Best B & W film and developer for 4 x 5 newbie? Tank? Tray?

[smithdoor]

That is the one have use since 1973 works great and I do not need a darkroom just low cost bag to load the film

Dave

The Yankee tank I have is a plastic (?Bakelite?) cube with an internal adjustable 12-sheet film holder.

It's about 6" on a side (I don't have it here to measure). The film holder is adjustable for different sizes.

It's in stock at B&H, about $40:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...eveloping.html

- Leigh

[NancyP]

The tray development seems intuitive but has the issue of temperature control if one doesn't have a water jacket/ sink arrangement.
Has anyone used the MOD54 rack that fits inside a standard Paterson 3 x 35mm reel tank?

THe idea of processing sheets one at a time by curling them up and putting them in a reel tank seems easy. I have an old steel Paterson 2 x 35mm reel tank.

I am also thinking that the ideal system should use small amounts of solution.

[Leigh]

The tray development seems intuitive but has the issue of temperature control if one doesn't have a water jacket/ sink arrangement.

Nancy,

Please go back and read my post #10, where I point out that Diafine does not care about temperature, making it perfect for tray development.

I am also thinking that the ideal system should use small amounts of solution.

I failed to mention in that earlier post that Diafine is replenished by adding fresh solution to both parts A and B, in volume equal to the amount of Part A absorbed into the film emulsion. That's all.

My normal routine is to mix a stock volume large enough for my largest processing container.

I then mix an additional quart of Part A and Part B, putting those in separate "replenishment" bottles. Those provide the small volume required to replenish after each run.

Both parts keep for years in both fresh and used states.

- Leigh

[Andrew O'Neill]

Look into a set of BTZS tubes. Very economical way to develop film. For a developer, I use pyrocat-hd, which I mix from scratch and is very economical.

[Regular Rod]

.....................It's only available in 100 speed, and in formats 4x5 and smaller. No 8x10 unfortunately.
.........

Leigh, it is available in 8x10.

RR

[John Kasaian]

I suggest Ilford FP-4+ and D-76 or the Ilford equivalent. Tray development.

[Leigh]

Leigh, it is available in 8x10.

Not here in the US. I know it's available in Japan, but I don't live in Japan.

- Leigh

[Regular Rod]

I haven't hand developed film for a few decades, and back then I was using 35mm film and Paterson reels in tank. Suggestions?

Tray is best BUT there is a way of getting all the advantages of a tray combined with all the convenience and comfort of a daylight tank.

http://freepdfhosting.com/f640343f29.pdf

What developers did you use before? Did you like the results from them? If you did then it might be best to start off with what you already know.

RR

[Regular Rod]

Oh that's a shame Leigh. Mine came from Japan but sent to here in the UK. Is it not possible to get it delivered to the USA?

RR

[Leigh]

There is at least one retailer in Tokyo that will ship orders to the US, but the total cost
with shipping is extremely high.

I don't want to digress. This thread is specifically about 4x5.

- Leigh