YAY! I have an old room - now what?

[Nicole]

Hi JD, unfortunately I don't know anyone with a darkroom.

[Flotsam]

Am I starting at the wrong end of the stick? How long will chemicals, papers, etc... be around to make it all worth while?

Augh! Don't start another one of those threads! :o They go on forever and in the end everybody has the same opinion that they started with.

[Nicole]

Thanks Steven. Can I develop both medium format and 35mm with the same equipment, chemicals, etc...?
How do I know which chemicals and paper are best for me?
Silly and tricky questions, I'm sure...

[Nicole]

Augh! Don't start another one of those threads! :o They go on forever and in the end everybody has the same opinion that they started with.

Woopsies. Sorry! Won't go there....
Just had a good debate on another site regarding 'D' vs Film. But that's getting of track and certainly getting boring.

Ciao
Nicole

[SuzanneR]

Hi Nicole,

Great news about the extra room. You'll be so glad you tried it! You can use the same tanks for both 120 and 35mm film, but different reels. If you have a two reel 35mm tank, it'll take one reel of 120 film. I just keep my times and temps the same for both. I prefer the stainless steel tanks, better agitation, and the plastic tanks can start to absorb chemicals over time. But the stainless reels take some practice to get loaded up. Just sacrifice a roll of film to try it with the light on. The 120 reels are much easier. There is a huge development chart at Digitaltruth.com with all sorts of developer/film combinations. I think a good place to start is Tri-x or HP5 in Kodak D-76. When you get comfortable then playing around with different developers and films will be easy. Tri-x and HP5 are fairly forgiving when it comes to slight temperature changes. etc. You want your first rolls to come out!

Good luck with this.
Cheers,
Suzanne

[Nicole]

Thanks very much Suzanne. Very encouraging! I've heard a lot about stainless steel tanks. Time to start looking on ebay after a bit more research!

[fingel]

Hi Nicole,
The best thing about doing your own developing is the control you have to work the way you want to. Rather than be at the mercy of the lab, you can use Rodinal, or Pyro, or some home brew that you read about and can experiment with different materials until you find something that fits your vision.

Yes you can develop both 35mm and medium format with the same chemicals and equipment. A one reel medium format tank will also hold two 35mm reels. The developing times may be slightly different between 35mm and medium format depending on the brand of film, but is usually not that much different. Most enlargers will handle both 35mm and medium format up to about 6x7.

For chemicals, I would start out trying what is readily available in your area first. Everyone has their own opinion about what film / developer combo is the best for them, so I would say experiment with a few untill you find one that you like using and then learn everything you can about using it.

[fingel]

It looks like Suzanne and I posted at the same time.

[JD Morgan]

Hi JD, unfortunately I don't know anyone with a darkroom.

http://www.cameraelectronic.com.au/c...lectronic.html

[Nicole]

http://www.cameraelectronic.com.au/c...lectronic.html

Wow JD, how do you know Camera Electronics in my home town?