Hello, I am headed to Italy next month taking my 4x5 camera and wanted to develop some of the negatives while I was there. This video was SO helpful and practical! Thank you! I will be gathering my supplies shortly.
Just a suggestion, if loading film at night while in a dark closet wait at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness to ensure there is no stray light present which could slightly fog your final image.
I've just started using a Stearman tank. It's definitely worth getting a generously sized changing bag. Mine is on the small side and by the time I have a tank and two film holder disassembled inside the bag it gets tight.
brilliant, this was very well described, I will finally develop my films which has been sitting in the box for 5 months. I have been waiting to find someone like yourself who will take me through step by step. Thank you
19:07 I recommend doing it with one film at a time. Putting all 4 films in one may lead wet agent not doing its job. Also, for the tank, I would put only one film for each fixture.
Curious why you would put only one sheet per frame in the tank. I've watched a video made by the developer of the tank and he puts two per frame, therefore, four in each tank for developing.
It really is a lot of fun. Relax and take your time, and start out with film you can practice on, so you're not stressed about perfect results. Good luck!
I am going into large format and going to be processing my own 4x5 negatives at home. I also plan this coming summer to shoot slide film, over expose it shooting the subject matter. Then using both chemicals but turning it to a negative with chemicals. I will process a few 4x5’s with nothing recorded on them so I can sandwich one of each together. I will need the orange. I will get fluorescent color with high grain. My idea is to do a series on Carnival’s. I didn’t invent this I just don’t know if the process has a name.
Thanks very much for this terrific video, I’ve just brought a SP-445 and looking forward to following your process, but I just wanted to check dilutions, for the Rapid Fixer you also suggest a 1-9 ratio of Rapid Fixer and water, but the Ilford Technical sheets with the fixer suggests to use a 1-4 ratio and I’d be grateful for clarification, thanks
Hi Glenn, you are right, the correct dilution for Ilford Rapid Fix is 1:4. If I'm making 1 liter of Fixer, I pour in 200 ml of Rapid Fix into my measuring cup and then fill it with water to the 1 liter mark. Good catch! I'll fix it in the video.
@@vdonovan Thanks Vince...otherwise a brilliant clear video..which I’m going to follow at the weekend as my Ilford chemicals arrived in the post today, cheers
You mentioned notches but I notice when you remove your sheets from holders all of your notches were facing the dark slide taps upper right to be exact. Perhaps it's demo purpose expose dummy film. Do remember precision demo leads to precision practice and execution
This has been instrumental in helping me develop my first attempt at developing 4x5 at home. Thank you so much. Is there a completely different process for developing color film (specifically, Kodak 880 6465 Portra 400 4x5)? Or is it the same process, but just with Kodak’s developer & fixer?
HI KG, I'm so glad you are up and running! As you shoot and develop more film, you can refine the process to really suit the way you like to work. Developing color film is a little more complicated, but it can definitely be done with the SP-445. Maybe I can do that as a future video.
Wow, indeed!!!! Thank you for a well-spent 21 minutes of my time. This video was so good and helpful. I've saved it and will watch it again to ensure my little memory box retains what you've demonstrated. I've also subscribed to your channel. A question or two for you. I am in a two-year diploma photography program at an accredited college here in Canada. As instructed by the school, I will use stop rather than water in between the developer and the fixer. Do you see any issues with that? Also, rather than 3 minutes, we time our fix based on how fresh it is. Do you see any issues with that? Finally, any reason why you do not pour the two drops of photo flo wetting agent directly into the SP-445 daylight tank?
Hi Michael, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Your questions are good ones! IMHO: 1. Stop bath is a good thing. I didn't use it in my video because I was trying to put together the bare minimum setup one would need to process 4x5 at home and (IMHO) it's not absolutely necessary. 2. Fix time based on fixer freshness is the absolutely correct way to judge fix time. It's a little more complicated so I didn't put it in my video. A simple way to judge based on fixer freshness is "twice the time it takes for the film to clear." Check the film during fixing, and if it loses all cloudiness after 2 minutes, then fix for two more minutes. 3. I do not recommend putting wetting agent into the SP-445. Photo Flo is really just soap, and soap can build up even if you rinse the tank. Having soap build up might prevent developer from reaching parts of your film. This has never happened to me (and I'm not 100% sure that it actually does happen) but I've heard it from other photographers whom I respect, so I just avoid it. Fill a tray with water, add a TINY amount of Photo Flo, and then just swish each developed negative in the tray and hang it up.
