Developing 5x12 film in Jobo 3005

[Marko Trebusak]

Hi folks,

After reading on this forum, that it's possible to develop 5x12 film in Jobo 3005 drum, I went ahead and borrow the drum to see, what's up. Film loads into the drum all right. It sticks out a few centimeters, and that's it. Lid closes fine, and film doesn't touch it. But (isn't there always but somewhere) after development in C41, I notice a uneven development. There is a line of different density or colour just where film loading tube ends. It looks like there is some sort of turbulence at the end of the drum. I'm using the drum in left/right rotation mode. Is there anything else I can do besides hunting for elusive 3004 drum (BDW if someone have one for sale, I would be interested )?

Regards,
Marko

[Oren Grad]

How did you load the film into the well - straight with the end sticking out, or in a spiral around the well?

[StoneNYC]

You need a 3004 drum which is for 8.5x12 film.

Not sure who said you could use a 3005 but it certainly doesn't have an extra 2 inches, maybe 1 inch, but jobo even warns that for 8x10 film, the film MUST be pushed all the way to the bottom, this is because of chemical swirl right at the opening. So a film that actually sticks out will certainly suffer even more from this.

So in my opinion you need to find a 3004 drum. Good luck.

[Marko Trebusak]

Hi Oren, I loaded straight into the well with 5 cm sticking out of the well.

It was this discussion that encourage me to try:
http://www.largeformatphotography.in...Jobo-3005-Drum

[Oren Grad]

So the obvious thing to try would be curling the film corkscrew-style to see if you can keep more of it in the well. No guarantees, though - different processes will vary in how sensitive they are to deviations from "proper" technique, and something that works for standard B&W development might not for C-41. The short time of the C-41 developer step might be especially problematic if the chemical circulation is uneven.

[Marko Trebusak]

Hi Oren,

That might be worth trying. I checked, and when curled, my film fits well perfectly. Curling film so, that it will not overlap in pitch darkness will be fun process to standardize. Especially with thin aero film... Thanks for the suggestion. I'll definitely give it a try.

Cheers,
Marko

[Oren Grad]

Good luck! Do let us know how it works out.

[Marko Trebusak]

Hi folks,

I'm pleased to report, that I finally developed five sheets of 5x12 film in Jobo 3005 tank without problems. Curling sheets into spiral isn't a problem after few tries with waste film. I was very anxious, but all went well. Sheets are in the drying cabinet at the moment and I'll post some photos as soon as they'll be dry. Thanks Oren for the idea.

Cheers,
Marko