Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 tank?

[Tim V]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has experience with or an opinion on the Poilot PL810 8x10sheet film processing reel with P2550 Multitank5 dev tank combo, which can be bought on eBay:

LINK

It looks like a direct knockoff of the CatLabs reel and Jobo tank. I found another link on this forum to a discussion around a product that sounds the same as this, but the listing has expired and the product thumbnail looks different, so I'm not sure:

LINK TO THREAD

I'm fine to buy the Cat Labs version–and support the original product–but I've read other reviews of the CL81 scratching negatives which scares me, so I assume that might be the same for this product. Haven't even looked into the price difference yet for the tank, reel and roller base, but think this version looks attractive enough on that front.

My problem at the moment is that I'm tray processing 8x10" negatives one at a time in PMK and things are taking me ages. I know I could practice doing multiple sheets at a time, but to be honest I'm not confident in that as every time I've attempted it on practice sheets I've made a hash of it. In a perfect world I'd but a Jobo expert 3005 drum and roller base, but that's out of my league for the time being, so exploring other daylight tank options that can do a minimum of 3 sheets at a time and obviously not scratch the film. It's important to me that I go with an ultra-reliable option and that it works flawlessly with pyro developers; I'm happy to change to Pyrocat-HD or something similar if PMK is not suited to roller processing.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Tim

[Michael E]

I have bought the 8x10" and 5x7" reels and used them in my JOBO drum. They seem well made, but I have not used them enough to judge them competently. One thing I have noticed: I was hoping to use them with double-sided x-ray film, but the reel leaves marks on the outer side of the film (not a problem with single-sided film, of course).

[Josh C]

This looks like a cheaper copy of the catlabs one, interested to see if others have used it and if its worth it

[Tim V]

Yet another version, anyone tried?

https://realfilmreel.bigcartel.com/p...up-to-4-sheets

[Charles S]

I ordered one. Should arrive on Monday and I'll test and report back next week

[Tim V]

Great, thanks! Looking forward to hearing what it's like.

What type of process will you be using it for?

I ordered one. Should arrive on Monday and I'll test and report back next week

[Charles S]

Since last week I use one bath on Foma 100, in a Jobo 2830 on a Durst Comot for continuous agitation. I have 5 film holders so I often end up with 10 sheets to develop. The internal spool thingie allows me to go from 2 to 4 sheets a cycle, so it is more efficient.

The obvious questions are:

1) What happens when the tank rotates, will the thingie rotate as well
2) Is there enough spacing between the sheets to get the anti-halation layer off. Currently I do 3 pre-wash baths of a minute each, with 4 sheets, Do I need to double it
3) I currently use 100ml chems for 2 sheets, will it be enough for 4, or do I need to double the quantity ?
4) Is there enough spacing to get the chems spread enough so that they work as per the documented times or do I need to extend
5) Do I need to inverse rotation direction periodically or can I just keep it moving in one direction as I do currently
6) The monobath solution is for 8 minutes irrespective of the film. Can I mix films in the tank ?
7) Does it work for 8x10 prints as well ?

That's what i can think of for the moment. Will let you know what happens

[Tim V]

The thing that freaks me out about this system is scratching, especially when the emulsion gets soft and possibly rubs against the reel. If this happens, it would protrude quite far into the film by the looks of things.

It's a hard one, because I know ultimately I want a Jobo 3005, but can only afford to spend a 1/4 the money, at least for the foreseeable future.

[minh0204]

A word of warning: These Poilot tanks (also Osiris, exactly the same tank) are not fully compatible with Jobo. The red locking ring on all of the Chinese tanks are slightly undersized compared to Jobo's, so the Chinese lids won't fit properly on a Jobo tank.

The thing that freaks me out about this system is scratching, especially when the emulsion gets soft and possibly rubs against the reel. If this happens, it would protrude quite far into the film by the looks of things.

It's a hard one, because I know ultimately I want a Jobo 3005, but can only afford to spend a 1/4 the money, at least for the foreseeable future.

Scratching is really not a big problem - modern emulsion are tough (unless you like to do things like reversal dev). The 30XX tanks needs much bigger, more expensive machines.

[Tim V]

Thanks for chiming in.

I've read a lot of people say, granted in old threads, that these reels like the Catlabs CL81 design tend to scratch the emulation beyond the film holder rebate. As I contact print, these reports scare me.

I do hope other people with positive experience with regards to this speak up, as it's a heck of a lot cheaper to go this way than the 3005.

For reference, I'd want to use it on a roller base (manual) preferably with PMK or PyrocatHD, the latter of which I've not tried but hear is better for roller development.

I wonder if people developing this way vary the direction of the rolling?

With regard to this, I read somewhere that some people reported streaking down the middle of their sheets due surge / wake of dev as it is diverted around the central clip during rolling. Can anyone else advise on this?

I also note that the French version linked to above is capable of 4 films per reel, rather than the 3 of the Catlabs version. Anyone see an issue with this if the appropriate amount of chemistry is used?

Thanks!

Tim