Thank you so much for replying. I just received my new 4x5 camera, so I am watching your video again. and as you've instructed, I've taken the SP-445 System out of the box and am practicing with it. I plan to shoot 4 sheets of film over the next day or two and then develop with the SP-445.@@vdonovan
May I ask a question? I've not done this before and want to make sure I get it right. At approximately 11:30 in the video you say to make sure the film notches are on "the upper right", but it appears that they are actually on your upper left. Which is correct? Thanks to anyone who can answer this for me.
Hi Tom, that's a good question and I can see how what I'm doing in the video may be a little confusing. The basic idea is that you always want the emulsion side of the film facing out, away from the developing frame. When you hold up a sheet of film, the emulsion side is always facing you when the notch is at the upper right ... or bottom left. In the video, I'm sliding the film out of the bottom of the film holders and then sliding the sheets over and into the top of the SP-445 developing frames. I know the emulsion is facing me when I slide it out of the film holder, so I just go ahead and slide it right into the SP-445 developing frame, but it means that the notches, which were in the upper right in the film holder, end up on the bottom left of the SP-445 (relative to the tabs on the top) It's easier than it sounds. Practice with a few sheets of spent film (it's worth ruining some film just for this purpose) and you'll see how easy it is.
Confused, on Shanghai film instructions and UA-cam is states notches lower right or top left hand corner when loading the film into the film holder which is the opposite way to what your film is loaded in the developing tank.
Hi Norman, it is a standard that the emulsion is facing you when, with film in portrait mode, you can feel the notch in the upper right hand corner (or lower left). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notch_code
I like this set up and have been using it, sadly in some of my negatives i am getting the marks of the vertical plastic parts, What do you think that could be? I am mixing the chemicals to the exact measurements. Thanks in advance.
I haven’t had that problem. Always make sure that the emulsion side of the film is facing out, away from the plastic struts. You can check this by making sure the film notches are on the upper right once it’s in the holder.
Hi! What if I need to develop more films than 4? Can I reuse the developer from the first batch, or do I have to prepare a new 480ml batch for every developing set?
The developer I use in the video (Ilford's Ilfosol 3) is a one-shot developer, so you use it and dump it. Mix up another batch for your next round of 4 sheets of film.
I could do 5x4 but I only have a 6,9 enlarger and my scanner only goes up to 6x9cm. I have a darkroom, so I could do contact prints. 5x4 is small, 7x5 would be better I might do dish development in the darkroom with my quarter plate Thornton Pickard Ruby Reflex camera with its Taylor Hobson 5 and half inch f4.5 lens, using the red light and Ortho film developing by inspection.
Hi Neil, I agree with you, 5x7 (as we call it here in the US) is a great format. 5x7 contact prints are really nice. Anyone looking for a daylight solution (meaning, without a darkroom) for processing 5x7 or larger, I can recommend the new Stearman product, the SP-8x10.
I omitted stop bath to make the process as minimal as possible. In practice, stop bath will indeed "stop" development quickly, but with normal processing your film isn't developing very quickly at the end of the cycle, so the few extra seconds that a water rinse will take to stop development won't matter. Using a stop bath will help extend the life of the fixer. So I feel that stop bath has its role, but it can be omitted and still get good results.
Ilfosol 3 is really a one-use developer. The 500ml bottle makes 5 liters of developing solution, which is good for 10 batches of film using the SP-445 tank. Since the SP-445 holds four sheets at a time, you can develop about 40 sheets from a bottle of Ilfosol 3. That comes out to about $.25 per sheet.
@@isgwoowf2i1 I really love Xtol, it's an excellent developer. It is also intended to be a one-shot developer, not for reuse. The Xtol package makes 5 liters of solution, which you can use full strength or (I prefer) dilute with water 1:1. Using full strength will develop 40 sheets of 4x5 film, using 1:1 will develop 80 sheets.
Wow!! This is beyond awesome!! This has just convinced me to take the dive into 4x5 and developing by myself!!! Thanks so much for this!!!!
Hello, I am headed to Italy next month taking my 4x5 camera and wanted to develop some of the negatives while I was there. This video was SO helpful and practical! Thank you! I will be gathering my supplies shortly.
6:55
Thank you so much. I had a darkroom ages ago and am looking to set one up again.
This was so helpful since I'm now shooting 4x5.
Just a suggestion, if loading film at night while in a dark closet wait at least 5 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the darkness to ensure there is no stray light present which could slightly fog your final image.
I've just started using a Stearman tank. It's definitely worth getting a generously sized changing bag. Mine is on the small side and by the time I have a tank and two film holder disassembled inside the bag it gets tight.
Good job! Back in the day I shot 4x5, it’s been about 20 years. So I’m getting back up to speed.
brilliant, this was very well described, I will finally develop my films which has been sitting in the box for 5 months. I have been waiting to find someone like yourself who will take me through step by step. Thank you
Good luck! Take your time and enjoy the process.
