A brilliant and informative set of videos, thank you so much for doing this video. I didn’t realise the impact different styles and length of agitation was so crucial.
Very well done & much appreciated. You have a very professional set up and I'm sure we all wish we had access to a such a nice darkroom. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge & experience.
Just wonderful videos, from the Ilford chemist that developed the developer I use here in the States... I also notice, that no squeegee of the film at any time. Only old timers know that when film is wet the emulsion is soft and can be scratched by fingers, sponges or rubber squeegees. Ilford was lucky to have you on there team. I have been developing film since 1973, and I always check videos and pick up tips from fellow photographers/darkroom gents.
+Carmine Taverna Hi Carmine, thanks for the comment. Pleased you found them useful. I learned at an early age, the hard way, not to use squeegee or fingers. It only takes so many scratches before you catch on! Dave
Thanks for the question. The foamy solution is a final rinse of Ilford Ilfotol wetting agent at a dilution of 10ml Ilfotol made up to 1 litre with water. This is to prevent water droplets drying on the film. The final rinse should just run off leaving no deposits on your negatives. Hope that helps! Dave
Hello Dave, Lately I have seen an increase of STAND DEVELOPMENT. Leaving your film, alone, not inverted for 60 minutes. What are your thoughts of stand DEVELOPMENT with Ilford HP-5? Peace from New York City
Hi Carmine, I'm unfamiliar with the term Stand Development. From your description I understand what you mean though. Reduced agitation is associated with increased sharpness because of exhausted developer effects. 60 minutes seems excessive for such effects but time depends on the developer. Good luck. Dave
Hi Dave, I'm just coming back to developing my own films after a long break - thanks for a great set of videos which gave me the revision that I needed - where to be precise, what was important / less important and the technique you use of slight overexposure / more dilute developer to extract more shadow detail. I'm not planning to start out with 2,5 litre tanks just now but the videos you've put out are excellent learning material for people at all levels. Thanks and Regards Robert
Hi Dave, correct me if I am wrong. You used DD-X 1+6 for 9 and 1/2 minutes with inversions of 3 to 4 times for the first 10 secs. every minute for 120 film?
Hi Dave, This is a very helpful video for beginners like me considering that you worked in Ilford. I have watched almost all of your videos regarding film development. I have a query. At 12:54, you tapped Paterson tank to dislodge air. I wish to know if that will crack or break the tank if done repeatedly. Today, I got a Paterson tank and here in India, buying photographic materials is like dropping a bomb on our wallet, leaves a big hole. :) Please keep posting videos. Thanks...
Hi Dave. In the video you mention that the processing time for FP4 is "9 and half minutes", yet on the very useful processing chart you show 9 minutes. Is 9 min the time that you start pouring out the dev and as you mentioned it takes about 30 sec so that would explain the time discrepancy. I'm in Toronto at the moment and film has definitely made a bit of come back here as in the UK which is great to see. Best regards, Norbert.
Hi Norbert, sorry to confuse. I changed the dev time that I use to 9 minutes. Some of my negatives were more dense than I wanted. Both work though. Yes, Ilford confirm the increase in black and white and it seems to be a wide age range and worldwide! Long may it continue.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Dave! I understand you always mix up fresh developer; do you also always mix up fresh stop bath and fixer, or do you re-use these?
Yes, fresh dev and fresh fix as they oxidise rapidly when open to the air. Stop bath with indicator can be reused. Ilfostop can be reused as long as it is a yellow colour. If it's colourless or purple it's useless, throw it away.
Hello Dave, Fantastic explanation and great video! I'm going to develop my first B&W film and trying to get an understanding of the different developers and the other chemicals out there. So, far I've decide to go with Ilford DD-X dev,washaid, stop bath and Rapid fixer. I've one question regarding the wetting agent. Can I use Kodak Photo-Flo 200 or I need to use Ilford wetting agent itself?
You can use any wetting agent sold for processing photographic films. Kodak Photoflo is excellent too. I would avoid standard washing up products as they can adversely affect the storage of films. In other words they can cause degradation of film negatives over time.
