Opinions of 4x5 Developing Reels

[ASA1000]

If you're just starting back at it, why not try develop and inspect them with a green light as you go?

[Ian David]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'm going to order a MOD54 and a B's and give them a try.

In the mean time, I'm going to try tray development. I've never developed 4x5 in trays and am curious to see if I can do it successfully. I'll expose some negatives in the back yard that I don't really care about so if I ruin them in processing it won't be anything worthwhile. I do have one question relating to the process: when moving negatives from the developer to the stop or from the stop to the fixer, do you move the negatives one at a time, or do you pick up the whole stack of them and move them as a stack to the next tray?

Also, what's the best size tray for developing 4x5? 5x7 or 8x10?

If you want to tray develop, and are happy to process only a small number of sheets (eg 4) at a time, I recommend buying/making a slosher tray. That is quite a nice way to keep the sheets separated throughout, and the slosher tray can be lifted from one process tray to the next without handling the wet film at any stage.

[Tin Can]

I have tried most cans, tubes except JOBO

I refuse to buy and use very expensive German plastic

I cannot shuffle either, bent mechanic fingers

I did Ziploc but hate the wasted bags, twice

I often do one film in 3 trays if it is very rare very old plates or film

I prefer Dip and Dunk on KODAK film/plate holders

or GAS Burst on Hangers

We have a Canadian member who uses one tray for ULF

He teaches Photography

Andy on you tube and here

[tundra]

I mostly process 4X5, 5x7, 8x10 in like new KODAK only hangers in tanks with gas burst

2X3 has waffe cans

ULF is trays

Always use 1 size bigger tray one at a time

gently

I also process all sheet films in open tanks, though I manually agitate (wearing skin and eye protection). For conventional development, I use the Kodak framed hangers. For (semi)stand and EMA, I use Kodak pinch hangers to minimize any contact between hanger and film.

I do this regardless of developer, other than PMK which cannot be used for extended development, so I use only the framed hangers there.