I did it!! :) My first home processed E6!!

[alexn]

Well, late last week my Tetenal kit arrived and my Jobo CPE-2 came to life... I had quite a backlog of processing to do, 14 rolls of Velvia 50 and 100.. I decided I would only mix up 250ml's of chems and run 2x 120 rolls at a time so I wasn't sacrificing too much film all at once should something go horribly wrong...

First up were two rolls shot in a plastic Holga 6x12 camera... I figured these were not going to be life changing photographs so if I ruined them I wouldn't be two upset... Well, after 25 fairly intense minutes of rotation, I pulled the drum off the processor, cracked the lid and split open the reel to see two, freshly processed rolls of E6... 12 brilliantly colorful slides...

Suffice to say, after the first run went so well, I quickly dried the drum and reel, reloaded and went for round two.... In all my excitement, the next two rolls overlapped on the reel, only by about 2 inches, which was the leader on the first, and the first image on the 2nd.. So I got 11 good slides from that run (these were shot with the Linhof Kardan and a 6x12 back.)

I have now done 7 runs, 4 off the first batch of chems with only that one slide having a flaw, 3 more runs on fresh chems..

I was very happy to achieve such results on my first go, as my CPE-2 does not have a lift, it was a bit of a struggle, but I did it, I'm stoked and I'm now saving myself $10 per roll... Making shooting slides a financially viable option! :) ... I really really need a 2509n reel or two to do my 4x5 Velvia and T64! :)

I have to thank Stef Dunn (Boinzo) for showing me the ropes and helping me process my first E6 4x5's a month or so ago...

Now I have a massive stockpile of slides to scan and will get onto uploading the best as soon as I get a chance..

Easier than I though, not as temperamental as I'd read, but definitely full on (especially when emptying chems from the drum then performing 6x30sec rinses etc.. Its full on using a funnel to get chems into the drum while its rotating, then lifting it off and draining it on the sink..) Full on, but definitely worth it :)

Thanks for reading my little story... :) Pretty happy with myself right about now.

[welly]

Awesome! Looking forward to the scans :)

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Congrats!!!

I'll bet it wasn't as hard as you thought it would be!

[E. von Hoegh]

Well, late last week my Tetenal kit arrived and my Jobo CPE-2 came to life... I had quite a backlog of processing to do, 14 rolls of Velvia 50 and 100.. I decided I would only mix up 250ml's of chems and run 2x 120 rolls at a time so I wasn't sacrificing too much film all at once should something go horribly wrong...

First up were two rolls shot in a plastic Holga 6x12 camera... I figured these were not going to be life changing photographs so if I ruined them I wouldn't be two upset... Well, after 25 fairly intense minutes of rotation, I pulled the drum off the processor, cracked the lid and split open the reel to see two, freshly processed rolls of E6... 12 brilliantly colorful slides...

Suffice to say, after the first run went so well, I quickly dried the drum and reel, reloaded and went for round two.... In all my excitement, the next two rolls overlapped on the reel, only by about 2 inches, which was the leader on the first, and the first image on the 2nd.. So I got 11 good slides from that run (these were shot with the Linhof Kardan and a 6x12 back.)

I have now done 7 runs, 4 off the first batch of chems with only that one slide having a flaw, 3 more runs on fresh chems..

I was very happy to achieve such results on my first go, as my CPE-2 does not have a lift, it was a bit of a struggle, but I did it, I'm stoked and I'm now saving myself $10 per roll... Making shooting slides a financially viable option! :) ... I really really need a 2509n reel or two to do my 4x5 Velvia and T64! :)

I have to thank Stef Dunn (Boinzo) for showing me the ropes and helping me process my first E6 4x5's a month or so ago...

Now I have a massive stockpile of slides to scan and will get onto uploading the best as soon as I get a chance..

Easier than I though, not as temperamental as I'd read, but definitely full on (especially when emptying chems from the drum then performing 6x30sec rinses etc.. Its full on using a funnel to get chems into the drum while its rotating, then lifting it off and draining it on the sink..) Full on, but definitely worth it :)

Thanks for reading my little story... :) Pretty happy with myself right about now.

Good on ya!

See? It'll be even easier the next time, now that you are learning the choreography. (thumbs up smiley)

[LF_rookie_to_be]

Congratulations, alexn! Did my first E6 about a month ago, too. What a sight when the lightbox lit up that Velvia 50... 4x5... Next step: developing my own shots!

"Choreography", spot on, von Hoegh. That's exactly what it is, even more so with no processor, just the Expert drum.

[EdoNork]

Dupe!

[EdoNork]

Congratulations! The first time I did my first E6 I remembered the first ever film processing I did years ago, very exciting!
Four weeks ago I did my first C-41, I mixed it from raw chemicals, and the feeling was similar. I'm done now, no more new things to do, starting with LF may be? ;)

[Ivan J. Eberle]

The Lift Accessory is worth it, keeping short rinses short and holding 1st development time tight.

[texTat kommunikation]

Hello Alexn!
Your little story was really interesting to me. Because the whole day long I did research about this theme. I brought some rollfilms and sheet films from my last holidays with me and was very unsure how to manage the development. I have almost the same equipment like you (Jobo CPE2, TestDrum 2820 and Tetenal Colortec E-6 chemicals). The main problem for me is how to find out which amount of chemicals I should prepare and fill into the drum. On the drum I read "capacity: 40 ml". But I think this cannot be. Shouldn't I use 500 ml fpr each step of the development? I hope soon with some more practice I will be succesful. But it's hard to find the right way when you are an absolute beginner and you have nothing but the internet as information source.

[chassis]

Congratulations, let's see the results!

[Boinzo]

Nice work Alex. I kept telling you it was a doddle mate! Some of those scans are looking nice too - you should drop a couple into this thread.
It's certainly a LOT easier with a lift.

@textTat. According to this article http://www.jobo.com/jobo_service_analog/us_analog/faq/film_tanks_vs_print_drums.htm
The 2820 Tank is equivalent to a 2521/2523 film tank (if you put the correct lid parts and core on it). When doing rotary development the 2523 tank requires 270ml of chemistry for a 2509n or a 2502 reel.
I have found the amount of chemistry is not desperately critical - so long as you make sure your film is getting covered as it rotates through it. Anywhere between 250ml and 300ml is going to work fine I suspect.
What is important is time (especially of first developer) and temperature.