Biginners questions on developing, what do I really need

[Lenny Eiger]

Developer: Pyrocat HD in Glycol from Photographer's Formulary
Stop: Tap water
Fix: TF4 Fixer from Photographer's Formulary
Clearing Agent: not needed
Wetting Agent: I like this, leave it in for 3 minutes! Forma Flow from Photographers Formulary
Squeegee: Don't do this to you film!!!
Clips: Stationery store, Bulldog Clips #0 or #1. The weighted ones they sell in photo stores are good for the bottom for med format.

Holga: This is not a technical choice but an aesthetic one. Up against a Mamiya 7 II it's a plastic piece of garbage; but if that's what makes your heart go pitter patter then there's nothing 'wrong' with it. People do all sorts of things to "distress" away from a perfect representation, from pinhole cameras, paper negatives, to all sorts of alt process, and more.

Lenny

[Moopheus]

Developer: Pyrocat HD in Glycol from Photographer's Formulary

You would seriously recommend pyrocat to someone who's never even loaded film into a tank before?

[CropDusterMan]

There is no issue mailing liquid. I shipped PMK Pyro stock solution to Maui and back. Photographers Formulary, who I highly
recommend, ship powders and liquids. Liquid stock solution form is easier for beginners I think. I was wondering if I should bother mentioning
PMK as a good developer, because it does require a strong attention to handling safety, but ultimately, they all do.

You will receive many developer/fix opinions on here, one of the great things about photography is the many ways you can skin
a cat. Some developers are going to require special handling and special agitation techniques, and as I'm unsure of your skill
level...? I love PMK Pyro. You can get it for $30 from Photographers Formulary-this amount lasts a long time. Buy the liquid kit. It's an easy mix, and you only mix
the working solution for each batch of film you develop. For ex...a Jobo 1500 series tank will hold 1 roll 120/220 film and it requires
5ml Part A, 10ML Part B and just under 500ml water. The stock solution lasts forever. There is no need for stop bath-use water.
Use Photographers Formulary TF4 fix, which you buy in a stock solution and mix to 1 gallon...it has a long life and can do multiple rolls
of film. I use Distilled water for all steps (dev working solution, water stop + fix mix) except rinsing, then use distilled water and photoflo
and hang to dry.
Pyro is a staining developer and has a beautiful effect on finished negatives...you can do your own research on it. One thing, PMK Pyro involves a lot of agitation-see instructions. Someone is bound to come on here and tell you how dangerous Pyro is...all chemicals are dangerous if you don't follow the label directions. Follow them, wear gloves and glasses and you just mitigated the risk.

A great iPhone app exists too from "Massive Development Chart" which allows you to build film/developer profiles, and has a special audible timer which even tells you when to agitate, stop, fix rinse etc. No need for wash-aids...a good rinse in water for 20 minutes maximizes image stain...(it's a good thing).

Practice your film loading so you have it down! Christopher Crawford has a channel on youtube which tells you how to develop film in PMK Pyro, all kinds of tips on safety and agitation.

Best of luck.

[Moopheus]

Fine, but D-76 is cheap, easy to get, easy to use, and dependable. A perfectly good thing to use to learn the process on your first rolls. There will be no real advantage to doing something more complicated.

[michael g]

My level is that I took classes on developing film some 20 years ago when I was in elementary school. So my level is pretty much nothing.

I defenetly plan on experimenting with more exotic ways of developing, but I'll start with the "for dummies"-version, and begin experimenting from there.
I also have to try out different types of film, so if there are too many variables, then I will not know what I did right or wrong from time to time.

As for Holgas, I've seen that 80-100 year old foldables are about as cheap some times, and new chinese vs old german. I'll probably end up with one of each sooner or later.

[jp]

D76 is cheap and good, as is pyrocat hd. When I used d76, I'd mix up the gallon, then dilute it 1:1 which makes getting the right temp easy, as the resulting temperature is an average of the temp of the water and the d76 stock. I use cough syrup containers to measure the pyrocat concentrate.
Water stop bath
Tf4/Tf5 fixer and no hypo clear is needed. Cheaper and faster than Kodak's fixer.
I soak the film for 30 minutes changing water a few times to rinse it.
Final rinse in distilled water and hang it up to dry. No fingers touch film after it's loaded for processing till it's dry. One little bit of oil from your fingers will run down a sheet of film, or whole roll of 120 if it gets on there when you hang it up to dry. Then you have to rewash. Alcohol is great for speeding up the drying too if you're in a hurry.

I like holgas but they are not as versatile as LF cameras for softness if that's your thing.

[Jmarmck]

I gotta ask, why such a cheap camera? You can get something like a RB67 for fairly cheap. It would leave you with some options for adding lens and viewfinders in the future. There are plenty available for a decent price.

[michael g]

If you want a really carefully considered answer, then I'll have to disappoint you. I have spend a lot of time thinning about just Mamiya RB67, Crown Graphic, Sinar, Hasselblad, mamiya 645, different brands of TLR's, antique foldables and a ton of others, I've almost pressed the "buy" button, and there comes a time where you just have to take a leap and do it, and then take it from there.
Staying with Holga is defenetly not the plan or the reason I want to develop film. But I thought it would be a way to start out and see where it would take me.

[CropDusterMan]

Hi Michael,

Ultimately, we all search for the best quality in our images...a Holga, although it has it's little niche deal going
on, quality is not going to be a part of the equation. But...it's cheap, fun to play with and it'll get you into
shooting and processing film again! Practice your technique, and look into that digital truth app.

[ShannonG]

the key words here is "the Holga look" for gods sake man..take a chance and just start developing......