Rollei Digibase C-41

["B"]

So, I, like everyone else experienced leakage from the bottles. This must be some kind of joke? When I got it everything looked fine, I developed a few rolls, excellent results.

Fast forward to a few days ago. I'd been gone for around a week or so on a trip and came home ready to develop a few rolls of 120. Part C of my developer is jet black. What gives?

Perhaps I'll order another kit, hopefully it won't leak on the way here, and upon arrival I'll put it in air tight containers...

[mikecnichols]

A couple of questions, I did not have a water bath between bleach and fix.....does this compromise further use of the fix? It's been five years since I have done self developing and that was B&W which is a bit different. I went by the instructions presented by Rollei....but will add a water bath between Bleach & Fix from now on.

[mikecnichols]

I can officially say that the results from my first attempt at home processing C-41 went well overall. There were things that can go better next time, but I definitely am ready to process some more.

You can take a look at the results here: http://mikecnichols.livejournal.com/68630.html

Biggest issue were artifacts left on the film, but I think adding the water baths will diminish that greatly.

[mikecnichols]

A couple of questions, I did not have a water bath between bleach and fix.....does this compromise further use of the fix? It's been five years since I have done self developing and that was B&W which is a bit different. I went by the instructions presented by Rollei....but will add a water bath between Bleach & Fix from now on.

Bump?

[Jerry Thirsty]

I just got my first Digibase kit today, and mine is all black from leaking chemical as well.

http://thirsty.smugmug.com/photos/10...78_W26cG-L.jpg

It appears to be bleach, since that bottle has some liquid around the neck and threads that's still yellow. Does the bleach turn black after extensive oxidation? I dumped the contents into a beaker and measures about 130ml, so it would appear I lost 10ml. I will contact Freestyle to complain, even though it's probably not a problem (other than the mess). But Rollei needs to get their $#!t together.

[Greg Davis]

That's what my last kit looked like.

[michaelbsc]

I just got my first Digibase kit today, and mine is all black from leaking chemical as well.

http://thirsty.smugmug.com/photos/10...78_W26cG-L.jpg

It appears to be bleach, since that bottle has some liquid around the neck and threads that's still yellow. Does the bleach turn black after extensive oxidation? I dumped the contents into a beaker and measures about 130ml, so it would appear I lost 10ml. I will contact Freestyle to complain, even though it's probably not a problem (other than the mess). But Rollei needs to get their $#!t together.

I don't know. I haven't tried C41 yet. But my understanding is the the bleach needs oxygen to stay fresh. Just the opposite of developer.

Someone a few years ago was posting about using an aquarium air pump and stone to aerate the bleach.

MB

[Jerry Thirsty]

I don't know. I haven't tried C41 yet. But my understanding is the the bleach needs oxygen to stay fresh. Just the opposite of developer.

Someone a few years ago was posting about using an aquarium air pump and stone to aerate the bleach.

MB

Yeah, I know, I used to aerate that way myself. I'm not sure what else it would react with. It turned black everywhere it went, on both the plastic and the paper labels.

[mikecnichols]

I just got my first Digibase kit today, and mine is all black from leaking chemical as well.

http://thirsty.smugmug.com/photos/10...78_W26cG-L.jpg

It appears to be bleach, since that bottle has some liquid around the neck and threads that's still yellow. Does the bleach turn black after extensive oxidation? I dumped the contents into a beaker and measures about 130ml, so it would appear I lost 10ml. I will contact Freestyle to complain, even though it's probably not a problem (other than the mess). But Rollei needs to get their $#!t together.

That's like the replacement one I received when the first one I received had leakage from the stabilizer. I'm assuming it is the bleach and that it should be okay. Luckily this time, the chems did not leak onto the instructions. Remember that you probably want to add water baths after bleaching and after fixing.

[Greg Davis]

A few weeks ago I said I would compare this kit to the Kodak stuff. I have some examples ready to show. I ran the test once with very poor results due to my error, so I purchased a new kit of Rollei Digibase and a Kodak kit from Photographer's Formulary and ran the test again. The test was just a few identical images developed in the respective brands according to the basic Kodak instructions at 100°F. The Digibase instructions leave important rinsing steps out which will leave the images far too yellow. One image from each set includes a standard gray card for color comparison, and one set was developed at 77°F as per the selling point of the Digibase kit. All film was Kodak Ektar 100.

The Kodak chemicals produced an image color with good skin tone and neutral mid tones. I found the Digibase kit shifted very slightly red, but this could be corrected in printing or scanning very easily. The Digibase at 77°F produced good colors compared to the Kodak, but at a reduced saturation. Greens, in particular, were not as vivid. Film processed at 68°F were unacceptable and not represented here.

If you are printing in a darkroom, either brand kit will work fine at 100°F, but I would only recommend processing at 77° for scanning the film as any loss in saturation can be easily corrected. Whichever kit you use or processing temperature, follow the instructions provided by Kodak, as the Digibase instructions leave out rinsing steps which can adversely affect color balance. Note that processing at 77°F does involve longer development times.