SP-445 4x5 Film Processing System (Daylight tank)

[thereisnocat]

I've been using a Mod54 for the past year or two. I received my SP-445 earlier this week and ran my first film through it last night. I'm hard pressed to tell any difference in the results; the output seems to me to be the same. The Mod54 is harder to load; I find it easy to get sheets touching each other. I wind up developing four sheets at most rather than the six sheet capacity as a result. The SP-445 loads easily; the fact that it uses something similar to regular film holders means I don't have to think so much about it, just use my muscle memory. The difference in the amount of chemistry it requires is another point in favor of the SP-445; it takes less than half. That's not such a big deal with fixer, or with C-41 and E-6 chemistry, since I mix up the full quart/liter of chemistry that the kits come with, but for black and white, it's definitely a plus to not have to mix up a full liter. I also find with the Mod54 that I have to be more gentle with my agitation than with pretty much any other system I use. I had a few instances where the film slipped off its mark due to the style of agitation I was using. The SP-445 doesn't seem to mind a little more action in agitation.

The SP-445 seems slightly more prone to leaking during agitation than a Mod54 + Patterson tank setup, but the leaking from the SP-445 wasn't significant, and I've had issues with the Mod54 and tank occasionally as well.

All in all, my first impression of the SP-445 is very positive. It seems more robust to me than my Mod54. I'm keeping an open mind at this point, but the first round here went to the SP-445.

[esearing]

Mine has tracked as far as NY on 8/23 but doesn't seem to be moving.

[Alan9940]

Just got my SP-445 in the mail, yesterday. Here is my preliminary findings:

1. Overall, the tank is very well constructed. I had to remove a couple of very tiny pieces of flash in the notches under the lid, but it was nothing.

2. I've heard of a number of caps arriving cracked because the shipping company in HK didn't pack the tanks as Tim had instructed, but I thought mine was adequately packaged and the caps are fine.

3. If the tank leaks with inversion agitation, I didn't notice; I normally get a bit of liquid down the side of any tank I use and in the sink. I'm not the most accurate pour!

4. The film holders are very easy to load with film and the holders slip into the tank without issue.

5. No scratches or other bugaboos; negs are nice and clean looking.

6. One of my primary concerns with any development method is evenness of development. My "stress test" to determine this is to expose a smooth white card in even light to Zone VI exposure; filling the entire frame with the card. I very happy to report that the SP-445 produced an absolutely even looking neg across the entire frame!

7. Along with #6, I didn't notice any areas of increased density (like around edges, for example) anywhere on any of the negs.

8. One trick I discovered which may help others... I found it very difficult to remove the developed film from the holders upon completion. I don't know if it was some sort of suction or something between the film base side and the holder itself or simply that my fingers and the holders were too wet for me to get a good grip, but I just couldn't pull the film out of the holder. Here's the trick: Fill a tray, basin, or whatever with water and toss the holders in. After a few seconds, grab the holder, give it a couple shakes, grab the film and it will easily pull out.

Oh, one thing I forgot... When I saw the film holder for real I was concerned that the film might dislodge or simply float up out of the holder upon inversion because there is nothing holding the film in at the top. I'm happy to report that this didn't happen.

Overall, based on this first test run I'm extremely pleased with this tank. It's even fun to use!

I hope something I've written here helps others and I wish Stearman Press great success with this tank.

[Nigel Smith]

8. One trick I discovered which may help others... I found it very difficult to remove the developed film from the holders upon completion. I don't know if it was some sort of suction or something between the film base side and the holder itself or simply that my fingers and the holders were too wet for me to get a good grip, but I just couldn't pull the film out of the holder. Here's the trick: Fill a tray, basin, or whatever with water and toss the holders in. After a few seconds, grab the holder, give it a couple shakes, grab the film and it will easily pull out.

yep, I held mine under the tap to get them out.

[Bob Mann]

Back again to report more troubles with streaking. There are two larger ridges on the film holder near the middle that make contact with the film back during processing. Running a few sheets through the tank resulted in visible marks, they did not disappear even with an additional washing cycle using dip hangers. I have only been using Bregger film, so either it is a problem with the film having a coating on the back, or it is a problem of the film sticking to the holder during processing. With a success rate of about 50% so far, I am not sure if this is going to work for me.

[tim48v]

Bob,
Make sure your film holders are "flat", we've heard of one other user that had a slightly curved film holder that could cause the film to be pressed against the holder. If so, it's pretty easy to just warm up the film holder in hot water (not boiling!) and straighten it with your fingers.

BTW, we've processed other films with a coating on the back with no problem.

Let us know what you find.

Tim

[baro-nite]

Tim, thank you for this excellent device. It's not every day we see a new product for large format photography. I hope it is a big success.

I've just run several batches through mine. After a couple I noticed that there was always one sheet out of the four that wouldn't release easily from the holder. And I noticed a couple of streaks of anti-halation dye left on the back of a couple of sheets. Genius that I am, I posited a causal link between these two facts. I had done some smoothing to catch any rough edges but one side of one holder still had less space where the film runs under the tabs that hold the film in place. So I worked more aggressively on that one, and now the film releases easily and I haven't seen any more streaks.

Also, now that I'm carefully following the suggestion to squeeze the tank before closing the second cap, I'm getting very little leaking. Sometimes none.

My suggestion is to take a scrap piece of film and load it. Turn the holder top down and check if the film slides out by itself, or with just a slight shake. If not, get to work till it does. Check all four sides.

[tim48v]

Interesting. In theory, they should all be exactly the same dimensions. (However, we all know how well theory holds up in the real world.)

Is the film holder curved at all? That might apply enough pressure to make a difference.

If you're getting any leaking, check the mold parting lines on the inside of the "Vent" end of the tank. (Most are pretty flush, some are more noticable.) They can be polished down with a little 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper and water. We're going to post a "tune up" note that covers this.

[baro-nite]

Both are curved some, but it's only one side of one of them that tends to stick. I did try the hot water trick to straighten in, and had some success. Having reported above that I solved the sticking problem, the batch I just ran it stuck again. So I'll take another look tomorrow.

No leaking now, but I'll check where you indicate, thanks.

[tim48v]

Are you using a wetting agent?