Develop 5x7 in a changing bag.

[neilt3]

They come up on ebay often enough like this one ( not mine , just for eg.) ; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152940003358?ul_noapp=true .

Notice the red peg's ?
Make sure if you get one it has at least 4 of them , there to keep the print's / negatives seperate .

When I got mine last year I paid about £40 for it . Prices are all over the place from £30 up .
Don't be in a rush to buy one and you'll get one for a good bit less than the one I linked too .

[Bernice Loui]

Might be much better using a 5x7 tank. Lost of images due to processing is a serious bummer and not worth any risk.
It would be difficult to control development, temperature and all needed in a tray-tent. The risk of something going wrong is very high.
Number of sheets involved is not really relevant, if one sheet of film has a irreplaceable image, that is the only sheet with that image.

Penny pinching on processing is very pound foolish.

http://www.bw-king.com

Never tried these, but appear to be copy-re-do of the classic Nikkor 4x5 spiral tank which works well.


Bernice

[Jim Andrada]

And the last thing you want is fixer spilled or dripped inside the changing bag. You'll never get the smell out and the bag will pickup moisture forevetmore.

[Pere Casals]

I have also seen that it is harder to fix/clear film that is exposed to light too soon... (And maybe a little extra base fog you might not want...)

Steve, I always fix lights open, I always open lights after a sheet has been 20 seconds in the (water alone) stop bath, I've checked it well that there is absolutely no added fog, and fixing time it's completely normal if done lights open.

In fact it is recommended to check fixer strength by throwing a (not developed) roll film end inside fixer and measuring how long it takes, with lights open, recommended time is x2 the time it takes clearing it.

I you had seen a harder to fix situation it could be because other factors, but IMHO not because light while fixing, at least with common rapid fixers I use.

[BradS]

Might be much better using a 5x7 tank. Lost of images due to processing is a serious bummer and not worth any risk.
It would be difficult to control development, temperature and all needed in a tray-tent. The risk of something going wrong is very high.
Number of sheets involved is not really relevant, if one sheet of film has a irreplaceable image, that is the only sheet with that image.

Penny pinching on processing is very pound foolish.

http://www.bw-king.com

Never tried these, but appear to be copy-re-do of the classic Nikkor 4x5 spiral tank which works well.


Bernice

Bernice makes some very good points to consider...


and Bernice, thank you for the link to the B&W King processing tanks!

[Rick Olson]

I use the larger Paterson daylight tank to develop my 5 x 7 sheets. Works great and done in the light after loading in a changing bag ...https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...LY.html?sts=pi

[Pere Casals]

While tanks and rotary can be also be a great choice, I'd like to point how flexible can be tray development.

First is that we can go to low agitation pattern with low risk of bromide streaks, as the horizontal position prevents gravity to work in favor of that, then the bromide stays in place controlling highlights, so it's possible to make a very compensating development from low agitation, this allows perhaps for an additional N point in compensation without streaks, if using diluted developer. Great for night shots.

Then we can use a low volume of developer (higher than rotary but lower than with tanks), we don't waste developer (in one shot) if using xtol 1:2 or even 1:1, if the tray has the right size for our sheets.

I started with tray development in darkness, then I started using a Kustom paper safe, but I found that the most convenient it's placing the trays inside a lighttight cabinet, a dry plate drying cabinet in my case that also works ideal for that. I'm really happy with that way, it has the tray flexibility and the convenience of a daylight tank. Really cheap, minimal gear, it does all sheet sizes... just one has to build a lighttight cabinet for total convenience.

Then we can place separators in the tray to place several sheets side by side. This allows for processing different films or different N developments in the same batch, by moving out each sheet just in time. Well, this is amazing, isn't it ?

Trays would be not convenient if certain sheet volume there, but at least it's the near perfect system for amateurs like me, IMHO.

[John Kasaian]

I've used a daylight tank, the kind used for developing multiple rolls of MF film, It can be loaded in a changing bag.
Works just fine but it is slow processing only one sheet of film at a time.
It is also cheap (ebay) and simple (no electricity needed) so it is useful on road trips.
Mine is a stainless steel tank with a tight fitting plastic lid so it doesn't leak when I'm rolling it around on a table but I like rolling it in a tray just in case.

[campy]

And the last thing you want is fixer spilled or dripped inside the changing bag. You'll never get the smell out and the bag will pickup moisture forevetmore.

I would only develop in the bag, stop and fix outside of bag in dark room.

[Jim Noel]

It requires a lot of work for me to make a place light tight for developing 5x7. Is there any reason why I can't put a 5x7 tray in an 8x10 tray in case of spillage and develop and then take the film out and place in a tray of stop then fix while in a dark but not light tight room?

YOu can't take it out until after a good stop bath, or preferably after fixing.