So comprehensive! I am getting into the large format photography world now. This helps me so much. Thank you!
Life saver. Thank you so much!
I did thousands with the "dip and dunk" method. I like your tank. Thanks.
Super helpful thank you!
Super helpful, thank you!!
Very helpful. Thank you
19:07 I recommend doing it with one film at a time. Putting all 4 films in one may lead wet agent not doing its job. Also, for the tank, I would put only one film for each fixture.
Curious why you would put only one sheet per frame in the tank. I've watched a video made by the developer of the tank and he puts two per frame, therefore, four in each tank for developing.
Nicely done! Makes it manageable,
This is the best class I have seen thanks 😎
Very nice!!
Good video, I enjoyed it. I use 25 + 50 + 100 in the wash cycle,
Thank you so much!
I deeply love the timer O.O
thank you!
Fantastic. Thank-you
thank You for that video! developing by myself looks less scary now ;)
It really is a lot of fun. Relax and take your time, and start out with film you can practice on, so you're not stressed about perfect results. Good luck!
Very useful, thank you!
I am going into large format and going to be processing my own 4x5 negatives at home. I also plan this coming summer to shoot slide film, over expose it shooting the subject matter. Then using both chemicals but turning it to a negative with chemicals. I will process a few 4x5’s with nothing recorded on them so I can sandwich one of each together. I will need the orange. I will get fluorescent color with high grain. My idea is to do a series on Carnival’s. I didn’t invent this I just don’t know if the process has a name.
Thanks very much for this terrific video, I’ve just brought a SP-445 and looking forward to following your process, but I just wanted to check dilutions, for the Rapid Fixer you also suggest a 1-9 ratio of Rapid Fixer and water, but the Ilford Technical sheets with the fixer suggests to use a 1-4 ratio and I’d be grateful for clarification, thanks
Hi Glenn, you are right, the correct dilution for Ilford Rapid Fix is 1:4. If I'm making 1 liter of Fixer, I pour in 200 ml of Rapid Fix into my measuring cup and then fill it with water to the 1 liter mark. Good catch! I'll fix it in the video.
@@vdonovan Thanks Vince...otherwise a brilliant clear video..which I’m going to follow at the weekend as my Ilford chemicals arrived in the post today, cheers
Great video, what is the preservative you are using?
What's the preservative?
Cool
You mentioned notches but I notice when you remove your sheets from holders all of your notches were facing the dark slide taps upper right to be exact. Perhaps it's demo purpose expose dummy film. Do remember precision demo leads to precision practice and execution
Yeah the notches need to be upper right or lower left
This has been instrumental in helping me develop my first attempt at developing 4x5 at home. Thank you so much. Is there a completely different process for developing color film (specifically, Kodak 880 6465 Portra 400 4x5)? Or is it the same process, but just with Kodak’s developer & fixer?
HI KG, I'm so glad you are up and running! As you shoot and develop more film, you can refine the process to really suit the way you like to work. Developing color film is a little more complicated, but it can definitely be done with the SP-445. Maybe I can do that as a future video.
@@vdonovan That would be great. Thanks.
i used stop bath between dev and fix
Wow, indeed!!!! Thank you for a well-spent 21 minutes of my time. This video was so good and helpful. I've saved it and will watch it again to ensure my little memory box retains what you've demonstrated. I've also subscribed to your channel. A question or two for you. I am in a two-year diploma photography program at an accredited college here in Canada. As instructed by the school, I will use stop rather than water in between the developer and the fixer. Do you see any issues with that? Also, rather than 3 minutes, we time our fix based on how fresh it is. Do you see any issues with that? Finally, any reason why you do not pour the two drops of photo flo wetting agent directly into the SP-445 daylight tank?
Hi Michael, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. Your questions are good ones! IMHO:
1. Stop bath is a good thing. I didn't use it in my video because I was trying to put together the bare minimum setup one would need to process 4x5 at home and (IMHO) it's not absolutely necessary.
2. Fix time based on fixer freshness is the absolutely correct way to judge fix time. It's a little more complicated so I didn't put it in my video. A simple way to judge based on fixer freshness is "twice the time it takes for the film to clear." Check the film during fixing, and if it loses all cloudiness after 2 minutes, then fix for two more minutes.
3. I do not recommend putting wetting agent into the SP-445. Photo Flo is really just soap, and soap can build up even if you rinse the tank. Having soap build up might prevent developer from reaching parts of your film. This has never happened to me (and I'm not 100% sure that it actually does happen) but I've heard it from other photographers whom I respect, so I just avoid it. Fill a tray with water, add a TINY amount of Photo Flo, and then just swish each developed negative in the tray and hang it up.
