Developing Film In One Step - Instant Processing

New55 has just released a chemical called R3 Monobath. It is just that, a 1 chemical process for developing film. I wanted to see for myself how well this worked so I ordered a few bottles and developed some film.
Monobath developers have been around for a long time. The first evidence I could find was a 1967 thesis by William Quan for RIT in Rochester. In his paper he described a 1 bath process for use with Panotomic X film (no longer made).
Instant films all use monobath for their chemicals which makes sense why New55 would be experimenting with this.
Monobath is not the perfect developer, but its very good in the right situation.
The pros: 1 bath process, easy to use, beautiful contrast, nice grain
The cons: contains ammonia (fumes are strong), is designed for a specific film type, no control for pushing, pulling or manipulating the look of the process.
My Monobath Sample Images: www.flickr.com/photos/tedforb...
Buy R3 Monobath from New55: shop.new55.net/collections/fro...
Make your own R3 Monobath: new55project.blogspot.com/2010...
William Quan's thesis: scholarworks.rit.edu/theses/5194/
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Ted Forbes
The Art of Photography
3100 Main St #135
Dallas, Texas 75226
My name is Ted Forbes and I make videos about photography. I’ve been making photographs most of my life and I have a tremendously deep passion for photography that I want to share with you on KZbin.
The Art of Photography is my channel and I produce photography videos to provide a 360 degree look into the world of making images. We all want to get better so lets do this together!
I make videos covering famous photographers, photography techniques, composition, the history of photography and much more.
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So come check it out! If you’re a fan of DigitalRev, Fro Knows Photo (Jared Polin), Matt Grainger (That Nikon Guy) or Tony Northrup - you’ll love The Art of Photography. I make video’s giving you a deeper dive into photography techniques, composition and history to compliment the other channels you love to watch.
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[@hoorayforpentax3801]

Now we need a colour version. We know colour monobath is possible and has been for decades - I was shooting colour Polaroid pics when I was eight, and I'm older than forty now. I wouldn't even mind the late 70s Polaroid "look" as opposed to today's crisp, clear images if it meant I could do a one-and-done stand in my basement.

[@EDHBlvd]

Oh man that would be epic.

[@SiriusXAim]

+Hooray for Pentax! Well, Polaroids use a reagent that reacts with chemestry included in the emultion. That's not classic C41 or Black n white that happens in the SX70. Would require special film.

[@calc2323]

people'd buy it I'm sure

[@RealSergiob466]

Hooray for Pentax! Yeah for color version. Especially 35mm

[@xjoexedge]

Great video! I was waiting for a review on this ! Great to see support for some local guys !

[@Shaku4Shintai]

You are the best! thank you so much for sharing your experience with this awesome chemical!! I stopped shooting film due to lack of resources and space to develop but now with this and a changing bag, I can develop my own film again at home! I am going to try to make it on my own and hope my results are as good as you have shown. Thank you so much again for sharing! :)

[@tommyhosteng7799]

Very cool photos and thank you for mentioning this developer.. i might give it a try

[@catherineschultz6756]

Just heard about this product today.... thanks for the review!! It was very helpful and informative! Will def have to try this stuff out AND watch some more of your vids. :)

[@vernonsza]

Ted, not only do you do photography videos better than everyone else, you do shout outs to your sponsors better than them as well.

[@barbararicker2565]

You make it look easy enough that I may just try it. Thanks!

[@Kleinbiology]

I just picked up a whole darkroom from my brother in law and this video couldn't be more timely. I am going to order a bottle, I've got three rolls of trix to develop. Thanks Ted! The film nerd in me is ever thankful!

[@ScottLaceyMN]

I watch you on my television using Amazon Firestick, so I can't leave comments. But I love your series and decided to go on my computer to 'thank you'! I love your various topics all having to do with photography. My friend's teenage son has gotten very interested in photography the last couple of years and I suggested he check your series out. Though I do have a complaint. Now that I've seen your review of New55's R3 Monobath, I'm gonna' have to buy it.

[@UwePeche]

Wow, very simple and nice Results. Thanks!

[@exhper]

Analog lives on... Great stuff, thanks Ted!

[@Otokichi786]

Years ago, when Modern and Popular Photography magazines were publishing news for photography fans, I recall reading a "Hot To Process Under Pressure." This photographic five finger exercise went from dry, unprocessed, used film to a damp, processed roll of 35mm film. (A common Press Photography process for "The Daily Tattler.") A Brooks Pixmat film developing tank, along with a Monobath along with HC-110 were mentioned. The writer put a stopwatch to his session, and finished in about 10 minutes, total. He didn't mention the Ammonia fumes coming off the Monobath, but he may have been using a different formulation back in the 1960's.

[@NikolayChernichenko]

Thank you Ted!! Wonderful channel!!!!

