Well no, but a machine can regulate the temperature and time better than I can with guestimations. Color processing is very temp and time sensitive. There are more steps to be done. B&W is more lenient and that's why so many do B&W in their own darkrooms versus sending it out for processing.
Do you miss film?
(63 posts) (24 voices)-
Posted 3 years ago #
-
Oh, that makes sense. Thanks for explaining that Niko before I got some really weird film rolls out of my darkroom summer!
Posted 3 years ago # -
Nope. I did take a class on BW photography. We used film. I developed it myself. That was cool for 6 months that I did it. But if I had to do it for a living I would change job profession.
I embrace new technology, like it or not, digital is here to stay. Just like people people thought hat radio and TV is just a cultural fad. Right Niko? ;p
Well surprise surprise it's still stealing our time. Same goes for digital.Would I shoot it for my personal projects? Probably not, there's just too much of a hassle to get to the final product. By having digital I make an initial investment and then I am done with costs of chemicals, renting darkroom, buying film and what not. Not worth my time.
And in the end both of the images whether shot on film or digital are just a bunch of binary code.
The only thing I so miss is actually having prints. We no longer print out all of those images that we take. yup that sucks. Now I am gonna print more images, rather than let them sit alone on the hard drive.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Doing your own C-41 isn't THAT difficult, it's just a matter of having a reliable thermometer and taking the time. Like anything, with practice it's certainly not that big a deal. B&W is more lenient, and so easier to process yourself, although that's not my reason for using it. I just prefer black and white over color pictures, for the most part.
I don't shoot that much polaroid (I use the D300 for previews and throw-aways, and give the polaroids to my models usually if I'm shooting in the studio) , and my father has a decent stock of it left over, so we're ok for now. I do buy black and white film regularly though, along with the odd propack of chrome or color neg here and there. I use an old Omega DII for most of my printing, but I also have a Durst 606 right next to it that I use sometimes as well, but more rarely because I have 6x7, 35mm, and 4x5 carriers for my Omega, and only a 35 for the Durst. I use D76/ID11 mainly for film dev, along with DD-X, Rodinal, Perceptol, Microphen, and Acufine.
at the moment I have in my fridge:
10x Delta 400 35mm
10x FP4+ 35mm
5x Plus-X 120
A ton of TX400 and 320TXP 120 and 35mm
5 rolls or so of Neopan SS 35mm
leftover Neopan Acros in 120
5x velvia 100F
some astia and provia
assorted other b&w emulsions and color negs.So, no, I don't miss it, I use it almost every day! I was particularly pleased that I got to do part of a shoot yesterday with an old Rolleiflex, over 50 years old and it was syncing at 250 @ ƒ/22 perfectly with the profoto 7As I was using!
Posted 3 years ago # -
But Chris the machines can do it in under an hour! Can you process multiple rolls of color film in under an hour? Actually I think the machines can do it in under twenty minutes!
How do you dispose of your chemicals? You don't flush them down the sink do you?!?!
The durability and reliability is one thing I do miss about my old film cameras. There's no worrying about charging multiple batteries for a few days worth of shooting. The batteries in my film cameras have lasted years before they finally died!!!
Posted 3 years ago # -
machines do it in under 20 minutes cause they raise the temp and counter it by developing for less time :) which is why 1 hour labs look terrible most of the time. roller transport machines are also the bane of my being...
I reuse almost all my chemistry, in fact the only thing regularly going down my darkroom's drain is water and final photo-flo rinse. I don't really shoot color neg or e6 enough to warrant shelling out for the chemistry, so I usually take it to CRC or Duggal for processing. I have been nothing but pleased with their work.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Oh so you think you're a hardcore film guy? Have you tried making your own chemistry? I use to make mine! I even did the whole "organic" chemistry with house hold "chemicals" like orange juice. Now that's hardcore! LOL.
You can't use the developer forever, so what do you do with it? It has to be disposed of properly, like oil and batteries.
Yes Duggal is top notch, too bad they don't franchise in my neighborhood :^(
Posted 3 years ago # -
hahaha I know all about the instant coffee developer, vinegar stop, and that nonsense. I live in a rural area now, so it's ok to dump dev down the drain when it's exhausted. Used developer isn't particularly harmful, neither is stop, really. In fact the only thing that needs to be monitored semi-carefully is exhausted fixer, since that has metallic silver in it from the fixing process. At school there's a silver recovery system, but at home I just drain it...it's only like once every three or four months anyway, and I try to use the more environmentally friendly fixers like SilveGrain's Rapid Fix.
If I used more developer then I would probably make my own, but it's not worth buying the raw materials when a bag of D76 to make a gallon is only like 5 dollars...the other developers I use are harder to make from scratch, particularly Ilfotec DD-X, which is one of my all-time favorites.
