The Easiest Way to Develop Film at Home in 3 Minutes - Cinestill Df96 Review 

i live for your vids

You looked about the same age when I started doing this and I am 81yrs young good job going to try that developer good show.

Its been 6 months now and I'm still on my 1st bottle of the stuff. So far, I've developed about 20-25 rolls of film (medium and 35mm), increasing the development time by a minute or so per used roll. Still going strong. I use it at room temperature, which is usually about 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Pour it in, give it about ten seconds of initial agitation, then agitate once every minute for about 5 seconds, while watching an episode of your favorite TV show, for a total time of about 20-25 minutes. You can leave it in for as long as you want, since its temperature activated. Just make sure you agitate at least five seconds per minute.

I’ve developed like 5 rolls so far with DF96 and it’s just so ridiculously simple. Pretty good results so far too!

Apart from is apparent convenience feature, two basic errors are made. At $20 a bottle (liter) with a 16 roll maximum capacity, Df96 costs $1.25 per roll. That seems cheap to someone who sends out their B&W developing, but it's more than triple the cost per roll of using conventional developer and fixer at home, even if the conventional developer expires before fully used. Also, Df96 is not a developer for someone who shoots a couple of rolls a month. Once the bottle is first opened (and presumably first used), it has a shelf life of 2 months. Two rolls a month becomes 4 rolls to expiration, or $5.00 per roll. Again, you can buy a gallon of D-76 for $10, use it 1:1 as a one shot developer, tossing out the used solution as you go. That's about 30 rolls or about $.30 per roll, but other dilutions will be more economical. If the stock solution ages out after 6 - 9 months, you can afford to toss the remainder and still run a per roll cost which is a faction of the cost of Df96. That cost difference is for the convenience and short developing times of Df96, but the developing times increase as you reuse Df96, so you have the added hassle of recording your ongoing usage and computing a new developing time for each new reuse. Df96 seems to have a surprisingly good image quality, given the checkered history of monobaths, probably similar to D-76, better than HC-110. Cinestill has some excellent photo comparisons on their website.

Willem Verbeeck is the truth, i just want to chill with this guy and grab some bagels in NY

"I don't think a developer like this will ever exist for colour film." But you'd love to be proven wrong, wouldn't you?

You missed one important point, once the bottle is opened it has approximately a 2 month shelf life, a bottle of Rodinal will last for years.

I saw Ed Pavez' video about this stuff last year. It's like magic and it's so cheap! Considering how expensive getting b&w developed in a lab is, this stuff is a no-brainer

ordered all the stuff, tried it, and it worked!! super happy with it because this was my first time developing a roll. thank you so much. it really is as easy as it seems

Just bought this kit. $1 a roll compared to $8 develop at the lab and waiting a week was just too tempting. 🤙🏻

IMPORTANT NOTE BEFORE BUYING: I went all the way and bought it and... it works, it's quite convenient for the simplicity of having just one bath of chemicals, BUT I wouldn't recommend this for begginers because it's not worth it in terms of money. See, 16 rolls could seem like a lot, and for most people it is, specially for begginers, but what all these videos don't tell you (and you have to go to cinestill's website to know this) is that once you open the bottle, it expires in two months. So means that, in order to make the most out of it, you would have to shoot and develop 16 rolls of film in two months, and that's just unrealistic for begginers, which are the main focus of this product. Also, it produces worse results than the more traditional development methods, in wich you have more control over the final product, and is more expensive keeping in mind the price, the shelf life, the number of rolls... so I wouldn't recommend this product.

Just discovered this stuff. Amazing. Thanks for the demo. Lucky for me, I dig heavier contrast rather than excessively open shadows. Win win.

I just bought this type of developer and I am sitting here with my film in the tank and ready to go. It looks way too easy. WAY!! Here we go!! Thanks for the tutorial.

Several years ago, I bought a Tachihara 5x4 camera and all of the accessories needed to shoot large format. I’ve never used it, because I don’t have access to professional film processing for this format, nor do I have darkroom facilities. Until I came across your video, I was totally unaware of this one shot developer/fixer. Watching your video and learning how simple and quick it is to develop my own films without a darkroom has completely rekindled my interest in large format photography. I shall also start to develop my 35mm and 120 B&W films at home. Thank you so much for such an interesting and informative video!

Great video I'm 67 years old....I started photography in 1977 while stationed at NAS Guam...I have nothing but Nikons....lov my D300

just found your channel and am so surprised that you don't have like a 100k subscribers. I know you'll get there though, keep it up!

i'm about to begin my film photography journey, happy to have found this vid!!

Thanks for this review. I do both BW and color at home and this seemed too good to be true or at least gimmicky. But with your review I will try this.

Just moved to anew space with a little work area in the back. I'm super stoked to develop me own black and white. Great vid, Willem.

Stop everything! Willem video's out!

Love the Df96 Monobath - Film developing can be so intimidating, but with this monobath, it’s so easy! I still send my TMAX P3200 out to a lab, but for HP5+and Tri-X, this stuff is the bomb. Your video really conveys how simple this process is and is very easy to follow. Well done!

