CatLABS CL81: A jewel in the tank, or a flash in the pan?

**Whir-Click** · 6-Oct-2015, 04:42

I can find only a few reviews, on this forum and elsewhere, of firsthand experience developing with the CatLABS CL81 in Jobo 2500-series tanks. Moreover, most of those accounts are of the, "I just received this and developed my first three sheets" variety.

I'm hoping the CL81 serves as a step up from single sheet BTZS processing, but a step below the Jobo 3005 expert drum. If you were an early adopter: are you still developing with this and loving it? What advice would you give for successful processing? If you have tried the CL81 but given it up for something else, where did it fall short of your expectations?

I am seriously considering buying one, but before dropping the cash, I want to understand if the negatives in the early reviews are endemic, manageable with practice, or limited to only a few instances. By negatives I mean accounts of scratches on the long sides of the film, difficulty loading, and uneven development.

Thank you for your experiences.

**AuditorOne** · 6-Oct-2015, 08:54

I received mine as part of the Kickstarter and I love it.

At the beginning I struggled a bit with it because the sheets like to bow a bit when you slide them into the slots and you have to kind of guide them around the curve. But after the first couple times I have gotten the hang of it and can load it and have it in the tank quicker than I can load the 2509. The first time I used it I only loaded two sheets but that worked out well so since them I have loaded three sheets.

Some people have reported problems scratching the film but I haven't noticed any problem with mine in that regards. I use constant agitation on the Jobo rollers and the film seems to stay put pretty well and develops as you would expect. So far I have run about 24 sheets of film through it and am quite happy with it.

Hope this helps a little.

**Whir-Click** · 6-Oct-2015, 09:30

Thank you, this is just the sort of firsthand account I was hoping for. And very encouraging that you are confidently processing three sheets at a time.

**vdonovan2000** · 6-Oct-2015, 10:03

I've had one for about two years and I love it. I use it once or twice per month and I always process three sheets. Sometimes conventional film, sometimes X-ray film, which is a little tricky to load because it is a tad smaller than regular film.

As AuditorOne mentioned above, like any tool you have to learn how to use it and practice until you are comfortable. Now that I'm used to it, I can load it quickly and reliably.

**Duolab123** · 6-Oct-2015, 19:55

I have one, it works great. I cheat on loading just about everything anymore by using IR goggles. I've lost some feeling in my fingers. If you load it as shown on catlabs video it works perfectly. I know people have complained about scratches, but I've only noticed a couple tiny marks on the very edges of the film where the reel touches , absolutely no harm. I think that for the money it's the best deal out there for 8 x 10. Big bonus over the expert tanks is washing the film. I use hypo clear and then use a Calumet gravity works washer I got in a deal. You could just as easily use a Jobo cascade or Paterson washer. EVERYONE I SEE USING EXPERT TANKS TRANSFERS THE FILM TO HANGERS FOR WASHING AND PHOTO FLO,this kinda seems nuts to me . CL81 allows you to use any kind of manual roller, unicolor or beseler roller. I've used it with a Beseler reversing roller and a CPP2. It will even work well with the cpe units. You don't need a lift, and if your really on a budget you can use with a Paterson
tank and just do gentle immersion every minute. It's a great product. Watch the video on YouTube.