Posted 3 years ago # -
NO NO NO you're doing it wrong! Those chemicals have to be disposed of properly. In fact there are laws that govern proper disposal. Especially the silver!
I'm lucky that my city has a big recycling program with curb side pick up. They don't pick up my used/unwanted chemicals but the recycling center isn't too far away so I drop it off there.
What about the DD-X do you like so much?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Just poor it on your lawn Niko. That will keep me off it. :)
Posted 3 years ago # -
lol Willis. My lawn is actually still kinda green despite the cold. Not sure after this next cold wave though :^(
At least I'm nice and tanned know after my vacation to sunny...
Posted 3 years ago # -
I don't really miss taking film photos or developing film, but I do miss having a physical hard copy original of my images. I shot mostly positive and B&W, and for a long while had very good darkrooms at my disposal. Like some of the others who've commented, I like not having to open the camera every 38 shots (I rolled my own) and changing film. The 100 exposure back was really nice, but a pain to wag around and was always in the way. I still shoot film occasionally, but now it's negative color, and it's just snapshots that I let a one hour lab develop. (Miss using the darkroom to pick up women!! Worked quite well when I was younger.)
Posted 3 years ago # -
NikoDoby said:
NO NO NO you're doing it wrong! Those chemicals have to be disposed of properly. In fact there are laws that govern proper disposal. Especially the silver!Woah, you've got to dispose of the chemicals somewhere other than the drain? On the site I was reading about developing film they said it was OK to send it down the drain!
"Once time is up, pour the used developer down the drain (don’t worry, it’s safe) and then immediately proceed to step 3."
Posted 3 years ago # -
were you reading about color film developing or B&W? Back in my day, used fixer had silver in it - actually enough to recover and recoup some of the expenses of developing. None of the developer I used was really friendly with municipal sewer systems.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I was reading about developing B&W—is it different for color then?
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yea, you can get an electrodeposition device to remove the silver from your own fixer, the name on mine is "Silver Magnet". Not sure how much hazard is left in fixer after you do that.
Photoflo is basically soap (and not a high phosphorus one at that), so that's cool down the drain.
Stop is nothing a (relatively) mild acid, dilute it and you have vinegar, so that's cool.
Developer is /primarily/ alkaline, neutralize it and that issue can be addressed - not sure, though, what all results after you pH neutralize it.I'll admit - I dump the developer every time. Not sure how much downstream harm I'm causing, but I've never bothered to calculate exhaustion and thusly modify time.
Fixer I keep until I extract the silver (or more precisely have my silver extracted for me), which takes a looooong time at current consumption levels. My five gallon bucket holds, what? (back of the envelope time) enough fixer for 25-30 double 35 tank loads? So if you reuse the fixer thrice that's 150-180ish rolls? Something like that.
Posted 3 years ago # -
So is it safe or not? So should I dump it or not?
You see, Chris, look how bad film is! You're killing the freakin' environment with your blasted chemicals!
Posted 3 years ago # -
B&W dev is fine to put down the drain, as is stop. The only thing relatively hazardous is used fix, and even then it's not terribly toxic. I would be careful with it if I lived in an urban area, but when I come home from university for break, I'm in the absolute middle of nowhere. It really depends on the chemistry used as well.
If you're doing color work, that's a whole nother ballgame, and those chemicals should be treated appropriately.
I retain all my chemicals as well, the only thing down the drain on a regular basis is extremely highly diluted Rodinal (1+100 or 1+50 ratios).
and Niko: I like DD-X because it gives full film speed, good contrast, fine grain, and is very usable for pushing with nearly any film. It's a concentrate, so it lasts a while, and I have never really gotten jived on a roll I used it with. I'd say I like it just a bit more than D76, it's essentially the Ilford version of Xtol, with a few variations in characteristics. It works beautifully with Delta 100 and 400, FP4+ too.
Posted 3 years ago # -
The only thing I miss about film is the size and design of the Nikon FE body, not to mention the brighter viewfinder. It would be great to have an D3s FX sensor in an FE/FM style body. Of course my D300 is easier to hold for long periods of time.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Do I miss Film ? No ... I still use it.
Posted 3 years ago # -
I shoot film, and have since 1969. Film cameras are an F6, and an FM3a. Also use a D700 frequently. I use Ilford FP4, do my own developing and scan the negs to the computer.
It's the best of both worlds. No reason why the two disciplines can't co-exist!Posted 3 years ago # -
To an extent... I wonder if nikon will ever try a F7... "smirk"
Posted 3 years ago # -
Kyoshi, I think your nickname should be the necromancer. I've never seen so many resurrected threads. ;-)
Posted 3 years ago # -
Can't miss something you never experienced. Though, hanging out in a darkroom sounds about as fun as being stuck in traffic. I do like the way film looks but the workflow process is not for me.
Posted 3 years ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
