developed my first film

[vicop408]

Hi
Wow. Last night, I developed my first film ever. Actually I did 4 rolls, two black+white and two C41 film. I do have some questions though.

1. I found that 120film is a pain to load. Any tips to make it as painless as possible? I have a Paterson universal tank with plastic reel.

2. Can I re-use the stabilizer for C41 development?

3. For B&W, I noticed some dark banding on the right side of the negative for ONE of the rolls. Also, I noticed that the upper corners of the B&W negatives are pretty grainy. Are these development errors?

I used Tri-X at 400ISO and Pro 400H at 200ISO. The developers I used are XTOL 1:1 dilution and Freestyle Unicolor for C41. I'm attaching samples for each one. I'm also attaching a crop of the upper left corner of the B&W. It shows the grain I mentioned for #3.

Thanks.

---vic

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[shadowfox]

Originally Posted by vicop408

1. I found that 120film is a pain to load. Any tips to make it as painless as possible? I have a Paterson universal tank with plastic reel.

Give steel reels a try. I find it easier to deal with than 35mm because everything on it is larger. And if you do, load the taped end of the film first (unroll the paper completely before you start reeling the film).

[oftheherd]

Some people swear by the plastic reels. I have used them and they should be easy to load unless wet. You do have to make sure the film is well inserted, maybe push/pull it just past the bearings as I recall. I lost mine several years ago and never replaced them. I had learned on steel reels and just preferred them anyway. But always keep checking to ensure they are loading right and not touching film already loaded. you should be albe to tell if they misthread.

It's always a good idea to try with already developed film, or just sacrifice a roll to practice with, in daylight. First with your eyes open, then closed until you feel something strange, then look.

[vicop408]

Come to think of it, the first roll of film was a lot easier to load than the subsequent rolls. The reel was a little damp at that point. I might use a blow dryer to completely dry it and see what happens.

I can borrow a steel reel as well and give that a try if it continues. Thanks for all the tips.

[Chris101]

The grain in your crop looks normal - that is what trix looks like where you shoot blue sky. Too much dust though - maybe find a better place to dry your film?

As to the banding along side the frames - it looks like you did not have enough liquid in the tank during development. I always make sure the entire reel is under the surface of the developer.

I agree with Will, who suggested steel reels. I think they are the way to go with 120 film especially. (Plastic reels just always seem to frustrate me!)

[wblynch]

clip the corners off the leading edge of your film. it will load much, much easier.