Thank you so much for replying. I just received my new 4x5 camera, so I am watching your video again. and as you've instructed, I've taken the SP-445 System out of the box and am practicing with it. I plan to shoot 4 sheets of film over the next day or two and then develop with the SP-445.@@vdonovan
May I ask a question? I've not done this before and want to make sure I get it right. At approximately 11:30 in the video you say to make sure the film notches are on "the upper right", but it appears that they are actually on your upper left. Which is correct? Thanks to anyone who can answer this for me.
Hi Tom, that's a good question and I can see how what I'm doing in the video may be a little confusing. The basic idea is that you always want the emulsion side of the film facing out, away from the developing frame. When you hold up a sheet of film, the emulsion side is always facing you when the notch is at the upper right ... or bottom left.
In the video, I'm sliding the film out of the bottom of the film holders and then sliding the sheets over and into the top of the SP-445 developing frames. I know the emulsion is facing me when I slide it out of the film holder, so I just go ahead and slide it right into the SP-445 developing frame, but it means that the notches, which were in the upper right in the film holder, end up on the bottom left of the SP-445 (relative to the tabs on the top)
It's easier than it sounds. Practice with a few sheets of spent film (it's worth ruining some film just for this purpose) and you'll see how easy it is.
Confused, on Shanghai film instructions and UA-cam is states notches lower right or top left hand corner when loading the film into the film holder which is the opposite way to what your film is loaded in the developing tank.
Hi Norman, it is a standard that the emulsion is facing you when, with film in portrait mode, you can feel the notch in the upper right hand corner (or lower left). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notch_code
Thank you for the video. Does the water have to be at the 20 degrees as well?
Not necessarily. You don't want your wash water to be super hot or super cold, but anything close to room temperature is fine.
I like this set up and have been using it, sadly in some of my negatives i am getting the marks of the vertical plastic parts, What do you think that could be? I am mixing the chemicals to the exact measurements. Thanks in advance.
I haven’t had that problem. Always make sure that the emulsion side of the film is facing out, away from the plastic struts. You can check this by making sure the film notches are on the upper right once it’s in the holder.
I'm curious im brand new to film developing... can you dump the chemicals down the drain?
Hi! What if I need to develop more films than 4? Can I reuse the developer from the first batch, or do I have to prepare a new 480ml batch for every developing set?
The developer I use in the video (Ilford's Ilfosol 3) is a one-shot developer, so you use it and dump it. Mix up another batch for your next round of 4 sheets of film.
what is the "preservative"?
probably nitrogen gas (inert gas). same stuff used to keep partially used wine from oxidizing.
I could do 5x4 but I only have a 6,9 enlarger and my scanner only goes up to 6x9cm. I have a darkroom, so I could do contact prints.
5x4 is small, 7x5 would be better
I might do dish development in the darkroom with my quarter plate Thornton Pickard Ruby Reflex camera with its Taylor Hobson 5 and half inch f4.5 lens, using the red light and Ortho film developing by inspection.
Hi Neil, I agree with you, 5x7 (as we call it here in the US) is a great format. 5x7 contact prints are really nice. Anyone looking for a daylight solution (meaning, without a darkroom) for processing 5x7 or larger, I can recommend the new Stearman product, the SP-8x10.
No stop bath? The Stearman is a nice rig, interesting.
I omitted stop bath to make the process as minimal as possible. In practice, stop bath will indeed "stop" development quickly, but with normal processing your film isn't developing very quickly at the end of the cycle, so the few extra seconds that a water rinse will take to stop development won't matter. Using a stop bath will help extend the life of the fixer. So I feel that stop bath has its role, but it can be omitted and still get good results.
How many films can be developed in 16oz? And reuse?
Ilfosol 3 is really a one-use developer. The 500ml bottle makes 5 liters of developing solution, which is good for 10 batches of film using the SP-445 tank. Since the SP-445 holds four sheets at a time, you can develop about 40 sheets from a bottle of Ilfosol 3. That comes out to about $.25 per sheet.
@@vdonovan Thanks! But i will use xtol, not ilfosol. Do you know about reusing xtol developer?
@@isgwoowf2i1 I really love Xtol, it's an excellent developer. It is also intended to be a one-shot developer, not for reuse. The Xtol package makes 5 liters of solution, which you can use full strength or (I prefer) dilute with water 1:1. Using full strength will develop 40 sheets of 4x5 film, using 1:1 will develop 80 sheets.
@@vdonovan 40 sheets with 5L full strength xtol developer? Thanks !!!