[@thecoreelementsmoto]

Thank you Ted! Seems you had already been working on things from that last question I sent you. Looking forward to the new videos.

[@jtbhire]

Always great videos Ted. Very interesting!

[@markhood]

Looks good! I have a crystal ball too, I've not taken it out for shooting yet, but I've done a couple of tests with it... You've inspired me to get moving on that!

[@paulfranke9840]

Great videos. Thanks for doing them!

[@FaisalJafar]

thank you for introducing new film

[@MaxLamdin]

Oh damn! Thanks for the great news! Shame I can't get it shipped but incredibly tempted to make my own? And stand developing! As soon as you said this ones for film nerds I knew I would love it hahaha

[@node547]

Very interesting indeed. Thank you.

[@stefansmuts8882]

Thanks Ted, great video!

[@ThePoacher1969]

Great vid again Ted thank you

[@picvan]

Good for them for publishing the developer chemistry. Just because of that I'm going to buy some and make some. I don't think I will use it often but I think it will get me to drag out my graflex more, seems made for press camera shots.

[@BAstudios5]

Cool video! I'd love to try this

[@MrLordofwar23]

Great.. Thanks Ted..

[@reavesjl]

Thanks Ted! I think I'll give this a shot...got some unprocessed tri x in the fridge I need to get on.

[@ktor538]

Looking forward to giving a mono bath a try, super simple process'.

[@ChrisPugh]

Interesting, I'm just getting into film photography and will give this a try at some point soon.

[@KevinGaeke]

Have you tried #caffenol ? Coffee + vitamin C + washing soda = home made developer. Works for me.....

[@minutes2midnite]

i constantly push b/w so this probably won't be for me but very interesting thanks for the review! fuji made a similar mono bath developer that i think was designed for neopan. you could even develop without taking it out of the canister but i heard uneven development was a common problem.

[@raphbdlm]

Definitely going to make my own recipe! Greetings from Switzerland

[@DavidMeyerPhoto]

Oh, this sounds really cool. My high school chemistry teacher probably wouldn't approve me getting anywhere close to mixing chemicals, but since I'm not going to be renewing that acquaintanceship 20 years after high school, so I should be grand :D Actually, I should have an overexposed roll of some colour film somewhere around with nothing of value on it anyway. This can be an interesting experiment. Looks like I need to do some research. Thanks for the video!

[@TomasNilssonFoto]

Good stuff! This just might be the thing that makes me try some darkroom work after all. It seems almost too simple to do...provided you take appropriate precautions of course. :-)

[@Rcolfoto]

Hi Ted, i order the 2nd batch and the bottle is not the same, i prefer your white bottle, it works great, thank you for sharing.

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

Yeah, I love the look of that. The grain on that film has a very "intimate" feeling to it, if that makes any sense. It would be great to try for some street photography. While I know that it is made for Tri-X, I am really curious about how it would look on something like Ilford HP5, Delta (100 or 400) or the budget Kentmere films. Nice tip about the orange filter. I mostly shoot digital now, but have been aching to get my old Olympus OM cameras back out and film in them. Since the exposure has to be spot on, I think I might try the first few rolls in my OM-2n and OM-4 in "auto" (technically aperture) mode or for that matter shoot it in my OM-10 which I have no choice but to shoot in aperture. I think I will be replacing the seals on those before any film is run through them.

[@mcogaldames]

I loved the look of the images. It is the contrast and grain that Im looking for. What regular developer or process would you recommend for getting similar results? I'm currently using Ilfotec HC.

[@nerwanisnoone1937]

Great vid as always Ted. Tbh, my experience of development thus far is that it's the scanning that takes the time :-) 4 minutes less on the development time doesn't seem worth all that much to me. Interesting vid, none the less. I'll definitely be trying out "stand" development after watching your other video.

[@franciscoortega2829]

I just bumped onto your channel and find your videos very informative. Ive been watching the Framed Show for a few weeks now and am really motivated to get into film photography. May i ask for a recommendation on an inexpensive film camera where i can swap lenses and use this development method? Thanks in advance.

[@AngeloPantano]

damn I live in Italy... I will try to make it on my own. Great video thanks!!

[@strtbaxt]

Thanks Ted. Now ships worldwide but its sold out!!

[@AlanLinQD]

Hi Ted, great review. I purchased this stuff a couple weeks ago and have used it maybe 5-6 times. Today I poured it out and noticed its turned a brown/grey. Any idea if it is still usable? Smell is still the same.. awful.

[@artfulflower]

Awesome stuff! Now, if it would also be available for color film...

[@ChristopherMay]

Very interesting! Have you ever used any of the caffenol developers made from instant coffee and such?

[@DanDrummer18]

Hey Ted, how about an update on this product. Just checked out their website and it looks like they've updated it. I would love to get into developing my own film and I think this could be a nice little intro.

