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Thread: BTZS tubes for 8x10

  1. #1

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    BTZS tubes for 8x10

    I'm pleased enough with my 4x5 tubes that I want to develop my 8x10s in tubes too! Could I just get the 8x10 set (3 tubes and 6 lids) and use them lengthways in my 4x5 bath? Or are they better suited to a tray of some kind?

    Cheers!

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    I used the 8x10 tubes. What do you mean by your "4x5 bath?" Are you talking about the water jacket tray that comes with the 4x5 tubes? If so I guess you could do that but I don't think you'd have much room to rotate them and I'm guessing you could only do two 8x10 tubes at a time if that. The 8x10 tubes are an order of magnitude larger than the 4x5s. If you mean something else by "4x5 bath" then I don't know.

    FWIW I just put them in my darkroom sink and rolled them back and forth in the sink.
    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.

  3. #3

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    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    I should have added one thing. You mention six tube caps. I don't know if it's possible to save some money by only buying three caps but if so that's really all you need. BTZS includes six caps because they assume you'll put film in the tubes, cap the tubes, turn on the lights, do other things, then when you're ready to process they assume you'll turn out the lights, remove those caps, and screw the tubes into the other three caps which you would have previously filled with developer. I thought that was unnecessary, I just got everything ready to go, filled three caps with developer, turned off the lights, loaded the film, then screwed the tubes into the caps filled with developer (i.e. no need for the intermediate steps of capping the tubes and turning on the lights to do other things), and turned on the lights.

    No big deal but doing it the way I relate saves a little time and trouble and possibly money if you can buy the tubes with only three caps.
    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.

  4. #4

    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    So the 8x10 tubes are on sale again.

    I recently threw out my 8x10 tubes. When they worked, everything went perfectly. Unfortunately, the film is large and floppy, and I routinely scratched important negatives. I went back to trays. Good luck, and I hope you don't have the same poor luck that I did.

  5. #5

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    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    the 8x10 ones do not fit into the 5x4's water bath. one will fit just about diagonally but won't spin that well.

  6. #6

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    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    you can use a cheap plastic dish pan for the water bath. Fill it full enough so you don't have to insert your hands too far but not so full that the tubes can roll out.

    To avoid scratching the film upon removal from the tube, I grab one of the top corners between my thumb and forefinger, pull the corner slightly toward the center of the tube, and then start pulling the film into a smaller circumference. That releases the surface tension between the film and the wall of the tube so that I can gently pull the film out. Same as with Jobo Expert Drums. I have a lot more scratching with tray processing so to each his own.

    The 8x10 tubes work great but don't count on using 6 at a time like with 4x5. 3 at a time is a reasonable number. They are bulky so I store them in a clean 5 gallon bucket.

  7. #7
    Ron Miller
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    Try a kitty liter box.

  8. #8
    mike rosenlof's Avatar
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    Mar 1998
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    Louisville, Colorado, USA
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    356

    Re: BTZS tubes for 8x10

    I got storage boxes at Target. I don't use BTZS tubes, but open ended tubes and spin them in total darkness. I need enough chemical in the tray to slosh through the open tube, but not anywhere deep enough to cover the tube. I use dillute enough developer that the solution volumes are not an issue for me. The 3 inch tubes for 8x10 are hard to grip and spin when they're slippery with developer. I wear latex globes.

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