I too bought the Paterson kit, and I also had trouble getting the film onto the reels. After spending hours trying to get a 120 film onto the Paterson reel, I did exactly what you did, and bought a reel with the wider plastic flange. So much easier. I can't stress enough how much time and frustration this has saved me.
Thanks for the tutorial! I've only developed black and white so far but I'll definitely give one of those kits a go. Look forward to the scanning video.
Great video man! Very wholesome, she did great. The photos look great. B&W is easy and I've had a color kit for a while now but I thought it was kinda scary, but this video made it seem very easy. Just ordered a sous vide and a new thermometer because I broke that. Going to try it on Monday, I'll let you know how it turned out.
Thanks, that's given me the confidence to have a go, having previously only developed B&W. Bellini kit ordered today! I'm also a Mamiya C330 user from the other side of the estuary, near Whitstable in Kent.
The first time i tried to load a film into the tank I managed to forget to put the funnel/ lid of the tank in the changing bag thinking quickly i managed to salvage it by turning the tank over and pressing it into the light proof cloth of the changing bag while i pulled my arm out to open it and put the lid inside and do it back up and get my arm back in and put the lid on luckily this saved the roll and i havent done that since!
Good video...but I have never left the paper backing on while I am loading the reel. I always undo the film from the spool and backing, then load the reel. Never had any issues.
Very nice video. Simple and well done! Just a few questions, if the tank is 500ml and the prepared solution is 1 liter, do you just put half of the bottle solution in the tank? And isn't it a problem to put the used solution back in the bottle?
Yes just pour half the bottle into the tank at a time if you’re using a 500ml tank and then pour it back into the bottle. It’s not an issue as it’s meant to be re-used for around 15-16 rolls.
Grid vid, never seen anyone do a vid like this as a husband/wife effort, it was a lot of fun. I've just bought the Bellini kit myself, which is how I ended up here. I notice you had gaffer tape around your dev bottle to keep out the light, do you find the gaffer tape is ok in the water? I've managed to get myself a tinted pop bottle which I'm planning to use but I was wondering if it was sufficient.
Cheers@@Tom-Humble, good to know. I might do likewise. I'm on roll 4 of the Bellini kit now and thus far I've just wrapped mine in foil before storing it. If you don't mind me asking, how many rolls are you getting out of the Bellini kit? The 16 recommended or more than that?
@@nerwanisnoone1937 most I’ve got is 18 but I tend to stick to around 16/17 depending how quickly I get through them. The chemicals deteriorate more over time so the quicker you use it the more likely you’ll get a few more out of it.
@@Tom-Humble I'm on roll 6 now after watching your excellent video, they've all come out great so far :-) Sorry to keep pestering you but how quickly do you typically get through a Bellini kit? I noticed someone on reddit who's developer seemed to have died after 3 months but only 10 rolls so I was wondering if that was typical. (Unsure if he stored it really well obviously). I typically shoot a roll a week so 3 months might be 12 rolls for me.
@@nerwanisnoone1937 I’d say around 3 months myself. But I usually get around 16 rolls out of it. I guess I probably force myself to shoot a bit more film when I know I’ve got some chemicals that need using up!
It may not be necessary in the sense that the kit will still work if you do not rinse between solutions, however doing so will significantly preserve the full useful life of those solutions as they will not suffer the cross-contamination which will otherwise happen as the dregs of one solution are carried over and mix with the next solution. The only reason they do not provide for interim rinses in the kit instructions is that they think that if they install too many steps to their process, buyers will go to other "easier to use" kits.
Great video Tom and Becca, love the team spirit, appreciate the time and effort to document the process Tom. Pictures came out brilliantly, maybe in the future if you have not done an in-depth video about exposing your film images correctly regardless of the method that you may choose? #Londonlovesyou
Tom, congratulations on this great content. I wonder if you have any concerns about releasing/washing chemicals or harmful liquids down the drain during this process? Cheers from Canada.
Weston Smith thank you for your kind words. I actually have a local dump not too far from me and they take the chemicals to dispose of correctly. So I’m lucky in that aspect. But I do regret not bringing that up in the video and advising people of the best ways to do this.
This is great. I love how you included the instructions followed by your wife trying it. Makes it feel attainable. For 35mm film, I assume the process is similar? How do I pull the film out of the canister if it’s gotten rolled all the way in? Is there a portion at the beginning with no exposed photos on it? Thanks!
Exact same process. You can either use a tin opener to open the canister or if you have another roll with the leader poking out if you get it slightly wet and push it into the exposed canister you can use it to pull out the other leader. Plenty of videos online of how to do it.
Get a 'film picker' designed for just this. The first 3-4 inches is the non-image leader, so you have that much to 'play with'. Then you can chop the film straight and you can then actually get the film engaged onto the 35mm spool in the daylight (just till it latches) then take the whole lot into the bag and wind the film on. Therefore there's no need to struggle with can openers or sharp edges in the bag. And this is quicker too.
superb and sorry for my english, it is the fault of google translate... some beginners often ask what is the best laboratory in their region ... I often answer them that the best is in them and that the development of the film is part of the adventure and allows above all to remain the only "master on board". It is indeed very unpleasant to recover dirty or poorly developed films in the shop, I had to endure this for a year before moving on to BW development then to the C41 which is actually just as easy ... If it's just a experience ok for the lab, but when you are bitten by the analog photo you quickly repay the investment of the small material ... The only difficulty for me was the loading of the film in Patterson (old model and the films have all a different thickness which can compromise the work) ...% ^ [... so when we can, like at home, make black in a small room (WC) it is even more practical than the black cover ... bravo for your superb and nice video
Most of these "how to do C-41" at home are so inept and pass along so many errors from prior YT videos, that doing a half-ass job here is now an industry standard. Surprise! This one is better. The good. He uses the Bellini kit, which is better than others for no other reason than they separate the bleach and fix steps (like in a real C-41 process). They also use a "stabilizer", although C-41 has not required a stabilizer for 20 years. It does double as a wetting agent, which leaves film much cleaner than without. Not so good. He promotes the "Paterson Kit" of equipment, then he tosses out two of the most expensive components as inadequate, and rightfully so. Much better if he had tossed the Paterson tank along with the reels, but a lap full of bleach when the top blows off during inversion agitation will get him over that error. To improve color performance of the kit and sustain its maximum life, I suggest the following. Immediately after development, add a standard 3% stop bath followed by a 2 minute wash before moving to bleach. Add another wash between bleach and fixer. If you wash with flowing water (like most) be sure to keep the wash water close to the temperature pf the processing solutions. Conclude with the "stabilizer", then hang to dry without further wash, AND without wiping the emulsion side of the film with that worthless Paterson squeegee. The stop bath insures more exact and proper development, improving color balance. The added washes keep the solutions from contaminating the bleach and fixer for later reuse.
I haven’t got a clue tbh. The chemicals will degrade with every use as you’re mixing with the film and putting back in the bottle. If anything you’d be better off using a larger tank and developing more rolls at once.