I’ve always been kinda scared to develop my own photos because I don’t want to mess anything up but this looks so simple. I might give it a try.

Hello Willem I just developed my first 120film and it turned out good. Happy for a first development and that my ”new for me” but old yashica D worked. Super happy. Used your video as guide! Awesome. Tricky to get the film into the roll in the dark but made it. Without sacrifise of a roll to practice in the light. Only concern i have is that after development when pooring back fluid. It had turned Blue, is this common? Or did i do something wrong? What do you think? Best regards Alfons Gustafsson

i just used your video as a background to write an descriptive process for my english 2 class at uni :) thanks

10/10 for superb brevity and followability* *not a word

You are and Old Soul photographer, that is relearning a past life, I have been developing film since my Junior High days in the late 1960's, and will definitely look into this new chemical one stop develop method. In your video did you mention what type of water to use for the rinse, because some many people nowadays have water softener that can have salty water.

I think you inspired me to finally try this chemical. Great video, Willem!

Thank you for this! So helpful and straightforward. Just ran through my first 120 roll on a Peterson tank and the cinestill using your instructions. Looks great so far.

Thanks for this vid, the chemicals and equipment cost scared me away from B/W photography in 1996' and I recently found my cameras and some old shots.

Thanks so much.. I just tried it, I can’t believe how simple it is!!

your edits are really getting to be fire. 2019 is gonna be some good shit for you!

Well done young man! A most inspiring and and informing video. Nice to someone keeping film alive. I've been developing film for about 50 years, but I've never tried a monobath!

I definitely wanna try to develop film, it doesn't look so hard. Keep going tho! Your videos are pretty cool and informative.

Nice video as usual, Willem. I've read mixed reviews of that developer - glad to hear you are satisfied with the results. I have to say rodinal or xtol plus TF-4 is pretty damn easy. It's good to experiment, for sure.

Wish I had the balls to develop my own film, haha. Will hopefully give this a try at some point!

This stuff is great for simple, basic development. I don’t see much experimenting with it, but for box speed shooting hp5 or tri-x, and single stop pushing, it’s great. I developed some tri-x at 1600, 99 degrees for 3 minutes, and they came out decent. Pretty grainy at 2 stops...but otherwise, I love the stuff. Literally doesn’t get easier than this. Excellent for the timid beginner.

Great video bro, this is exactly what I was looking for since I don’t do too much B&W film! Shout out!

this is really good. Definitely one of the top five tips for developing film this past semester

Thanks willem my lab has been very relaxed about getting my scan orders completed. I needed this bro. God bless and keep doing your thing...also I'd like to have as zine or book of yours in my collection...so keep me posted on it..peace bro

MONOBATH??!! that saves me so much money... thx, doing this on a budget at the moment.

I enjoyed watching your video and I love black and white photos .. thank you so much for sharing this with us.

The black marks on your film and high contrast look is because of the warm water. Developing in warm water is fine but make sure you wash the film in cold water. Using water that is too warm will loose the emulsion from the film and literally rub off/show black marks and the scans will have a lot of contrast. Happened to me. Kind of sucked but was a learning experience 👌🏾

Hi Willem I’m glad I came across this video. Been a fan of yours for a while. Just wanted to ask, do you still recommend this developer? as I’m looking into developing some photos myself

Hi!!! I’m obsessed with your channel. Could you possibly do a vid explaining how you get your film through the airport???

Is it just me or is he really just freestyling to the beat?

Great video and channel. I'm just starting developing at home. Did you wash the film in cold water? Thanks, Nick.

How long do you typically dry the film for? And what's the best process? Just clip them up somwehre and let them hang? Inspired to try this method, just wanna make sure I don't miss a step.

Awesome as always, man. Regards from Mexico.

I want to do this. A few questions; 1. How long do you rinse for at the beginning? 2. How much developer do you add?

Cool your chemicals to 20c & add time to the cycle, that will reduce contrast. Thanks for the vid.

I'm a little confused. It's mentioned that you can reuse the chemical. Can your reuse it 16 times or can you only use it for 16 rolls (which would be 8 times for 35mm)?

Love the video! What black and white film do you typically use? Like the ones shot at the beginning of the video?

Always a pleasure watching one of your videos , great job!

What would happen if i use chemicals for B&W film on colour film?

Just processed several rolls of film with this developer, it works well with some types of film, but a lot to be desired with some. The one positive I like about it is the rapid processing and not dealing with multiple chemicals and the temperature was a good advantage living here in Palm Springs where cold water run from the tap at 80 degrees. The disadvantage is that this developer is rather hyper active and once it comes in contact with the film, it begins developing while you are pouring the liquid into the processing tank. This results in annoying streaks on most of my images. Is there anyway to prevent this? If not, I'll return to conventional processing..

Great video! Good to see some "development" in the film area. (People only understood the proper technique of horse riding some time after cars came up, which should tell us something about "old" technology.)

Well, that's interesting. It would be nice if you could someday do a comparison by developing similar pictures in, say, D76 and this. I've never seen a development method this simple before.

Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful project and easy process..... great photo site ++++++

80°© or F?

Good Day. In Turkey we don't have this brand. Which brand do you recommend for B&W and Color as developer&fix fast process or all is one process. Will apprciate your support.

I don’t use my slr enough to justify the hassle and cost. Found a good way to keep costs down. Send in the rolls to pro photo connection and let the dip the rolls for 3.99 a roll. There is a flat fee of 7.99 for shipping so sending 3 rolls 36 exp mounts to 118 pictures for 20.00. Not bad. Then buy a photo scanner and scan them yourself.

I follow you for a while and I am proud of you and somehow you sparked my ambition as well as all the people around you. Got to a point where we found ourself fulfilled doing like you with our energies and diligence. Felt the pressure to conform, and it gets me further. (Just I can't find the wonderful CineStill Monobath at the same price in London and from the Official Website, shipping costs are obviously expensive. Any tips for that?). For the rest, amazing work Willem.

Thanks, I will need to pull out my old SLR, and try this. I also want to get into digitizing my own film as well.

I once loaded the paper backing on a roll of portra and pulled the exposed roll out of the dark bag as tears rolled down my disappointed face.

Good video, dude! I'll give this developer a try...

Thank you for this information young man. It's much appreciated ✌

Is there an AI or color program to convert the pictures to color?

Can you use this process with color film to make it black and white? Or will it destroy the color film?

So. How much does using different types of film affect the processing times ? Because when I developed my B&W I just used the rough timings rather than finding the ones specifically for my roll. I hope that's the issue, because I don't know what else could've gone wrong.

how did you roll the film in the dark? do you have a dark room?

Yo but how do you include the film borders/brackets when you scan? I have a v600 but have no idea. It seems to be a secret no one is willing to tell lol

how much does it cost to acquire all the equipment approximately? thanks.

Hey! I’ve shot on fresh Lomo earlgrey 100 35mm film, and tried to develop using cinestill monobath DF96, And then I’ve developed it for 6 minutes at 70F temperature With minimal agitation of 4turns every 30 seconds. As I checked online and it said Lomo earlgrey 100 and Arista EDU Ultra 100 are equivalent films, So I’ve developed it according to Arista EDU. But the film got underdeveloped! I can barely see the images and the image numbers too. Any idea what’s the cause? The last time I’ve developed Tmax 100 expired film for 12 mins at 70F according to the chart sheet Cinestill shows and it’s developed properly, and Yes it’s been like 15 days since I’ve mixed the chemicals and yeah I’ve added 45sec more to the dev time which is 6.45 mins as this is my 4th time developing

For 35mm, is there a certain kind of b+w film that you would recommend buying which doesn't have much contrast that would offset the extra bit of contrast given by the developer?

I think this is a good place to ask, but Im trying to develop Tmax 400(shot @ 400) 120 and rollei superpan 200(shot @ 200) 135mm with the DF96 developer and I can't get the times figured out. Does anyone know how long to develop these films at in their respective format? Any help would be greatly appreciated I had developed a previous 120 tmax 400 roll at room temp for 8 minutes w/ gentle agitation for 10 sec. every 30 sec. and it was no where near developed enough. I could barely get it to scan on my flatbed and the shots end up looking really awful because of it. I want to keep using this developer but its giving me a hard time trying to figure out the timing when there is no specified base time.

Do you pour the chemicals in the tank in the dark?

Do you have to store the chemical in the original bottle it came in or can you put it in another brown glass bottle? Also can you reuse the chemicals?

If one does this to colour film, will the film still develop as b&w or will it not develop at all?

Also did you rinse with water with the film in there? And then loaded the developer?

Could you shoot colour film and develop it with the black and white?

I’m finding that the first photos are turning out darker than the rest. Am I just loading the film incorrectly? should I be agitating less or more?

Good video! Do you think this will work with black and white film like Ilford XP20 designed to be developed with the C41 process?

What happens if I use this method with colored film with the black and white liquid?

New to developing. Do you have to use distilled water or are you using tap water for the rinses?

New subscriber, great vids

Thank for this video! Is this enough developer to use with a 3 reel tank (35mm)?

I read that once the DF96 monobath is open it has a thirty day shelf life? Is this the same for the Cinestill brand? If it is I'd be binge developing and make sure (if its 35mm) get all 16 rolls worth in that time period. Cinestill site sale $16.99 us

I love your videos so much! I’m gonna get a dev tank and try this :)

looks like a developer that could go on my list as ive being using LC29 for a while now

I like the shot at 4:13.

best channel on youtube rn

From reusing the monobath (I store it in amber glass bottles) I noticed sediment like substance that has gathered in the bottom. Does anyone know if this is normal?

does all developer needs to be heated or is it okay to not?

Can you do a tutorial on scanning at home? maybe recommendations on scanners?

Can you develop prints with this stuff?

My film is still really dark, should I try running it through the process again?

Please show us that orange background you use for the product shots - I LOVE IT.

Anyone else here the oof sound effect at 3:48 LMAO

The developer is it Only for black and white film? Can it be used for color film? So sad easy to use but only bnw 😐