Paterson Orbital processor vs Combi.....

[Ron Marshall]

wow.....$300.00 for a tank....I thought $80 for a combi was bad...they better be pretty good for that price....I assume the lift is not needed for manual processing? Is the foot pump accessory essential?

They are about $150-$200 used. The pump is helpful, as is the $25 roller base.

[katie cooke]

I'm a big fan of the Orbital, and have even travelled with it in a backpack. Light, very economical to use (just 60-120ml of soup), dead easy to load in a changing bag, and you don't even need the base once you know how to use it. Prices get silly (over 50 quid) but you can pick them up for 10-20 if you are lucky.

[BigSteveG]

They only seem to be available from Europe. I've not been able to find any US listings. Has anyone comapared the Oribital to the Jobo Expert?

[BigSteveG]

Thanks for the pics Ash. Very helpful.

[Ash]

Ask Jim, his green men seem to have picked up 5 of everything

[buze]

I use the Orbital as well; I gouged the bottom of mine with a screwdriver to prevent the film from sticking to the bottom (it /will/ !).
It's /great/ for 4x5 sheets; you can use it with 150ml of chemical if you like (I did, many times, with DDX) but with reusable developers I use more like 400ml and I just rock the tray without using the base at all. Perfect development in full daylight everytime.

It also will do 8x10, but I had lots of problems doing so. Using more than about 200ml of chemicals makes the sheet 'float' and touch the two prods that hold the sheet down; vthat creates uneven development.
However with less chemicals you need to rotate it on it's base more often, and that will create other uneven development in the corners... I found it really really hard to get consistent, easy results.
Also, for 8x10 at one sheet at a time, 1/2h per sheet... it starts getting a bit on the long end if you have 6 sheets

[Paul H]

I got my Orbital for GBP22 off ebay UK.

It's dead easy to load (even in a changing bag), quick to fill and quick to empty. Since it uses so little chemistry, it doesn't matter if you have one or four sheets to process. I use 150ml of PC-TEA 1+50 solution or the same amount for Rodinal 1+50 to process four sheets. You can use as little as 60ml of solution.

I use it on the manual base.

[Pete Watkins]

I use an Orbital as well. 300 ml will cover the film easily. I don't have the motorised base and the agitation is a bit of a pain. I did find that 4x5 sheet film tended to overlap at times and this was also a pain so I glued a couple of bits of plastic to the base of the tank. This means that I can only develop 4x5 but it's not a problem. I have a Combi but I've not tried it yet. I've been told that some people develop 12 sheets at a time loading the sheets back to back, I havn't tried it.
Watch U.K. auction sites but try to get the motorised base.
Pete.

[Paul H]

I use an Orbital as well. 300 ml will cover the film easily. ...... I did find that 4x5 sheet film tended to overlap at times and this was also a pain so I glued a couple of bits of plastic to the base of the tank. ....
Pete.

I think that using too much solution is the cause of the problems - too much, and the sheets can just up and float away over the pegs. If you stick to less than 200ml, you shouldn't have a problem.

[Pete Watkins]

Thanks Paul,
I read somwhere 75 ml per sheet, dunno where! The extra plastic bits are working for me but that's good advice for others.
Thanks,
Pete.