@@DarkroomDave Thanks for the reply Dave. Yes I plan to use only recommended chemicals. I did see some people on RUclips say they tried regular dish washing soap etc but I don't think it will be good in the long run.
ciao Dave, I have a paterson tank 8 reels like yours, unfortunately I got a crack along its lenght.... any chance to fix it or glue it somehow? Which polymer is that? Thanks for your help. P.S. great "practical" video
+Andrea Comai Hi Andrea, I dropped a tank on the floor and it cracked similar to what you describe. I daren't use it as I wasn't certain the repair would be reliable. It went in the rubbish bin! I did consider melting the plastic with a soldering iron and moving plastic to cover the crack. It would need to be done inside and out to give it a chance of working. The time it would take to do this though and the uncertainty in success justified buying a new tank. Sorry I don't have a magic solution for you! If you mess up making a print you just use another sheet of paper but if you screw up processing your films you've had it - images lost forever. Dave
Hi Dave, I'm getting into trouble right at the end of processing my films. Use your dilution of 1 + 100 ilfotol in bottled spring water ( from Morrison's) and have tried dilution's through to 1 + 500 in de-ionised water and nothing seems to guarantee a nice clean negative. I get tiny dry pools forming sometimes, other times a greasy sort of sheen, through to what almost looks like limescale at the worst. Always on the glossy side of the negative, the emulsion side drys cleanly, never had my ilfotol bubble up all foamy, should I try a richer mix say 1 + 50. Really heartbreaking to go to the shower cabinet after a nights drying to find another roll of film unusable. Sorry for such a long question.
+Stephen Deakin Hi Stephen, sorry to hear about your problems with Ilfotol. Yes do try more concentrated so that water runs off without forming drops on surface. Just for info, you can rewash film, it's not the end if you see marks. Rewash until no longer seen. Best if do this before cutting up to put in filing sleeves. Good luck. Dave
Hi Stephen, I'm not sure spring water is devoid of minerals or other impurities etc. Just a suggestion, but what I've done is bought a distiller on amazon. Not that expensive and you're guaranteed to have mineral free water. I use the distilled water when mixing developer and then for final soaking in wetting agent solution. Negs come out pristine. hope that helps.
No, that shouldn't be necessary with modern films. They wash fast in running water above about 6ºC. I see on the Ilford website that they refer to their Washaid as a hypo-eliminator a term which is also used instead of hypo-clearing agent which usually refers to peroxide or other oxidising agents. However, Ilford Washaid uses ion-exchange alone to help remove the salts in the fixer that have to be removed to make films and prints stable. So Washaid is not a hypo-eliminator in the sense that I understand the term to be used from when I worked in Ilford photo chemicals research. Dave
No, I would never use a hypo-clearing agent as they can affect storage life of prints. They are usually based on peroxide and if there is any residue of it in the paper it will degrade the image. I do use Ilford Washaid with large FB prints though, just to make sure they are well washed. You don't need anything at all with RC papers, they wash so fast it's completely unnecessary.
My print washers were made by a UK company called Nova Darkroom. They were bought by Wex cameras. I suggest you try them, they have a darkroom department.
Roger Lowe I don't reuse film or print developer ever, but people are paying quite a lot of money for my pictures so I think I owe them the best quality possible. if you have tried it and can't see the difference then just do it.
A brilliant and informative set of videos, thank you so much for doing this video. I didn’t realise the impact different styles and length of agitation was so crucial.
Very well done & much appreciated. You have a very professional set up and I'm sure we all wish we had access to a such a nice darkroom. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge & experience.
This is the greatest help I could find to start my home film development! Thanks for that sir! Great work!
Just wonderful videos, from the Ilford chemist that developed the developer I use here in the States...
I also notice, that no squeegee of the film at any time. Only old timers know that when film is wet
the emulsion is soft and can be scratched by fingers, sponges or rubber squeegees.
Ilford was lucky to have you on there team.
