I am just beginning my journey in LF. I have the camera ordered, a couple of lenses, etc. Soon I want to stop thinking about equipment end figure out how to the the thing. Then comes processing.
Now while I live in an area of 800,000+ people, the photography industry here seems strangely underdeveloped. E6 processing of 4x5 is EXPENSIVE. I don't want to feel guilty every time I take a shot. On top of that, it is difficult for me to drive to the lab and get back in the day times and evenings are mostly out. So it got me thinking about developing my own.
I priced out chemicals (The Kodak 6-bath kit; it seems very expensive to get the Tetenal kit into Canada, shipping is a killer). I will save upwards (I figure) of $2/tranny if I used something like a Jobo with 270ml/6 trannies. But the Jobo CPE-2 + bits and pieces will set me back a lot; it will take at least (very minimum) 400 trannies to recoup the cost. I am not prepared for that just yet; I am a recreational shooter and still shoot smaller formats too; it will take quite a while to burn that much.
I read the article "E6 on a budget" on this site. I was not encouraged.
So what are the alternatives? Lets say I buy/make a tempering box. Then I need something to develop them in. A rolling tube saves a lot of chemicals over an inversion system so seems like the best option. How about the Jobo Tube in one of their stands where you roll it by hand? Anyone every try this? Slight colour casts don't bother me since they can be corrected out easily enough, but colour cross-over is not acceptable. Obviously contrast/exposure will need to be "on".
I guess I am looking at suggestions for cheap, low chemical volume, not extremely painful, daylight options for E6. Or to just be told I am crazy and just visit one of the stupid labs.
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