I am with you Jeff...there is just something that "feel right" about standing in total darkness and flipping sheets of film in the trays. I know it's not the easiest way to control development, but it works VERY well, and it sure is satisfying!!! -Dave
So many options! I have tried to do the tray method. I can not seem to get away from even the smallest of scraches. Even if I process a few sheets at a time I will still get small scratches on the film base. I have tried sheet film hangers with a Nitrogen burst in college. This was by far the best method that I have found. No scratches and I could do 12 8"x10" hangers. This method is a bit pricey at this time. I have looked at the Jobo reels and have been advised that there are problems loading the reels. Is this a problem that anyone has found? I also like the idea of the BTZS tubes. I have been on the web to see the instructions for using the tubes. It seems like it may take a bit of time to get used to it. Finally I have considered using the good old hangers in the tank method. I would do enough negs to justify but I have also been advised that there is the hazard of uneven development. The last method that I have tried was to place a sheet film hanger in a tray. BIG MISTAKE for me. I was horrified to see "development spots" (for lack of a better term) where the holes in the hanger were. I am in search of a simple method of developing around a half dozen 4x5 negs. I do thank everyone for the help.
Bruce: One last little pitch for tray development. I did tray dev. for awhile before I got consistently clean negatives. At this point, doing 5x7 negatives, I don't get many problems. I do some singles (never a problem) and up to about five at a time. If I'm shuffling five, I might get a scratch on one. What helped me the most was changing to the shuffling procedure urged by Gordon Hutchings in The Pyro Book (emulsion side DOWN, etc.). The main point, I think, is that it's just such a simple procedure. Also, you're pretty much looking at tray dev. if you want to develop by inspection, which I do. Dev. by inspection, again, is the simplest method. It seems to be thought of by a lot of people as very tricky/difficult or something, and yet godzillions of the old photographers managed.... -jeff buckels
If you've done nitrogen burst & tank lines, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to do the same on a smaller scale (without the nitrogen)....we run a 2 gal. tankline (7, 4-up racks) and do hand agitation with no problems and have been doing it this way for 10 years at least. The lab across the street from us uses 3.5 gallon tanks (98 sheets) and hand agitation as well. I run a small tankline at home with 1 gallon Cesco-Lite tanks (w/floating lids) in a Leedal waterjacket. I can run 12 4x5 hangers (but it's tight, I mostly do 6-8) at a time, 5x7, 2x3 hangers, and roll films. The small Kodak hard-rubber half gallon tanks will let you do around 10-12 at once as well. The beauty of a replenished tankline is in the control you can get out of it, and the fact that the chemicals are all ready to go....walk in, load the racks, pull the covers and run your film...providing you don't have to run a waterjacket. A run is about 45 min. for us, in another hour the film is dry as well. It's the same with my little tank line as well...I use a heat dryer too. You should be able to buy a used set of Kodak tanks, lids and single sheet racks (3 tanks) for less than a $100. The new plastic tanks will run about $20 each. Stainless steel is the best.
Let me suggest a variation on tray processing that I came up with years ago when I started down the large format path. I took some cheap 8x10 plastic trays that have subtle ribs on the bottom. I glued a few strips of plastic about 1/2 inch tall and 2 inches long , standing up in the center of the tray as dividers (one "north-south", the other "east-west"). Each tray holds 4 sheets of 4x5, a reasonable number and is essentially scratch proof. The solutions are free to spill around the divider. Now if only I can think of a way to handle 8x10...
I've used the BTZS tubes with 4x5 for years and like the system a lot. I really haven't found any down side to them. I've always gotten very even development, they don't cost a whole lot, and they take up very little space. They have the advantage of allowing you to process your N, N+, and N - negative simultaneously. I've used the Jobo system in a workshop and liked it except for the fact that you have to process only the N negatives in one run, then a second complete run for the N + negatives, then a third complete run for the N - negatives. This would be fine if you had a whole lot of negatives to develop at one time but I usually don't process more than 8 or 10 negatives in a session and it was really aggravating to process the 5 N negatives then have a second complete run for the two N+ negatives, and a third complete run for the 1 or 2 N minus negatives.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
I should have added that I use tray development for 8x10 negatives (due to the high cost of the 8x10 BTZS tubes). Although I've gotten good results as long as I don't do more than four negatives at a time, I don't care much for it, partly because I don't enjoy standing in the dark with my face over a tray of chemicals, shuffling negatives for 10 or 15 minutes but mostly because it's a real pain keeping track of which negative gets what development time. Some people say they get around this by having separate trays for each development time but I don't have room in my darkroom sink for that.
Brian Ellis
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you do criticize them you'll be
a mile away and you'll have their shoes.
Another vote for BTZS. Have used them for more than 5 years. 1) Consistently fine development. 2) Easy control of each negative for different development time in the same session (i.e. 2 negatives at "N", 1 negative at "N+1", 2 at "N+2", etc.) or use the BTZS test system for amazingly accurate results with reflective or incidence readings. 3) can work in the light once they are loaded. 4) one shot developer for quality and freshness (I used TMax RS) with no depletion. 5) develop as few negatives as you have or as many tubes as you want to buy. 6) Fred Newman, who owns the company, is very helpful with honest and friendly advice (even calls on his own dime).
I''ve also been in a quandary about how to process sheet film. I tried using film hangers and got surge marks near the holes. I was pre-soaking my negatives in water and think that may have had something to do with the surge marks.
I have to have absolute control over temperature, so that I can control development. I've purchased a used compensating timer, and I'm going to try a slosher with four quadrants for 4x5 in an 8x10 tray. In this way, I can get the same results for 4x5 that I obtain for single-sheet processing of 8x10, and I need only do my calibration tests on 4x5.
Neil, one old method to control temp is to run a water jacket around your tanks...it doesn't matter if it's having them all in a sink with a standpipe, a dish tub, or a deep tank configuration. Just as long as the tanks don't float....drain the water off at some level. In the "old days", like 20-30 yrs. ago, alot of E6 was run this way...and alot of b&w film still is.
We run film by hand in tanks, and don't use a prewet. It comes down to getting the agitation just right though. Another cause of the agitation patterns can come from an improperly replenished tank, where the bromide build up in the tanks can get stirred up, and poor agitation can cause "bromide drag", or in roll films, "sprocket drag". I've seen this on a heavily used developer, working through Kodak hangers and getting channeled through the side holes...but once you get the technique down, there isn't any reason why your negs can't be clean.
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