Personally, I don't think it is worth spending vast amounts of money to buy a "Starter Kit" - It would invariably contain assorted odds'n'sods that you would never use, and the remainder could be acquired elsewhere for much less.
You don't say if you have a darkroom, so a minimal kit would consist of:
Smallish changing bag.
Daylight tank & reel.
A 1 litre bottle to store stock developer.
Two or three 0.5 or 1 litre bottles for working solution.
A large graduated measuring cylinder (0.5l).
A small graduated cylinder (100-150ml).
A couple of plastic jugs.
Stop Clock - Not essential, but handy to have.
For chemicals, something easy to use such as ID11 and RapidFix - If you were to use a liquid developer, then a small syringe would need to be added to the equipment list.
A wetting agent is not essential, but even a small bottle will last a lifetime.
I was looking for that exact series of youtube videos (someone had emailed me the link a while ago) but it wasn't coming up on the searches, so great.
I am going to slow down on the 'starter kit' and not order it until I have worked out what I can get easily, locally, and what I really need to mail order. I am finding the collections of stuff on ebayuk a bit irrelevant to my purposes: they either have bottles of stuff I don't need or they don't have the right kind things that I think I need. And the kit on firstcall uk has what appears to be a dual use (35 and 120) tub if I order the print and process kit but only 35mm tub for the process only kit; and other bits that are in the process only kit don't actually make it over to the process and print kit, which is all kind of funny.
You get the idea. I will work out what I need by using this forum and looking round and about, then maybe collect it off ebay over the next few weeks bit by bit or even order it new bit by bit (such as getting the 35mm starter kit and adding an ebay 'universal' tub).
Incidentally, the mention of a syringe for measurements is a first. I assume when Ilford's pdf talks about a small 50ml beaker, that the syringe is going to serve the same purpose.
Anyway, I plan to develop the film (35 and later on 120) in a walk-in cupboard or a changing bag if needs be. The idea of a darkroom is just that for now but it is the goal in the end.
The standard Paterson or Jobo Dev Tanks are able to be used (once loaded with film) in daylight - with light baffles to allow the chemicals in but keep the light out.
So you only need to load the film in onto the reels in the dark, pop it/them into the tank, screw the lid on and the rest can be done in daylight.
For years I loaded my reels and tanks in a changing bag but a walk in cupboard (at night, if all the lights in the vicinity are off) would work equally as well.
You will need to sacrifice a single roll of film to practice loading a film spiral, start by doing it in the light with your eyes open, then with them shut and finally when you have the hang of it in the dark before you do it for real the first time – sadly, there are no short cuts on this one - practice, practice, practice
Jonathan, I organized a film processing workshop and I wrote these comprehensive notes for the attendees then. It is packed with info on the material/chemicals and also links/address as to where to get your supplies. The links references will be very relevant to you as you are based in the UK.
I hope this proves useful to you. Let us know how you progress and best of luck.
It might be worth subscribing to your local 'Freecycle' list, and seeing if anyone has old darkroom kit to give away (I received my enlarger, some 12x16 developing trays, a developing tank (paterson with two spirals), paper, cameras - you name it!)...
I'm a relative newcomer to this as well - a couple of years or so! There's nothing quite like the first time a developed film comes out of the tank!!
I read the article in Chris's magazine, and have noted down the extras that popped up there, such as brown glass bottles, and will keep a look out for them. I got impatient with fleabay (and I am not too keen on the place anyway) and just ordered a new processing kit and an extra 120 daylight tank (from Firstcall - Nova site wasn't loading at the weekend). So I am going to sit back and wait for the stuff and read some more here and about. Thanks for the file, Delphine, I will take a look at that.
I'm going to use my nikon on auto to make sure the exposures are correct and with all the processing gear being new and the chems fresh, I should be able to eliminate everything except human error, which is never in short supply. I'll use the bathroom steam for drying, though my brother has sent me instructions for building a film dryer which looks like something off Blue Peter (though it works superbly). I've also got one of those 'airfix' Plamodel camera kits, from Fred Aldous in Manchester, on the way, as a back up for my SLR - smiley. Should be fun.
Thanks again, Jonathan.
Last edited by talkingfish; 07-20-2009 at 05:37 PM.
Reason: in case my brother reads this
And if you look here, http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/ a new online supplier in the UK that was just announced in a thread here, you can order whatever you need.
Give this one a go. It's been started by one of us( that is, an APUGer and analogue user first and businessman second) but if he continues to excercise his business skills on prices he will knock most other retailers for six as they say at Lords. He is selling Kodak D76( the Ilford ID-11 equivalent) for £0.99 a litre. Yes that a penny under a pound.
So Jonathan, how did it go? Have you developed your first film yet? Do you have any questions? This thread could make a useful starting point for other beginners too...
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Originally Posted by Bob-D659 
