Okay, enough of the SS film hangers

[Rich Ullsmith]

What do you guys use? I saw a daylight tank and 4X5 film holder in the Freestyle catalogue for 85 bones. . . which goes totally against my built-it-or-find-it credo when it comes to acquiring new photo crap. But these hangers are screwing my films up! (I know it's operator error, but good grief. I don't need yet another hobby or craft!)

Basic question: are the daylight tanks for 4X5 fundamentally the same as the tanks for roll films? I just don't want to spend $85 then find out there's another catch. Any and all advice appreciated. Check back tomorrow.

[ozphoto]

I use containers from a local supermarket that cost me $6 for 3. Ok, I need to do the whole process in the dark, but I can live with that.

The hangers (used) I bought from my local camera store - 10 for $15.

I don't process a lot of 5x4, so this works for me, but I guess if you shoot a lot, processing a lot of sheets in the dark could get tiresome after a while.

[Rick A]

I've been processing 4x5's in togo containers from the local Chinese restaurant. They are the perfect size and have snap-on lids, I can really agitate without a slop mess. Of course, its all done in the dark, but I find a little sensory deprivation soothing.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Basic question: are the daylight tanks for 4X5 fundamentally the same as the tanks for roll films? I just don't want to spend $85 then find out there's another catch. Any and all advice appreciated. Check back tomorrow.

Most of the rectangular daylight tanks aren't invertable, except I think for the HP Combiplan tank, so they're mostly not quite like daylight tanks for rollfilms. There is a Jobo reel that holds 6 sheets and can be used in an inversion tank, and there's the old stainless steel Nikor sheet film tank, which is adjustable to all sheet sizes from 2.25x3.25" (nominally 2x3") to 4x5" and holds 12 sheets. Some people have trouble with the Nikor tank, but I have two of them, and I suspect they just haven't read the instructions (which I've posted elsewhere on APUG) or haven't figured it out on their own (which I did before I found an instruction sheet) or their reel is damaged.

[Greg Davis]

What kind of trouble are you having from the hangers? Where I teach we use the cheap Yankee tanks. We have good and bad experiences with them. The lids don't want to stay on because they are very loose, so use a couple of strong rubber bands to keep it tight. They would get uneven development which we couldn't solve until I stood there and watched them develop their film and saw they did not agitate hard enough. Now the film comes out great as long as they load it correctly, which can be a pain. You do not invert these tanks, but rather agitate by sliding side to side a few inches. And be careful, it is cheap plastic that breaks easily if dropped.

[jovo]

I used to use a daylight tank, but I constantly scratched the film doing so. I discovered that I was putting the film in with the emulsion side scraping the edges of the slot, and that was the problem. However, I decided to just use trays for developing, and use the tank (with the cover off) to wash the film with the lights on. Still, it was very fiddly and there wasn't (in my opinion) enough space between the sheets when I put them in adjacent slots. So...I ended up buying 10 SS hangers, and a plexi wash tank that they hang from the top of. It's the best solution thus far. Be sure you slide the wet film into the hanger with the emulsion side "up", and there shouldn't be a problem.

[Rich Ullsmith]

This tank I'm looking at is supposedly invertable. It also looks like it's more economical with the developer volume. This I can't say for sure. I'm thinking just buy the thing, and if it absolutely is mickey-mouse I can return it. The total darkness thing won't work in my darkroom. The film changing room (closet with a curtain) is too small to maneuver, and the darkroom doors have to be taped for total darkness. It's a pain. Thanks for the insights, folks.

[domaz]

If you look around on Amazon and other consumer places you can probably get wide-mouth stainless steel water bottles that would work with 4x5 for rotary development (BTZS style). I'm sure they would be much cheaper than commercial BTZS tubes. You can always make your own BTZS tubes out of PVC as well- but it's difficult to get them smooth enough so they don't scratch film like crazy.

[Mike Wilde]

I have two tanks and they are not for reels, but 4x5 hangers. One is daylight with a light trap filler, but it is a slow fill to use it. It is made of a bakelite type black plastic.
I usally douse the lights, pour in the jug of x by feel, and pop the top on for the balance of the time. They drain ok though the top with the lid on. I agitate buy slidiing side to side and front to back. It will hold 6 hangers.

The second is a kodak hard rubber tank with floating lid. I usally fix in it with rapid fixer, and just keep the lights off for the first minute or so, with the lid balanced on the top of the ahngers for the first while with the lights on. Here I agitate by lifting all the hangers.