FPP Color Negative Kit - Develop Film At Home!

[@heatonize]

i just bought this the other day and i was waiting for this video! thank you for posting

[@heatonize]

i was really just waiting for the chemical times

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

All of the info on the video is on the instruction sheet that comes with the kit.

[@TheJohnParedes]

Can you develop a roll of C-41 and a roll of ECN-2 at the same time or is that not recommended?

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

Yes, you can.

[@sbaugh]

This is just sooo awesome. But, I can’t figure out which kit to purchase (standard 35mm film) - the FPP C41/ECN2 Color Kit - or the FPP C41 Dvelopment kit (this is the one I ended up getting) … do I need the ECN version?

[@jomy10-games]

Depends on your film, it should say on the box if it requires C41 or ECN2 chemistry

[@neilwrx]

Just bought this but QUESTION! After using the chemicals the first time, how many seconds should we extend the developing/blix time for each subsequent roll?

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

We don't recommend any extension. (It's become popular with other brand products but traditionally we have never recommended). - Mike

[@mydentist4471]

My questions: Do these chemicals differ from other developing chemicals that are suggested to be stored in opaque plastic rather than your clear plastic bottles? What is the best way to store the chemicals? How long should they last aside from the amount of uses they could endure? (shelf life) Is the bleach equivalent to standard full force bleach, (i.e. Clorox straight from the bottle)? If no, what is the difference? The color of your used developer was more yellow that it was before use, will that have any affect on future developing? How will you know when it is time to quit reusing the chemicals (you said that one fellow went up to 40 times), what will be the earliest signs? Thank you

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

Hi. Mike here. Happy to help. All of my tutorials are based upon my experiences of usage. Everyone may have different opinions or methods. Do these chemicals differ from other developing chemicals that are suggested to be stored in opaque plastic rather than your clear plastic bottles? Clear or opaque is a personal preference. If using clear, store under cabinet away from sun light. The clear plastic bottles are inexpensive and allows you to squeeze out excess air before capping. What is the best way to store the chemicals? Store away from direct sunlight. How long should they last aside from the amount of uses they could endure? (shelf life) 6 months. Is the bleach equivalent to standard full force bleach, (i.e. Clorox straight from the bottle)? If no, what is the difference? Beach is different from Clorox. Not me area of expertise regarding difference in the chemical compounds. The color of your used developer was more yellow that it was before use, will that have any affect on future developing? Make sure you pre-wash your film to remove dyes. Otherwise, color or remote particles (from Vision3 color) will not have any affect of the chemistry. How will you know when it is time to quit reusing the chemicals (you said that one fellow went up to 40 times), what will be the earliest signs? I quit at 15 rolls. If interested in the best possible results, quit at 10 rolls. If you go past (let's say) 20 rolls, your negs will start to look a but weak, which can be corrected via the scan.

[@DarkShirley]

@@FilmPhotographyProject thank you very much!!

[@mydentist4471]

@@FilmPhotographyProject Huge thank you for answering all my Q's, sir.

[@randallstewart1224]

1. Bottles. The chemicals used in color negative process (C-41) are similar to those used in B&W and E-6 processing, but they are different enough to be not interchangeable. The chemicals used in these processes are not photo-reactive. They do not chemically change when exposed to light for extended periods. This started with Kodak almost a hundred years ago, where amber glass bottle were recommended. I suspect that had more to do with not mixing them up with foods and household products than to preserve the photo chemicals. Over the years, it's become photo folklore. Plastic bottles made for photochemical use are fine, but household bottle are usually made of different type of plastic, which can be penetrated by oxygen from the outside air. These bottle should not be used, video notwithstanding. 2. Best storage. Glass bottles using caps designed to seal chemical liquids are the best. Surprisingly, they can be bought online for half the price, or less, than say, a Cinestill plastic collapsible bottle. Never use those collapsible bottles if you are reusing the contents. 3. Chemical life. Depends on the chemistry. The manufacturer will provide shelf life periods for unused and used chemistry. Used chemistry rarely lasts for more than 60 days. 4. "Bleach" is a term of art, not science, when used to describe photochemistry. Household bleach is designed to remove color from organic stains, perhaps with some sanitizing effect on the side. Photochemical bleach is design to chemically convert metallic (oxidized) silver formed in the development process back into its chemical form before it was developed. (This allows it to dissolved by fixer and then washed away, leaving either metallic silver (B&W) or color dyes forming in the developer stage of the process.) Apart from the basic idea that they are destroying something, the two "bleaches" have nothing chemically in common. 5. No. The color added to or changing with reuse of a developer comes from either anti-halation dyes washed out of the film during development or chemical waste by-products formed in the development process. For normal amounts of solution reuse, they should have no effect on the process. 6. How much reuse? The manufacturer will state the capacity of their product to be reused before it is "used up" There are active ingredients in each solution, some of which is chemically consumed with each use. These specifications assume a regular reuse over the stated shelf life of the product. For example, if the product has a life of 2 months once it is opened for first use, and can process 15 rolls per liter, that means an average of 2 rolls per week. If you process 3 rolls on week one, then shelve the product and try to process 12 more rolls on week nine, you are likely to be very unhappy with your results. As for the guys who post that the manufacturer said you can get 15 rolls per liter, but they got 24 or 30, they are idiots to be ignored. What they don't say is that the last 10 rolls barely got a useable image, and they spend 2 hours in post-scan processing in Photoshop to get it to look like just a piece of crap. Without lots of experience, you can't hold a strip of color negatives up to a light and say, "This is the end of that liter." Judging a positive image from inadequately process color negatives will show loss of density (underdeveloped), loss of contrast, weak color saturation, and probably some color shifts you cannot digitally correct. If you are one of the few who makes RA-4 color prints in a darkroom, those negatives will be unprintable, leaving you dining on aspirin and a resolve to never be that stupid again.

