How To Develop 35mm Color Film at Home

[@JanneRanta]

Alternative to bottle opener way is to use a film lead retreiver. Or if possible leave it out when rewinding. Then you can cut the lead and insert it to the spiral before you put it in the dark bag. Makes it a ton easier.

[@per_simmons]

Yes good tip!

[@khanscombe619]

@@per_simmonsagreed. And almost all cases with the mechanical camera there would be absolutely no reason to fully rewind it when you know you are the one development it. Even good auto winder cameras have a leader stop sensor. Then by not destroying Your cassette, you can cut enough to re-splice if u do bulk loading or save for someone who does. Mark your exposed film so u know. Scratch emulsion tail with a key or Mark a pen.

[@b6983832]

Those gallon or 1 liter kits will be the the most expensive option if you do develop color film more often. Also, they are mostly not the standard process, which has separate bleaching and fixing steps. The problem in these kits is the blix, which is unstable, and can be destroyed, if too much developer will carry over into it. At least, add a stop bath and rinse after developer, if you must use these kits marketed for home use. Better choice are professional quality chemistries, such as Fuji or Kodak. Some of these kits are not of the best quality, and are Chinese made, just repackaged by the seller. Also, the stabilizer is missing in most of these kits. Fot the time being, these are no more real stabilizers, but they do contain an antumycotic agent. such as miconazole to prevent the film from getting mold. Photo-Flo, or other wetting agents intendet for black & white film won´t do that. For kits made for home use, and containing blix, the Tetenal is quite reliable. but they are quite expensibe. Same can´t be sayed for all popular kits in the market. Fuji XPRESS 5 liter kit can always be recommended. Kodak is also great, but there are major supply issues at the moment with Kodak chemistries. Also, this Paterson tank model is quite problematic, as the lid tends to leak, and to maintain the correct temperature, you must hold your tank in the water bath when not agitating. A leak of water in your tank would ruin the whole batch of chemistry. Use the older model (also made by many other companies, as the patent has expired) or the AP tank with better lids.