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Photo Forum / Film Photography / Darkroom / April 2004Comparing C-41 chemicals?
What do people feel about the various C-41 chemicals? I'm likely just going to order the kit from Fotochem but would the Kodak chemicals be better? I've been very pleased with the RA-4 kit from Fotochem so I'm assuming the C-41 kit is equally good. For those that mix thier own how long do the raw chemicals keep? I'm guessing from looking at the formulas that I would need a more accurate scale for this. Thanks Nick Hi Nick, I make my own C-41 and RA-4 chemistry. Remember, the CD-3 and CD-4 are Kodak made. The rest are generic, anyways, and only the formulas may differ. I refrigerate the developers at about 40 degrees F. They keep for 1 - 2 months. I will use it if it is still clear. If it changes color I throw it out. I generally try to follow the rule of use once (though that may be two rolls developed one after the other) and throw it out, in order to preserve quality. If I remember to have two rolls ready to develop at any one time, I can get 8 rolls of 35 mm film from just over a liter of developer, and 6 rolls of 120 film. Otherwise it it 4 and 3 respectively. Even at that, the homemade chemistry is cheaper than store bought. The raw chemicals seem to keep indefinitely. I have never had any CD-3 or CD-4 go bad on me. The only troublesome chemical is Triethanolamine 99%, which solidifies in my cool (55 degree F) basement, and which I must warm up to make it liquid again. The scale I use is an O-Haus triple beam balance (bought on eBay for $35), good to 0.1 gram. It suffices. Maybe, someday for Christmas or my birthday, I will get a digital balance (about ($100 from Photographers' Formulary). Francis A. Miniter > What do people feel about the various C-41 chemicals? I'm likely >just going to order the kit from Fotochem but would the Kodak chemicals be [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Thanks > Nick > The raw chemicals seem to keep indefinitely. I have never had any CD-3 > or CD-4 go bad on me. Does anyone know where to get raw chemicals for C-41 in Europe? Ralf  SignatureRalf R. Radermacher - DL9KCG - Köln/Cologne, Germany private homepage: http://www.fotoralf.de manual cameras and photo galleries - updated March 30, 2004 Contarex - Kiev 60 - Horizon 202 - P6 mount lenses > > The raw chemicals seem to keep indefinitely. I have never had any CD-3 > > or CD-4 go bad on me. > > Does anyone know where to get raw chemicals for C-41 in Europe? > > Ralf Ralf, Brenner has many of them. But not cheap (what is here;~). Photographers Formulary will ship internationally anything that's not hazardous. Art Craft will as well. If you need something special from the USA, ping me here and I'll see if I can help. I work in the Kaiserslautern area so to Koeln, it's not far to send. Jim >> The raw chemicals seem to keep indefinitely. I have never had any CD-3 >> or CD-4 go bad on me. > > Does anyone know where to get raw chemicals for C-41 in Europe? > > Ralf hi, you can try www.prophot.com. It's a shop in Paris. waiming > Hi Nick, > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > respectively. Even at that, the homemade chemistry is cheaper than > store bought. I was thinking of using it one shot made up just before use. I re-read the Kodak C-41 manual a few nights ago and they mention that if you use the developer in a rotary tube it should be tossed after one use. What I was hoping for was one batch of C-41 film and then a couple rolls of crossprocessed. Have to see how it works. The formulas I looked at don't seem too bad if I go with a bleach and a separate fix. The fixer formula mentions using 244ml of Kodak flexicolor fixer. I assume they mean 244 of concentrate? > The scale I use is an O-Haus triple beam balance (bought on eBay for > $35), good to 0.1 gram. It suffices. Maybe, someday for Christmas or > my birthday, I will get a digital balance (about ($100 from > Photographers' Formulary). I've been mostly using spoons for B&W. They are repeatable but I doubt accurate enough for the small amounts in the formulas. Thanks Nick > > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > I believe so. I use reels in a steel tank. By the way, the bleach or bleach-fix is reuseable for a substantial period of time. You can get about 12 rolls out of it without worry and it will not decompose at room termperature (for me, 55 degrees) for even more than six months. > > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Thanks > Nick Agreed. Francis A. Miniter > I believe so. I use reels in a steel tank. By the way, the bleach or > bleach-fix is reuseable for a substantial period of time. You can get > about 12 rolls out of it without worry and it will not decompose at room > termperature (for me, 55 degrees) for even more than six months. I've thought of just doing it inversion. It would make temperture control less an issue but the tanks use alot more chemicals. I did a test last night. I preheated a tank then put 700ml of water in it at the right temp. After two minutes it was still right at the same temperture. I'm hoping that on the motorbase the tank will be okay. Plus it's the only way I could even try 4x5 colour processing. The bleach had seemed the most expensive part so the longer life is a positive. Thanks Nick <<Nick Zentena wrote: I was thinking of using it one shot made up just before use. I re-read the Kodak C-41 manual a few nights ago and they mention that if you use the developer in a rotary tube it should be tossed after one use. What I was hoping for was one batch of C-41 film and then a couple rolls of crossprocessed. >> Nick, the toss after one use is most critical for your developer. Most rotary tubes are thought of as being for single-shot chemicals as you use such small volumes per roll or sheet that you have exhausted the capacity of that developer. In addition, you are exposing a large surface area of chemistry to air while the tube or drum rotates, causing greater oxidation that if the solution was in a small tank like a Paterson or Nikor. Bernie > <<Nick Zentena wrote: I was thinking of using it one shot made up just before > use. I re-read the Kodak C-41 manual a few nights ago and they mention that if [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > air while the tube or drum rotates, causing greater oxidation that if the > solution was in a small tank like a Paterson or Nikor. Thanks. From the sounds of it I'd be using the amount of film that almost equals the capacity of the developer so it's not like I'll be wasting too much. Nick |
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