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

  1. #11
    Charles S
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    Jan 2017
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    Zurich, Switzerland
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    So as promised, I am reporting back after putting the first batch of 4 sheets through.

    The main outtakes are as follows (blinding obvious stuff, I suppose):

    1) I found putting the sheets on the spool difficult. This may improve with practice of course, so I would recommend to anyone doing it for the first time to first do some practice runs

    2) The spool does not fit in the Durst 2830 tank if you want the chemicals cups attached to the lid. You will need a longer tank. Luckily I have one and was even able to locate it in the dark

    3) The tank with the spool needs a lot more chemicals to cover all the sheets, compared to the 2 sheets on opposite sides of the tank that I used previously. I doubled the quantity to 200ml, but it was not enough, all 4 sheets were only partly developed, with the emulsion still on all the sheets for half of the surface.

    4) It needs a lot more pre-wash to get the halation layer off with 4 sheets than with 2 (duh), so 5 cycles of 250ml water for a couple of minutes, so the net time gain is debatable.

    All-in all, I have the spool, so I will give it another attempt after doing more practice runs and measuring how much liquid I need in the tank, but I don't think it is a slam-dunk improvement over what i was doing before,

    That's all for now :-(
    Last edited by Charles S; 17-Jan-2019 at 03:13.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    409

    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    Sounds like it might get better with practice and patience to hone technique? Like you, I wonder if it's worth the money and effort. The Jobo expert drum is massive money, but probably money wisely spent in the long run. I wish there was a cheaper magic bullet!

  3. #13
    Charles S
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    Saw an expert drum on a german LF forum for 400Eur, so it's a lot more, but LF is not for the faint of heart or wallet.
    I am not there yet to pull the trigger.

  4. #14

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    Sep 2017
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    Kent, UK
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    For Foma don't need a lot of pre washes; the anti halation will also wash off during final rinse/wash. Also, developers are cheap compared to film, 200ml for 4 sheets (equiv. to 4x 35mm rolls) seems very low.

    You can submerge the tank and with the spool in a bath of water horizontally until the inner most sheet is fully submerged, then close the lid to trap the water inside. Measure how much liquid is in the tank and add about 10%, that'd be the minimum chem required to fully cover the sheets. For example I did a test on my tiny Jobo 1520 and found that I only need 150ml to fully submerge one 120 roll (vs 240ml recommended by Jobo).

  5. #15
    Charles S
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    the bath trick sounds good.
    Currently I use the tank with the film against the inside of it (see pic), it is not recommended for film, but it works. There is very little space between the tank and the film, which is why I do the extensive pre-washing otherwise the blueish goop colors my chems. I suppose now that I am using one bath as a one shot it shouldn't matter. Because the film is against the inside of the tank, 100ml for 2 sheets of 8x10 and constant rotation is enough.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  6. #16

    Join Date
    Mar 2013
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    York, Pennsylvania, USA
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    50

    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    I have the CatLabs 8x10 reel, have yet to use it (no negs on hand). I have been using (2nd time tonight) the Poilot PL57 for some Ilford FP4. Today's run ended up with 2 negatives with scuffs/digs on the emulsion. Thought the digs were lint-dust and tried to rewash them of with Distilled Water, but no, by angled-light these are divots in the emulsion itself.

    I've only been loading 4 of the 6 available slots - innermost & outermost ones, leaving the middle slots empty - tried loading them but couldn't get the film to stay, also distrust the gap-width between adjacent slots. So far, using 300mL of chemicals works fine (Rodinal 1:25).

    What I really want is Paterson to make a "MOD75" - their MOD54-6 works just fine, in their full-capacity inversion cylinder. I really prefer rotary developing. I do my 8x10s so far in JOBO 2840 big drums. I can do 4x10s that way but the thinner-based Ilfords flop around more than Kodak's TX320.

    So far out of 8 negatives done in the PL57 I have 2-3 usable negs plus one that can be cropped off at the bottom for a decent pond-scape. This sort of stuff will drive me to dip-tank hangers, etc. --alfredian

  7. #17

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    Dec 2014
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    Iowa City, Iowa
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    I have developed 5 sheets of black and white PAPER at a time. I used a Jobo 2830 tank, placed 2 sheets into the grooves of the tank, then loaded the Catlabs CL81 with 3 sheets, then gently slipped the reel into the tank. Worked great. Cost of real 8x10 sheet film being what it is, I've never tried this with sheet film.

    I have used a 2830 for 2 sheets of Tri-X, a CL81 for 3 sheets and a 3005 for 5 sheets. The CL810 is the easiest to wash the film. I use IR goggles so I can load anything.

  8. #18
    Charles S
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    Zurich, Switzerland
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    I gave it another try with 4 sheets and 300ml of monobath. This time there was enough liquid for all 4 sheets, but one of them did not develop in parts. It seems that the way I use it the liquid does not get in between the sheets evenly.
    Unless i find out through this thread how others are using it , I will put back in it's box for now

  9. #19
    B&W LF
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    May 2015
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    Seattle, WA
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    There is now also another alternative 3D printed reel system for 4x5 and 8x10 film development in Paterson tanks, from Jeff at 20th Century Camera in WA, USA. I have not tried it yet but am especially tempted to, since the loading and unloading looks so easy and practically “spring” loaded in his Instagram video. Also the 6-sided base is interesting for stability and rotating the loading/unloading.

    Photos of the TCC Quick load 4x5 6 sheet holder for Paterson
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwRL-TyAYCJ/

    3D Graphic rendering of 8x10 version
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwIHyOPAxAG/
    Video demo loading the 8x10
    https://www.instagram.com/p/BwITSREA98a/

    He only has the 4x5 one listed on his website currently though
    https://20thcenturycamera.com/collections/all

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/BxSsDfDAyN8/ (Post about video)
    https://www.instagram.com/tv/BxSsDfDAyN8/ (May 10 demo loading 4x5)
    Last edited by bwlf; 28-May-2019 at 10:08.

  10. #20
    Peter De Smidt's Avatar
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    Fond du Lac, WI, USA
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    Re: Has anyone tried or have opinions on the Poilot PL810 sheet film reel and P2550 t

    Well, that does look interesting. Hopefully a version for use in Jobo tanks will be forthcoming.
    “You often feel tired, not because you've done too much, but because you've done too little of what sparks a light in you.”
    ― Alexander Den Heijer, Nothing You Don't Already Know

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