[@adamjamescarlton]

Has anyone tried using this monobath on prints? Was wondering if it would be possible to make enlarging from negatives and the paper chemistry process shorter aswell? Not looking for super clean results

[@wewuwewu]

holly shit! thanks!!!!!! soooo helpful

[@suntoryjim]

To avoid streaking due to "turbulence" and "temperature differential between the developer and the reels", does it make sense to do a pre-wash at the developer temperature?

[@asklysdahl8767]

Hi Ted. I am wondering if making it yourself could work with sodium hydroxide in stead of ammonia - you will have the alkaline effect but not the horrible smell. But would it work?

[@hunterdabbs5473]

Hey! I'm very new to developing film on my own and this looks like the perfect solution for me to minimize making mistakes and losing all my shots. However, it doesn't look like it's in stock anymore... do you know if they'll continue making the one step developer?

[@dannypryordoyle2710]

Morning Ted Sounds super fun! I'm totally going to play around with this. Any recipe for the Hc110/H2o/Illford fixer? Once I get a baseline I'll experiment from there. I've sent you some examples of my work from you pushing tutorials, and enjoy finding the limits of my favorite film stocks. Thank you!

[@theartofphotography]

Danny Doyle recipe link is in the show notes under the video - good luck!!

[@dannypryordoyle2710]

Sweet! Thanks! Should have looked first. My bad.

[@sergeantcrow]

Excellent... Very interesting.. Now where is that recipe... ?

[@NadjaNiemann]

exactly the one trick pony I need. great.

[@lzzzo]

Hey Ted have you tried to develop color film with B&W chemicals? I was experimenting with it last week but I didnt really like the results, I was happy that I got something out of it but I expected to get a cool effect or something. Any advice on that?

[@FEIF_Co.]

Ted Forbes The Art of Photography do you recall how many stops overexposed the 2nd to last image was?

[@FilmsUPMedia]

Back in the late 50's early 60's you could by a product called Mono Bath, same concept.

[@Rotten730]

Is this a one use sort of developer meaning good for one development or sheet of film? I'd love to try this to help speed up sheet film development.

[@AMBrikaer]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing Ted Forbes , The Art of Photography ! I think I'll give it a try. Got HC-110 and Ilfotec Rapid Fixer. Only need Ammonia I guess... Just thinking of it: I usually don't use stopping chemicals, just water. Did someone try to get rid of the ammonia? Reading the comments on the page you linked to I don't get why the ammonia is added. To slow the fixer down maybe?

[@AMBrikaer]

A. M. Brikaer Got my answer on the Ammonia-part: alkali. See photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/007YBh?start=10 the answer from Donald Qualls on Mar 02, 2004; 10:11 a.m.

[@LightbenderStudio]

A. M. Brikaer

[@youravantgarde]

Can you do a video on pushing film with stand develop with rodinal?

[@vernonsza]

Ted, how do you think monobath + a good scanner will do if you wanted to play with contrast/highlights/shadows in something like Photoshop or Lightroom? Do you think there will be any wiggle room for editing?

[@theartofphotography]

Not much. Like I said its kind of a one trick pony. If you like the contrast though it's perfect. I definitely like it for certain things. Just not that versatile.

[@oludareohi396]

hey so does this mean there may soon be a replacement for the fujifp 3000b? because those things are killing my pockets. or I'm I wrong here? thanks

[@carol-lynnrossel8700]

Thanks muchly, Ted. Is this ONLY good for Tri-X? I've a bunch of slower film I'd love to develop rapidly (Plus X and the like, mostly around 100 ASA). I know I've developed Tri X and Plus X 00 not together -- in D 76 1:1 and that worked. Would this developer do the same? I rather like high contrast negatives. I shoot with -- mostly -- a 1956 model Leica M3, using Soviet lenses and I'm aiming at a 'vintage' timeless look.

[@NikolayChernichenko]

Ted and guys! How many rolls can be developed with one R3 bottle? What happens when the developer is no longer good? Thanks!

[@paulamschler5427]

When I tried to find Mono/Bath NEW55 dosen't seen to make it but CineStill D56 seems to be the same product is this true?` Help

[@Sobspeed]

What is durability of negative after this proces compared to classic?

[@luigibargiacchi2765]

Hi Ted, thanks for the great viedeo. Was it a Tri-X400 film exposed at nominal speed?

[@theartofphotography]

***** yes

[@luigibargiacchi2765]

The Art of Photography ok thanks

[@knottsscary]

What film should I use

[@rcyan96]

The negative looks pinkish. I think It needs more time in the fixer. Well if it can go to a separate fixer.

[@alliehunter9896]

Can this be used on 120 film from a Brownie Hawkeye camera?

