Thanks for the detailed overview! Tim Klein, of Stearman Press, is pretty clear about NOT over-filling the tank, that more than 480 ml will cause it to drip... in other words, the overfill is trapped ABOVE the O-ring, so when you invert it, there appears to be leakage, but it's actually just the trapped overfill dripping. If it was really leaking, it would happen with every inversion.
I am about to try the 445 tank! Joe! That is a great...no nonsense video! Just what we beginners and others, need! Keep up the good...no nonsense...work!!
Thank you Joe for showing the process in such great detail. Not boring at all. I am definitely considering buying one of these from Freestyle photo. One small observation however. I believe you were holding your lightmeter backwards. In the commentary you said you were measuring incident light. However, holding the meter with the white globe towards yourself is measuring reflected light… incorrectly. Reflected light should be measured with the white cap moved away from the cell and the meter directed to your face. Incident light is measured with the difusing dome in front of the cell and the meter directed towards the camera. This method has the advantage of disregarding the reflectivity of the subject matter. Photographing a black cat and a white cat with the reflective method will give you two different readings, and will make both cats looking average grey. You did have the dome in front of the cell (see 25:08 in part 1) and the meter directed towards yourself. Granted it made little difference in this particular situation because the light was very diffused. But you may wish to keep in mind the principles of reflective versus incident measurement, especially in situations with very direct light source(s).
I use a couple of rubberbands twisted around the necks on on each end. They provide enough downward force to stop any leaking. I also converted one film holder to hold 2x3 film.They could still use a better base
I've had mine for about a year now and I love it. Best tank I've ever used. You should download the Massive Dev Chart App. It is updated regularly and gives you a timer for each step. You have to be really careful with creating a vacuum in the tank. Particularly with C-41 chemistry. That stuff is nasty.
The MDC is also riddled with errors, so first time for a given film/developer combination, test with an image you can toss out with no issue. The MDC data comes from a variety of serious and casual sources and is not checked by the publisher before posting, nor do they claim otherwise.)
The MOD45 is not bad, built for a 3 reel tank; I use it in a Paterson. It has slots for 6 sheets but I would recommend only 4 max as it’s fiddly to load.
I know it's a bit late here, but the reason that the base solution feels slimy is that it's actually turning the oils on your hand into soap. It wouldn't actually be slimy if not for the oils present.
great review. I usually get distracted while watching youtube videos but yours was very compelling. Btw I noticed the second link to the flickr image is a bit brighter at the top and bottom, do you think this was the dslr scanning or the negative itself? thanks :)
Nice review, Joe and good results. How do you feel about the quality of plastic used on the tank? Will it take the harsh chemicals, repeated rappings and squeezing that is required to seat the o-rings? What would you change in the design? Looks like it could use a nice heavy base and maybe even some custom rubber bands for looping around the top and the base. Shame about the scratches due to the film holder, are there abrasions due to the mold? Wonder if you could cement in a little Teflon tape there.
The plastic is ABS and should handle any of the common photo chemicals. Regarding any scratching, must have some mold "flash" on the bottom fingers. Just clean it up with some fine sandpaper.
The often unspoken downside of stand development is streaking (uneven development) from "bromide drag". The design of this tank would optimize your chance of suffering this problem based on vertical resting position of the film and small volume of developer in which to dilute the bromine waste produced.
Randall Stewart maybe for large format which I don’t do much of. But for Medium format, I haven’t seen it. The bigger the film, I agitate the film once or twice per hour.
You could, but circulation is better flowing from one port to the other; kind of like the Jobo tanks with the custom rinse hose that fits into the central hole in the lid, forcing water from the bottom to the top of the tank. I'm not certain if I'd use Foto Flow in the tank, long term, considering the issues some people report with plastic film reels and Foto Flow buildup.
Hello Joe, I would be interested in your thoughts on the Holgamods 4x5 Day Lite Film Processing Tubes. www.holgamods.com/holgamods/Film_Tubes.html Kind Regards, Craig
Is your photo lab a milk bar? The agitation of the developing tank must be done like professionals do. There is no need to tap the plastic tank on the sink; it will break soon. The way you move the developing tank is too rude. You are creating cavitation in the developer. The sheet film can come out of its holder. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE PREPARING A MILK SHAKE IN A MILK BAR IN STEAD OF DEVELOPING FOUR SHEET FILMS.
Thanks for the detailed overview!
Tim Klein, of Stearman Press, is pretty clear about NOT over-filling the tank, that more than 480 ml will cause it to drip... in other words, the overfill is trapped ABOVE the O-ring, so when you invert it, there appears to be leakage, but it's actually just the trapped overfill dripping.
If it was really leaking, it would happen with every inversion.
Hey Joe, thanks for testing and sharing and NO, it was not boring, not a single second !
I am about to try the 445 tank! Joe! That is a great...no nonsense video! Just what we beginners and others, need! Keep up the good...no nonsense...work!!
I may be mistaken, but I believe Arista is a re - branding of Fomapan.