I have been developing film since 1973, and I always check videos and pick up tips
from fellow photographers/darkroom gents.
+Carmine Taverna Hi Carmine, thanks for the comment. Pleased you found them useful. I learned at an early age, the hard way, not to use squeegee or fingers. It only takes so many scratches before you catch on! Dave
You have a super clear way of teaching how to do this with tips and tricks. THANK you soooooooooo much to getting me started in film.
Pleased it helped you. Good luck using film and darkroom.
Thanks for the question. The foamy solution is a final rinse of Ilford Ilfotol wetting agent at a dilution of 10ml Ilfotol made up to 1 litre with water. This is to prevent water droplets drying on the film. The final rinse should just run off leaving no deposits on your negatives. Hope that helps! Dave
Hello Dave, Lately I have seen an increase of STAND DEVELOPMENT. Leaving your film, alone, not inverted for 60 minutes. What are your thoughts of stand DEVELOPMENT with Ilford HP-5?
Peace from New York City
Hi Carmine, I'm unfamiliar with the term Stand Development. From your description I understand what you mean though. Reduced agitation is associated with increased sharpness because of exhausted developer effects. 60 minutes seems excessive for such effects but time depends on the developer. Good luck. Dave
Hi Dave,
I'm just coming back to developing my own films after a long break - thanks for a great set of videos which gave me the revision that I needed - where to be precise, what was important / less important and the technique you use of slight overexposure / more dilute developer to extract more shadow detail. I'm not planning to start out with 2,5 litre tanks just now but the videos you've put out are excellent learning material for people at all levels.
Thanks and Regards
Robert
Pleased you find them useful Robert. Dave
Hi Dave, correct me if I am wrong. You used DD-X 1+6 for 9 and 1/2 minutes with inversions of 3 to 4 times for the first 10 secs. every minute for 120 film?
Yes that's correct. Dave
Hi Dave,
This is a very helpful video for beginners like me considering that you worked in Ilford. I have watched almost all of your videos regarding film development. I have a query. At 12:54, you tapped Paterson tank to dislodge air. I wish to know if that will crack or break the tank if done repeatedly. Today, I got a Paterson tank and here in India, buying photographic materials is like dropping a bomb on our wallet, leaves a big hole. :)
Please keep posting videos. Thanks...
Yes, eventually Paterson tanks can crack but it's usually because I drop them rather from tapping with a plastic spatula. Dave
@@DarkroomDave Thanks Dave for youe reply.
Hello Dave, What is the liquid you put on 6:15 into the tank? Is it just water or why is it foamy? Thanks!
Hi Dave. In the video you mention that the processing time for FP4 is "9 and half minutes", yet on the very useful processing chart you show 9 minutes. Is 9 min the time that you start pouring out the dev and as you mentioned it takes about 30 sec so that would explain the time discrepancy. I'm in Toronto at the moment and film has definitely made a bit of come back here as in the UK which is great to see. Best regards, Norbert.
Hi Norbert, sorry to confuse. I changed the dev time that I use to 9 minutes. Some of my negatives were more dense than I wanted. Both work though. Yes, Ilford confirm the increase in black and white and it seems to be a wide age range and worldwide! Long may it continue.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom, Dave! I understand you always mix up fresh developer; do you also always mix up fresh stop bath and fixer, or do you re-use these?
Yes, fresh dev and fresh fix as they oxidise rapidly when open to the air. Stop bath with indicator can be reused. Ilfostop can be reused as long as it is a yellow colour. If it's colourless or purple it's useless, throw it away.
Hello Dave,
Fantastic explanation and great video! I'm going to develop my first B&W film and trying to get an understanding of the different developers and the other chemicals out there. So, far I've decide to go with Ilford DD-X dev,washaid, stop bath and Rapid fixer. I've one question regarding the wetting agent. Can I use Kodak Photo-Flo 200 or I need to use Ilford wetting agent itself?
You can use any wetting agent sold for processing photographic films. Kodak Photoflo is excellent too. I would avoid standard washing up products as they can adversely affect the storage of films. In other words they can cause degradation of film negatives over time.
