Options for 5x7 development

[Shootar401]

I ended up picking up a Fischer water bath on the bay that heats to 140' F. Perfect for heating up my E6 and C41 chemicals since as of right now I'm heating them up in my sink. This will be much easier.

Still debating what way would be better for me to "hold" the 5x7 negs...

[Graybeard]

A suggestion on using your waterbath.

It is easy to forget that the water bath is operating when a darkroom session ends and leave it on when you leave the room. The water can evaporate from the bath (especially at 140F) and the bath itself can overheat and cause a fire. The newer laboratory baths usually have an overtemperature safety switch to prevent this but older baths generally don't have them.

I operate my older bath (which has no overtemperature safety) on a mechanical one hour timer. Even if I forget to shut the water bath off, the timer will do it for me - its no big deal to reset the timer during a session when/if/as needed.

[Shootar401]

Weill since my darkroom is also my kitchen I have to pack everything up and store it after a developing session. so I don't have a choice but to unplug it.

[welly]

I ended up picking up a Fischer water bath on the bay that heats to 140' F. Perfect for heating up my E6 and C41 chemicals since as of right now I'm heating them up in my sink. This will be much easier.

Still debating what way would be better for me to "hold" the 5x7 negs...

Did it come boxed?

[Shootar401]

Did it come boxed?

Boxed? Well it was used and was shipped into me to yeah it was boxed if that what you mean. Here is the unit in question... http://www.ebay.com/itm/360542409382 The water bath part is roughly 15" x 15" x 8" deep. It holds 4 of my 1L beakers that I temper my chemicals in. It' needed a good cleaning, but I can adjust it to a quarter of a degree C' and holds that temp +/- and eighth of a degree for the 4 hours I tested it.

[John Kasaian]

I'd normally suggest an old Unicolor processor with a print drum but alas, mine seems to have been jinxed or something (after all the years of good negs it's churned out for me!) Still, one might suit your needs. You might also find a Patterson Orbital processor

[Michael_qrt]

Since you're already using a MOD54 for processing 4x5 I'm assuming you have a Paterson 3 reel tank. I've used the 3 reel tank to develop 5x7 film taco style with good results so far and you can do color processing just as you would with the MOD54. I have developed 3 sheets at a time with this method but perhaps 2 at a time makes for easier loading. If you've got some junk sheets it might be worth having a play with loading the tank and then see how you feel about it.

[Ed Brock]

I have used the Paterson multireel tanks for years for both 4x5 and 5x7. They are well within your budget and available at Freestyle Sales among others. I have every Paterson tank made.

For 5x7 I mostly use the Paterson #118 Multireel 8 tank. I fold 5x7 along the long axis and insert into home-made mesh tubes - plastic window screening from Lowes / HomeDepot. (Taco style but avoids the scratched corners etc that come with rubber-banded tacos sloshing around) I can process up to 10 sheets in the tank - two layers of 5 each are a PERFECT fit. You can use aggressive inversion agitation, stand develop or anything in between - all in the daylight with a probe thermometer checking the temp. 10 sheets require 96 ounces of solution.

Or you can process 1-5 sheets in one layer with 48 oz of solution. Fold the sheets along the short axis and you will get up to 4 in one layer needing 36 oz of solution. Every so often, I process 120, 4x5 & 5x7 all together in the same tank at the same time (all HP5 in my case).

[David Aimone]

Ed,

Just came across this thread while pondering how to develop 5x7 negatives. I'd like to try your idea. What did you use to glue/stitch the window screening together to make the tubes?

David

I have used the Paterson multireel tanks for years for both 4x5 and 5x7. They are well within your budget and available at Freestyle Sales among others. I have every Paterson tank made.

For 5x7 I mostly use the Paterson #118 Multireel 8 tank. I fold 5x7 along the long axis and insert into home-made mesh tubes - plastic window screening from Lowes / HomeDepot. (Taco style but avoids the scratched corners etc that come with rubber-banded tacos sloshing around) I can process up to 10 sheets in the tank - two layers of 5 each are a PERFECT fit. You can use aggressive inversion agitation, stand develop or anything in between - all in the daylight with a probe thermometer checking the temp. 10 sheets require 96 ounces of solution.

Or you can process 1-5 sheets in one layer with 48 oz of solution. Fold the sheets along the short axis and you will get up to 4 in one layer needing 36 oz of solution. Every so often, I process 120, 4x5 & 5x7 all together in the same tank at the same time (all HP5 in my case).

[koh303]

This seems like an awful lot of work, and potential risk for what is a fairly expensive thing (5X7 being what it is).
Why not go with something which was purposefully designed and built to process 5X7 sheet film, and after all offers the best over all results, like the Jobo 3006 Expert drum?
While its not cheap by any means, it will pay off its investment in no time and will also guarantee you industry standard, perfect results every time.
You can see a 3006 in action here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=481385618646946