[@AdmiralBosch19]

For ECN2 films - youre removing the remjet AFTER development? Not before?

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

That's correct - after. The Rem Jet is a "big nothing" that slides off with your thumb in the last step (as seen in the video) - Mike

[@AdmiralBosch19]

@@FilmPhotographyProject okay, thanks a bunch!

[@jesuszamora1116]

Hi for ECN-2 film do you need extra stuff or is it just those three chemicals

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

Other than your tank, reel and darkness to load your film - this is all you need.

[@jesuszamora1116]

@@FilmPhotographyProject Thank you for clarifying so excited to try it out!

[@mydentist4471]

One more Q: If I just get the Packet FPP 76 Developer, I can use the same fixer, correct? And that is all I need (minimum) to develop B&W? (no bleach, I believe, correct?) Is it at all unwise to use the same fixer I used for color development for B&W? If the answers are: Yes, Yes, (no), and No, I assume I can find developer times on your site somewhere? Thank you

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

I would use a separate bottle of Fixer. While the fixer in the color kit is the same, you will be exhausting it prematurely if you are giving it double duty to fix your BW film.

[@paulbelloni4932]

You probably get this question frequently so, apologies in advance, this will work for super 8 film, right?

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

Yes, it will but you will need the proper tank (and a movie film scanner). What tank - filmphotographyproject.com/processing-movie-film-tank-manage/

[@paulbelloni4932]

@@FilmPhotographyProject Thanks so much for the speedy response. I have been developing my own super 8 for several years, usually using a caffenol method. However, I have never been brave enough to try developing my own color film though. Your videos and products make it look relatively simple.

[@briainappressed698]

I wonder how much chemical you would need to developer a 100ft of movie film ?

[@ColHogan-zg2pc]

Depends if it's 35 mm or 8mm or 16mm. A 36 exposure 35 mm roll gets you around 5 ft, and they say this chemistry could technically do up to 20, which would get you 100 ft of motion picture film

[@briainappressed698]

@@ColHogan-zg2pc well I suppose that 20ft of 35mm would be equal to 40ft of 16mm movie film. interesting to get an idea of what you can get away with. probably cheaper to send it to a lab. grate channel Ive realy enjoyed listing in here in the UK.

[@randallstewart1224]

I'd like to heat my chemistry with an FPP emulsion heater, but it's "out of stock" 10 months out of the year. On the rare occasion when it is in stock, it's a relatively good deal. Using the hot water from the warming bath to wash film is an awful idea, contra the video. Why? Because most people spill small amounts of chemistry on the outside of the mouth and sides of the storage bottles as they pour in and out. That spillage washes off into the bath. It's not much contamination, but it totally counterproductive and unnecessary. Bottles: Pop bottles use oxygen permeable plastic. Squeezing the storage bottles to get air (oxygen) out of the bottle during storage is a good idea, but if you use pop bottles (like here), you're wasting your effort.

[@williamhamblen3808]

Wear disposable nitrile gloves to save your skin.

[@guillermoperezsantos]

Real man don´t use gloves...........

[@etms]

Loose your skin, be a man

[@guillermoperezsantos]

In fact, you can fix and then bleach with no problems at all

[@FilmPhotographyProject]

Let's keep it simple.

[@Exxcalibur186]

It's a fair point to bring up because I did this once by accident and thought I was "effed" as Mike would say. 😂

[@istvann.huszar420]

This is the first time I hear 'solution' consistently referred to as 'chemistry', and I find it weird. Please leave out the sound effects next time.