I'd like to get a daylight tank to develop 4x5" film....
I'd like to get a daylight tank to develop 4x5" film....
JOBO drums work (2523, 2521) work.
Most others don't.
The worst piece of darkroom kit I have is a "Johnson's Cutplate Tank": Takes a lot of fluid, and agitation is impossible. I've used it once (for stand development), then bought a JOBO.
Do you just need 4x5? Or do you have other needs? The Jobo 25xx tanks handle 4x5 and smaller. The Expert tanks handle 4x5 and bigger but cost quite a bit more.
How much film do you need to develop?
There is also the Combiplan system from HP Marketing Corp. Easy to use and inexpensive. Last I looked Midwest had them for around $70.
anyone checked which forum this is in?
Look for a used Jobo Expert on Ebay, where I have seen many go for about 1/2 of new price.
I hand roll on the $20 Jobo roller base. Easy to load, low chemistry volume, even consistent development, quick to fill and empty. It is the piece of photo equipment I hesitated the most about buying, but the one that I am happiest I spent the money on.
I have used Jobo with 6 sheet 4x5 reel for inversion, 4x5 Nikor for inversion , Jobo expert on CPA water bath, hangars with hanger rack. They all work fine once you work out the quirks.
I use an old Bessler tube with the holders set for 4x5 on a Bessler base modified with a variable switch for ceiling fans. The conversion cost me about $12 and a half hour to mount the switch to slow down rotation. I'm using Hutchings pyro with a pre-soak. Works fine and its cheap--used Bessler units are available for very little... I also use it for 5x7 and 8x10--6-4x5, 4-5x7, 2-8x10.
Michael
Last edited by Michael Daily; 26-Jul-2006 at 18:08.
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