Film Developing Rant and CineStill DF96 Monobath - Am I Lazy?

Hey!

I haven't shot any film since August, mostly because I'm loathe to process, scan and retouch.
Developing film has been a 30-year chore for me, and despite my efforts to make it less tedious (Jobo tank, sheet film washer, etc) I can't stomach the idea of doing it again.

The last straw was in August, I shot about 45 rolls of film (35mm/120) over a two week period.
I spent a solid 6 weeks in "post-production" and I'm still exhausted by that whole endeavor, not eager to re-visit it soon.
So I've become quite lazy about developing, in that I don't shoot film so that I don't have to process it!
Yes, digital is looking good these days.

In my never-ending quest for ultimate film-developing sloth-dom, this CineStill caught my eye.
Start to finish in a mere 3-6 minutes, any film goes, and results seem to be good.

I realize it's a more expensive route than using the standard methods, but if this can numb me further to film processing's utter monotony, then I may just pick up the old 8x10 again.
I know there are home-brews, but that would just add to the work involved. Uh-uh.

CineStill experiences and opinions? Call me lazy if you must.
The floor is open.

I haven’t tried the CineStill, but it does interest me so I will be following this thread. But…

I would encourage you to follow your heart on this. It can’t hurt to try, and if it doesn’t satisfy go ahead and make the digital switch. You will need a lot of money to make the switch, so that old 8x10 could provide seed money.

I love the darkroom side of camera work, and would never consider going digital because I find it to be loathsome, but you need to do you. If you don’t like it, don’t do it. If you love shooting film, find a lab person to collaborate with.

Ari, it seems like you recently sold some DIGI

Buy your idea of best Digi and get on

I like my tiny DIGI Z dc for all it's DIGI features

I dream of Z9

but I will never buy another printer

Thanks, Ironage.
Oh, I already shoot plenty of digital: full frame and medium format with infrared thrown into the mix.
I like the results and the process, even though its often predictable in ways that film isn't.

Hopefully the lazy phase will end and I'll get back to film in earnest.
Maybe using a monobath developer will help?

Randy, I'm always trying out cameras and lenses. I've settled, for now, on Sony A7r for infrared and A7R2 for work.
And I'll be trying out the Fuji GFX soon for studio portraits. Exciting stuff!
I'm now convinced that soulless digital sensors have caught up to MF film cameras.

I spent years getting the current 8x10 kit I have now, and would not sell it except in case of an emergency.
But I wish I used it more, it's just that the darkroom time stretches my patience these days.

Or I could do what other greybeard photographers do: hire young, pretty darkroom assistants. :)

Now I know you are crazy

My last DR crush was too distracting and she brought her dog

Using a monobath is only slightly simpler than using a 'standard' film processing method. I doubt that you'd be saving much time and effort. Why not send your exposed film to a good lab? Praus Productions in Rochester comes to mind.

I love the ease of my bubbling hangers

If I had 45 rolls to process I would find a commercial dip & dunk and and scan/proof lab. My darkroom is reasonably well equipped but any job of that size would overwhelm it and me. It may not be that you are lazy but that you are not lazy enough.

I played around with monobaths in the 60's. I decided they worked when, accidentally - given a certain combination of film, monobath, technique and phase of the moon - they failed to fail. 35mm Tri-X worked the least worst. I think that is still the case.

I've never heard of anyone using a fast acting monobath and sheet film - but I'm sure someone is doing it. I imagine there would be a steep learning curve.

I rarely shoot more than a few sheets of 8x10 at a time so I don't find traditional tray development to be a big deal.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mark Sampson

Using a monobath is only slightly simpler than using a 'standard' film processing method. I doubt that you'd be saving much time and effort. Why not send your exposed film to a good lab? Praus Productions in Rochester comes to mind.

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Hey Mark!
I couldn't bring myself to send out my film when I'm perfectly capable of doing it myself. I'll save that for my dotage.
Maybe I'm simply lacking the motivation to shoot more film, but I also hope that it will pass.
I enjoy very much the process of framing, adjusting and exposing film. That never went away.
But the darkroom always needs its pound of flesh.