplies. Be sure the two baffles are installed correctly. They affect the agitation in a critical way. Errors in loading or assembly are disasterous. I understand the Jobo "Expert" tanks are a bit better and a lot more foolproof. For 8X10, I develop single sheets in the regular paper processing tube. I've had my troubles with this (mostly undeveloped or uncleared spots), but I think I'm getting it under control. Two keys: clenliness and sufficient solution volume. Make sure the tank is thoroughly cleaned and dried before loading the film. Use sufficient solution to do the job (I've been using about 800ml for the 2509N and 250ml per sheet for the 8X10 tube. Helpful hints appreciated.) > Most of my photography work is done on slide films (Transparencies), mainly > 135 and 120 rolls as well as a bit of 4x5 inch. This is costing me too [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Hani |
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