[@alexthelion335]

Allie Hunter yes; as long as it is black and white film such as ilford hp5 or Kodak trix

[@andreicostan7528]

Does anyone know if i can find any kind of monobath in UK?

[@ahmedal-saeed9374]

oh my god i am dying to develop film , since 2010 i stopped shooting 120mm pictures because all developer lab out of business her in dubai and no one can import Chemical thing because it need huge budget .

[@iamdesertpaul]

Hmmm. I typically like shooting HP5+ more. Does anyone have any experience using this with HP5+? It seems kind of strange it'd be developed for a specific film since a negative is a negative.

[@CarlosMilan]

It would be interesting test this with Ilford PanF!

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

Website doesn’t have it btw.

[@Kleinbiology]

It works with Shanghi GP3

[@AdrianCBlack]

they ship worldwide now !!!

[@NikolayChernichenko]

Hi, Ted! Hi everyone! I'm kind of new to this so I just got two bottles from New55 and one of them also kind of spilled a bit. Is that fine to use it after that?

[@theartofphotography]

Nikolay Chernichenko its fine - annoying they don't have better packaging though

[@therestorationofdrwho1865]

I'd love to try this with super 8.

[@jasperkayser5546]

How often can you use it?

[@eleventy7856]

Hi.! Mr. Forbes, what would happen if I were to use color film with this mono-bath?

[@EDHBlvd]

You will destroy your film. Different chemical process. Color negative (C-41) and color positive aka slide film (E-6) are both totally different chemical processes than traditional B&W.

[@fredericktaylor1801]

How does Illford hp5 look with this developer?

[@zijunwang8473]

cant find it in UK...

[@jackmckechnie5801]

Ted.. a question..everyone I've seen do this they state to put the used portion after developing back into the original bottle. I'm new to this but wouldn't this degrade the unused.?????

[@theartofphotography]

Jack McKechnie not really - the fresh developer replenishes what you just used. You get more rolls through then just throwing it out each time.

[@jackmckechnie5801]

The Art of Photography Thank You!..

[@gsmeyersaz]

I wonder if it works for paper????

[@TenDiezMovement]

Ted Forbes the monobath with FP4+ ?

[@billyhandelman589]

do they ship overseas yet, or available overseas yet?

[@knottsscary]

Is this stuff still for sale

[@CineBaker]

Cant ship to the UK. DAMN IT!

[@theartofphotography]

69ingChipmunkzz its not hard to make if you want to try it - link is in the description to the recipe.

[@CineBaker]

The Art of Photography Ill give it a try.. my school has a dark room that I can sort of use without using up all their budget- and my dad shot film for 30 years or so..

[@theartofphotography]

Go for it!

[@CineBaker]

The Art of Photography worse case- a bit of ammonia poisoning XD

[@mavfan1]

Wait a gosh darn second!!!! I clearly saw a cat when you showed the negatives but no cats in the scans, those were all "arty". Cats rule the interwebz and you will suffer greatly for this outrageous snub! ;-P

[@davidrothschild8913]

So I could literally just put my negatives in a tray of this mono bath in the dark? Any plans for this company to make a color mono bath?

[@theartofphotography]

David Rothschild Yep - you don't do any agitation so… As for color, I have no idea what New55 has planned. Probably not anytime soon since their primary objective is to make a new 55-like film.

[@davidrothschild8913]

I'm going to try this for Tri-x in the meantime. Thanks Ted!

[@TibetanBuddhismFraud]

Wow, you look so different from a 3rd person perspective

[@dominicmeyers5865]

Can I develop color film with that formula?

[@JJlI2009]

no

[@RCAvhstape]

Great video. But a note: however you are videotaping yourself when you're talking into the camera, it looks like the camera is bouncing around and it makes it very difficult to watch you as you speak; I had to turn away and just listen.

[@moose64]

Ted will this only work with TriX?

[@theartofphotography]

todd baker no - any black and white process film will work

[@moose64]

The Art of Photography That's great as I bought some inexpensive Chinese 4X5 B&W neg film a while back. Thanks again Ted.

[@SimonDouville1]

ugh... sigh... I wish it could be shipped to Canada.

[@delacroire]

box with hole paper develop a picture in front

[@brentfisher902]

7:50 there is no sprocket holes...

[@SimonLeech]

It’s medium format film - doesn’t have sprocket holes

[@stevepereira2229]

modern films do not have over 2400 ppi to scan, any more and you create grain, usm creates grain.

[@Josh_Woodford]

I feel like a key of coke whilst watching this. When in Rome, eh.

[@thursmornsunlight]

:( We can't reuse it? NVM didn't finish watching the video xD

[@gabrielalamberti5860]

wow. i just found this video!!! super informative. thanks

[@NikolayChernichenko]

Ted and guys! How many rolls can be developed with one R3 bottle? What happens when the developer is no longer good? Thanks!