Questions on E6 kits

[Tim Meisburger]

I would like to start shooting E6 again. If I use Fuji I am looking at 3.60 a sheet, plus 3.50 for development, plus shipping, so a minimum of seven bucks and change a sheet.

To make this more affordable, I'm thinking to process myself. A pint kit can be stretched to 20 sheets (I think) if I wait to process until I have shot a whole box. That gets me to $1.25 per sheet, or a total of $4.85. If I buy a quart the price goes down to 88 cents per sheet

My questions:

1. Will a pint do 20 sheets, if I process all at the same time.
2. Can I split a quart kit into two pint kits, and let one half sit unused for a year

Thanks for your advice!

[Rick A]

Are you rotary processing or in some other tank or tray? I haven't done E-6 in a few years, but in my Jobo I did 4 sheets at a time and re used the chems as per instructions and never waited to run an entire box at one time. I never tried splitting the quart kit to two separate pints.

[Tim Meisburger]

I will use either the Paterson Orbital, or my new SP-445

[Ivan J. Eberle]

I see that Fuji Hunt E6 5L kits are available again from Freestyle but whew! $199 + shipping. I have to say that doing my own E6 was gratifying mostly for how pure and clean the colors were from doing it one-shot. Never once did I reuse E6 chemistry myself. Now it's gotten onerous to find anyone else to do it, replenishment or not.

[Ivan J. Eberle]

Not to discourage you about E6 (nobody loves a beautiful Fujichrome transparency more than I do), but if you're looking for economy, it's tough to beat C41. The latitude and DR improvements will save a lot of shots or need for bracketing. Does your workflow require E6?

[Tim Meisburger]

E6 and C41 cost the same to buy and to develop, so I prefer to shoot chrome for the relatively rare times I really want color. Right now that means Velvia 50 in a roll film holder, but I'd like to go back to sheet film (which will be Velvia 100, since it is significantly cheaper than the 50).

I don't plan to re-use chemistry. From what I have read it only lasts a week once mixed (I've never developed color). If I buy a 5 liter kit, can I use it 500ml at a time. Does the remainder have a shelf life?

[stawastawa]

That sounds like information the manufacturer would be able to give you readily .
Or try searching for instructions for the kits, the included literature might say. Since Freestyle sells it maybe they can provide the answer too, either by opening a box to look for literature or just knowing the answer.

[Mark Sampson]

It might be better just to give your film to Dodge Chrome- they are in DC on MacArthur Blvd. I think it would be good value for money, unless you have lots of spare time and like messing around with color chemistry. Having spent decades in photo labs and inside EK, I think color processing is best left to the professionals. But if you want to try it, there are knowledgable people here to help.

[Tim Meisburger]

It might be better just to give your film to Dodge Chrome- they are in DC on MacArthur Blvd. I think it would be good value for money, unless you have lots of spare time and like messing around with color chemistry. Having spent decades in photo labs and inside EK, I think color processing is best left to the professionals. But if you want to try it, there are knowledgable people here to help.

In the end, I might do that, but they charge $4.00 a sheet for developing, bringing my cost per shot to $7.60. I would save at least $55 a box by doing my own development.

[Mark Sampson]

...minus your time to process the film, the willingness to risk your hard-earned photographs (due to the inevitable steep part of the learning curve), and the need to properly dispose of the spent chemicals. I won't say don't DIY; that's a very personal decision with no wrong answer. (Perhaps it's just that I've spent too much time working in and running color labs- one part of the craft that I don't miss at all.)
I wish you best of luck, whatever your choice!