Thank you Joe for showing the process in such great detail. Not boring at all. I am definitely considering buying one of these from Freestyle photo. One small observation however. I believe you were holding your lightmeter backwards. In the commentary you said you were measuring incident light. However, holding the meter with the white globe towards yourself is measuring reflected light… incorrectly. Reflected light should be measured with the white cap moved away from the cell and the meter directed to your face. Incident light is measured with the difusing dome in front of the cell and the meter directed towards the camera. This method has the advantage of disregarding the reflectivity of the subject matter. Photographing a black cat and a white cat with the reflective method will give you two different readings, and will make both cats looking average grey. You did have the dome in front of the cell (see 25:08 in part 1) and the meter directed towards yourself. Granted it made little difference in this particular situation because the light was very diffused. But you may wish to keep in mind the principles of reflective versus incident measurement, especially in situations with very direct light source(s).
I use a couple of rubberbands twisted around the necks on on each end. They provide enough downward force to stop any leaking. I also converted one film holder to hold 2x3 film.They could still use a better base
I've had mine for about a year now and I love it. Best tank I've ever used.
You should download the Massive Dev Chart App. It is updated regularly and gives you a timer for each step.
You have to be really careful with creating a vacuum in the tank. Particularly with C-41 chemistry. That stuff is nasty.
The MDC is also riddled with errors, so first time for a given film/developer combination, test with an image you can toss out with no issue. The MDC data comes from a variety of serious and casual sources and is not checked by the publisher before posting, nor do they claim otherwise.)
Very very good review! Helpful and entertaining.
Many thanks Joe.
Joe, thank you!
The MOD45 is not bad, built for a 3 reel tank; I use it in a Paterson. It has slots for 6 sheets but I would recommend only 4 max as it’s fiddly to load.
I use it for only two sheets. I once had a sheet get loose when I loaded four sheets in it.
Is half a liter always enough when developing 4 sheets 4x5? Especially if working with ABC or very diluted rodinal?
I know it's a bit late here, but the reason that the base solution feels slimy is that it's actually turning the oils on your hand into soap. It wouldn't actually be slimy if not for the oils present.
Hey Joe, weren't you supposed to agitate by pumping the plunger in the input opening?
Thank you for the videos. I learn a lot!
great review. I usually get distracted while watching youtube videos but yours was very compelling. Btw I noticed the second link to the flickr image is a bit brighter at the top and bottom, do you think this was the dslr scanning or the negative itself? thanks :)
Most likely the scanning, it’s easy to get glare on negatives.
glue popsicle stick to bottom?
This device needs a base stand for stability and suggest using a small funnel to fill. ☺
Enjoyed the review might be an alternative when I dont want to get my jobo system out
Nice review, Joe and good results. How do you feel about the quality of plastic used on the tank? Will it take the harsh chemicals, repeated rappings and squeezing that is required to seat the o-rings?
What would you change in the design? Looks like it could use a nice heavy base and maybe even some custom rubber bands for looping around the top and the base. Shame about the scratches due to the film holder, are there abrasions due to the mold? Wonder if you could cement in a little Teflon tape there.
The plastic is ABS and should handle any of the common photo chemicals. Regarding any scratching, must have some mold "flash" on the bottom fingers. Just clean it up with some fine sandpaper.
Im currently using a motorized Unicolor Drum and I like it, but I want to do Stand Development so thank you for doing this review.
The often unspoken downside of stand development is streaking (uneven development) from "bromide drag". The design of this tank would optimize your chance of suffering this problem based on vertical resting position of the film and small volume of developer in which to dilute the bromine waste produced.
Randall Stewart maybe for large format which I don’t do much of. But for Medium format, I haven’t seen it. The bigger the film, I agitate the film once or twice per hour.
I believe the Arista is Formapan and not Kodak.
Wait. How come you didn’t do a water presoak ? I actually love the beer cups.
If your fix has particulate use coffee filter paper to filter out the junk, and I believe the Arista film is rebadged Foma film. 👍
You look younger in the photos, good camera.
Ha! A time machine!
Great, informative video. I am curious, though, why not take the lid off, for the water rinse and Photo-Flo?
You could, but circulation is better flowing from one port to the other; kind of like the Jobo tanks with the custom rinse hose that fits into the central hole in the lid, forcing water from the bottom to the top of the tank.
I'm not certain if I'd use Foto Flow in the tank, long term, considering the issues some people report with plastic film reels and Foto Flow buildup.
Joe, you are not supposed to do the inversion on the narrow side of the tank, according to Tim Klein of Stearman SP445. It's a big, NO NO!!!
Still recommend these tanks?
Yes, very handy, works well.
Hello Joe,
I would be interested in your thoughts on the Holgamods 4x5 Day Lite Film Processing Tubes.
www.holgamods.com/holgamods/Film_Tubes.html
Kind Regards,
Craig
Anybody build a 3D printed base for this yet ?
Not that I know of, but perhaps the manufacturer would know.
Is your photo lab a milk bar?
The agitation of the developing tank must be done like professionals do.
There is no need to tap the plastic tank on the sink; it will break soon.
The way you move the developing tank is too rude.
You are creating cavitation in the developer.
The sheet film can come out of its holder.
IT LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE PREPARING
A MILK SHAKE IN A MILK BAR
IN STEAD OF DEVELOPING
FOUR SHEET FILMS.