@@DarkroomDave Thanks for the reply Dave. Yes I plan to use only recommended chemicals. I did see some people on RUclips say they tried regular dish washing soap etc but I don't think it will be good in the long run.
ciao Dave, I have a paterson tank 8 reels like yours, unfortunately I got a crack along its lenght.... any chance to fix it or glue it somehow? Which polymer is that? Thanks for your help.
P.S. great "practical" video
+Andrea Comai Hi Andrea, I dropped a tank on the floor and it cracked similar to what you describe. I daren't use it as I wasn't certain the repair would be reliable. It went in the rubbish bin! I did consider melting the plastic with a soldering iron and moving plastic to cover the crack. It would need to be done inside and out to give it a chance of working. The time it would take to do this though and the uncertainty in success justified buying a new tank. Sorry I don't have a magic solution for you! If you mess up making a print you just use another sheet of paper but if you screw up processing your films you've had it - images lost forever. Dave
Hi Dave, I'm getting into trouble right at the end of processing my films. Use your dilution of 1 + 100 ilfotol in bottled spring water ( from Morrison's) and have tried dilution's through to 1 + 500 in de-ionised water and nothing seems to guarantee a nice clean negative. I get tiny dry pools forming sometimes, other times a greasy sort of sheen, through to what almost looks like limescale at the worst. Always on the glossy side of the negative, the emulsion side drys cleanly, never had my ilfotol bubble up all foamy, should I try a richer mix say 1 + 50. Really heartbreaking to go to the shower cabinet after a nights drying to find another roll of film unusable. Sorry for such a long question.
+Stephen Deakin Hi Stephen, sorry to hear about your problems with Ilfotol. Yes do try more concentrated so that water runs off without forming drops on surface. Just for info, you can rewash film, it's not the end if you see marks. Rewash until no longer seen. Best if do this before cutting up to put in filing sleeves. Good luck. Dave
Darkroom Dave thank you for your advice Dave will try 1+50 on the next roll, didn't know I could rewash film, really good news, thanks.
Hi Stephen, I'm not sure spring water is devoid of minerals or other impurities etc. Just a suggestion, but what I've done is bought a distiller on amazon. Not that expensive and you're guaranteed to have mineral free water. I use the distilled water when mixing developer and then for final soaking in wetting agent solution. Negs come out pristine. hope that helps.
Dear Darkroom Dave,
I meant a hypo-clear/wash for your B&W negatives after you fix the negative?
No, that shouldn't be necessary with modern films. They wash fast in running water above about 6ºC. I see on the Ilford website that they refer to their Washaid as a hypo-eliminator a term which is also used instead of hypo-clearing agent which usually refers to peroxide or other oxidising agents. However, Ilford Washaid uses ion-exchange alone to help remove the salts in the fixer that have to be removed to make films and prints stable. So Washaid is not a hypo-eliminator in the sense that I understand the term to be used from when I worked in Ilford photo chemicals research. Dave
Thank you Darkroom Dave...
You rule. Like a boss...
Cheers!
Dear Darkroom Dave,
I forgot to ask in my lengthy previous email do you use a hypo-clearing agent after you fix? Why or why not?
Best,
VH
No, I would never use a hypo-clearing agent as they can affect storage life of prints. They are usually based on peroxide and if there is any residue of it in the paper it will degrade the image. I do use Ilford Washaid with large FB prints though, just to make sure they are well washed. You don't need anything at all with RC papers, they wash so fast it's completely unnecessary.
Hi Dave, where can I get the print washer on your left?
My print washers were made by a UK company called Nova Darkroom. They were bought by Wex cameras. I suggest you try them, they have a darkroom department.
Can you re-use the developer? I've done so before and not seen any difference in the negative...
Roger Lowe I don't reuse film or print developer ever, but people are paying quite a lot of money for my pictures so I think I owe them the best quality possible. if you have tried it and can't see the difference then just do it.
Darkroom Dave fair comment and I understand why you wouldn't. Thanks.