Hi ,i have a Jobo 2521 tank and i have hard time loading the film shits in to the reel and wanted to know if there is other alternative tanks that are easy to use and load the film in it.
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Hi ,i have a Jobo 2521 tank and i have hard time loading the film shits in to the reel and wanted to know if there is other alternative tanks that are easy to use and load the film in it.
There are many discussions on this topic. I've used several different developing solutions for 4x5. I find the SP-445 by far the easiest to load and use, and gives excellent results.
https://shop.stearmanpress.com/produ...cessing-system
I have gotten frustrated many times while loading film - but it's never the films fault - so please refrain from the derogatory name calling :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Cupcake
I use Jobo 3010 tank, expensive but works great!
Everyone is different, personally i find my MOD54 to be super easy to load.
SP 445 for up to 4 sheets (My favorite). The FR or Patterson square tanks hold up to 12 sheets but can not be inverted and are a bit messy. Or look into BTZS tubes or DIY tubes for one sheet at a time. Then there are sheet hangers which will work with any appropriately sized container in the dark, sometimes you can find a tank that held the hangers covered. Tray processing stacked or slosher tray insert in the dark too.
The SP-445 is a nice tank that's relatively inexpensive and works great; although you're limited to 4 sheets. Don't know if the B&W King tank is still available, but it holds 10 sheets (IIRC) and works like any smaller format tank using twirling or inversion.
I'm a happy user of the SP-445.
As said, it's easy to load and it can be inverted or otherwise agitated like a roll film tank. It's comparable in price to the Patterson tank, which I bought and returned because I found it a nightmare to load.
I use Paterson Super System 4 tanks which normally take two 35mm or 120 reels. I use the "taco method" in which one folds a sheet of 4x5 into a tube along the short axis, emulsion in, and secures it with an elastic band, leaving the two edges almost touching. It them resembles a taco shell. Google "taco method" for a multitude of sites explaining the process. Four 4x5 sheets will fit in a tank which takes 800 ml of solution to completely cover. The tanks are available new for about $30 or come up on eBay for $10-15.
One is advised to use a rubber band or an elastic band intended for securing hair into a pony tail, or other such bands. I was never successful with using bands, as they always left a line of undissolved film backing anti-halation or other coating. I was never able to subsequently wash the "stain" off the back of the film with extended fixing or washing or any other treatment. Also, rubber bands frequently work their way off the film in the tank resulting in films overlapping with disastrous results.
I then found a thread that described using a sleeve made out of nylon window screen material. The author claimed that his film came out completely free of rubber band marks and evenly processed. So I went to Home Depot, got a roll of screening material, dug our seldom-used sewing machine out of the closet and whipped up a batch of 16 sleeves. Took me about 20 minutes. The material was very easy to sew using ordinary white sewing thread.
I've been using them ever since. They work great. No undissolved film backing. The film develops absolutely evenly. I load the film into the sleeves in the dark. The sleeves very nicely control the folded film. Four loaded sleeves perfectly fit in the tanks. Once the inner funnel is snapped in place, the tank is light-proof and fool-proof. The tank can be loaded and drained of 800ml in a few seconds. Fastest filling/emptying tank I've ever used. Washing is very thorough as water enters through the center to the bottom of the tank and flows out the top around the periphery. Everything is done with lights on. Nothing ever works loose. I process and wash to completion before slipping the film from the sleeves for drying.
http://orig11.deviantart.net/86a5/f/...14-dbc3mnr.jpg
Patterson Orbital trays with the electric motor are Gods gift!