4 ms·

I’m an outlier, be warned, but I have a pair of Jobo machines, an ATL3 and an ATL2200 with the tanks and do-dads that go with them. I also have an Epson v850.

I’m an outlier, be warned, but I have a pair of Jobo machines, an ATL3 and an ATL2200 with the tanks and do-dads that go with them. I also have an Epson v850. I used these ( and earlier setups that led to this ) in college after a lot of figuring on the solution to your question. I decided that for my time/money math, and considering the quality and control I was after, this was the best fit. Now, I can’t keep up with scanning everything now that I have kids and a full time job and renovations to plan, and I consider selling the whole mess every other day ( the others, I consider buying a Contax 645 ) A solid halfway place is to get a great scanner ( not necessarily the one I have, unless you like big big film, see below for the counterpoint) and take the film to whatever drugstore nearby still has their Fuji stuff. Or, get a hand tank. Wait, it’s way simpler than you think. You somewhere dark, or a changing bag ( I put a towel under the door of a closet before getting a bag ) and then you need a sink. It isn’t super complicated for black and white, though medium format film is WAY easier to handle than 135. Making prints may come down to a yard sale or Craigslist score, but local college dark rooms likely aren’t full, and art kids are handy friends to have. That didn’t likely help unless your main takeaway is held very close to “film is about the love of the game” not economics.

999900000999 5y ago
So I did a bit of research and it looks like developing film with coffee is a very cheap alternative. Would you suggest that, I'm mainly shooting black and white?
- cameron_b 5y ago
  Powder mix kits are far more bang for the buck even accounting for nearly free coffee. It’s not so a drop-in replacement but far and away an “alternative process” that bears its own look.
- joshvm 5y ago
  The problem with coffee/caffenol as a developer is that you still need fixer, and while apparently salt works, it sounds hit and miss. So it's kind of hard to argue it as a sort of eco/cheap solution when you still need other chemicals. It's a curiosity/art developer more than anything else. Especially when you can buy very cheap concentrate like Rodinal (1:50+). Stop bath is less of an issue. Rodinal is about £20 a litre which will dilute to work for at least 25-50 films (probably more if you're doing single roll tanks).
- hellisothers 5y ago
  I also have a Jobo and before that just a tank by hand, B&W at home with tanks is quite easy and the chemicals are relatively cheap. I would’t suggest coffee unless you’re interested in it as an intentional part of your process (for arts sake), it won’t be as consistent.

999900000999 5y ago

So I did a bit of research and it looks like developing film with coffee is a very cheap alternative. Would you suggest that, I'm mainly shooting black and white?

cameron_b 5y ago
Powder mix kits are far more bang for the buck even accounting for nearly free coffee. It’s not so a drop-in replacement but far and away an “alternative process” that bears its own look.
joshvm 5y ago
The problem with coffee/caffenol as a developer is that you still need fixer, and while apparently salt works, it sounds hit and miss. So it's kind of hard to argue it as a sort of eco/cheap solution when you still need other chemicals. It's a curiosity/art developer more than anything else. Especially when you can buy very cheap concentrate like Rodinal (1:50+). Stop bath is less of an issue. Rodinal is about £20 a litre which will dilute to work for at least 25-50 films (probably more if you're doing single roll tanks).
hellisothers 5y ago
I also have a Jobo and before that just a tank by hand, B&W at home with tanks is quite easy and the chemicals are relatively cheap. I would’t suggest coffee unless you’re interested in it as an intentional part of your process (for arts sake), it won’t be as consistent.