So you would like to try your hand at developing your own B&W film but you think it is to hard. Or you have done it in the past and don’t like dealing with having to worry about exact times and temps. Or you think that you can’t because you don’t have a true darkroom. Well think again, using Diafine to develop your B&W film could not be easier, times and temps really do not matter much, and you do not even need a true darkroom. Besides being very easy Diafine also works great for Toy Camera Photography because it is so forgiving of exposure and you can develop two different types if film together at one time.
Part One: What do you need to develop your own B&W film
In order to start developing your own B&W film with Diafine you need just a few basic items. The good news is that you can get everything you need for less than $50-$100 and if you need to buy a scanner you can get a great scanner like the Epson 4490 for less than $200 or even less than $100 sometimes. So every thing will pay for itself in no time.
The basic list of what you need is listed below. You can easily find everything you need online. I order my stuff from www.freestylephoto.biz. I have no connection with freestyle other than to be a very happy customer.
1.)Changing Bag-This is used in place of a darkroom to load up the film reels and put them in the daylight tank.
2.)Daylight Tank(s)-This is used to hold the reels and develop the film. You can do this in regular light with no problems. They come in many sizes. I like the size that holds two 35mm reels, or one 120 sized reel.
3.)Film reels.-These are used to load the film up. I like the plastic ones that are adjustable for both 35mm and 120 sized film. Most of them can also do 127 and other odd sizes.
4.)Diafine-One package comes with 2 cans of powder. One for Solution A and one for Solution B.
5.)Fixer-This is used towards the end and makes the film ready to scan or print. I like the Arista Rapid stuff that Freestyle sells because it is cheap and works great.
6.)Three “one gallon” sized plastic jugs. Get the brown plastic ones that are designed for darkroom chemicals. They are quite cheap and easily found online or at a good camera store.
7.) Measuring cups and funnels. I got mine from the dollar store. I got them in different colors and use them just for this purpose. The different colors make it easy to not contaminate with other chemicals.
8.)Three gallons of distilled water to mix up the chemicals with. Get these at your local grocery store.
9.)Some string and some plastic clothespins. I got a big bag of them from the dollar store.
Part Two: Mix up the Chemicals
This part is pretty easy. If you got the brown plastic “Datatainer” jugs you will find out that the one gallon sized ones actually hold a bit more than a gallon. The first thing you need to do is open the can for Solution A and dump it down a funnel into the jug. Then pour around ¾ of a gallon of distilled water down the jug. I warm the water up a bit by putting the jug into a sink full of hot water for a few minutes. Once you get ¾ of a gallon of water into the jug put the cap on and shake well for a few minutes, then dump in the rest of the water. Repeat the same thing in another jug for Solution B. Be sure to label each jug so you know which is which.
To mix up your fixer follow the directions for your brand. Most of the liquid types are a simple 3 parts water to one part fixer.
I like to mix up everything at least 48 hours before I am going to use them. This gives everything time to settle and reach room temp.
Part 3: Load up the Reels
While you are waiting for your chemicals to settle, now would be a good time to practice loading up your reels. It is pretty easy but does take practice. Practice first on some sacrificial film since you will waste it. This can be any film color or B&W. If you are going to develop 120 just unroll the paper until you get to the film. Then slide it onto the reel and pull it past the two ball bearings. Each half of the reel moves back and forth and as you do that it should pull in the film. Keep on doing that until you get to the end of the film where it is taped onto the paper backing. Then just pull it off of the tape and fold the tape over the back of the film. The tape will not harm the film in anyway. Since this is your practice roll once you do that undo the reel and do it again. The corners of the film may get bent so if that happens just take some scissors and snip off the end. If you are using 35mm film you will need to get it out of the can first. Just take a bottle opener and pop-off the top and pull the film out then load it up the same way as the 120. Another alternative is to use a special leader retriever. This allows you to pull the leader out of the film can and then you can load it on the reel. No matter which method you choose you will need to first trim off the front of the leader to make sure it is flat. Once you practice it enough in the light, try it with your eyes closed. Once you master that try it in the changing bag. Once you master that you are ready to go.
Part 4: Developing your first roll.
These instructions are a little bit different than the directions on the package of Diafine. After developing hundreds of rolls of film with Diafine over the years, I have found that I get much more consistent results by doing it this way. The biggest complaint that people have with Diafine is that they often get uneven development or streaks caused from something called “Bromide Drag”. I have never had any such problems by doing it this way, but I did have those issues when I was following the directions on the box. You will need to use a sink to develop your film as well as have a place to hang it up to dry. I use my bathroom to do this.
1.)Load the film on the reel and get it into the tank.
2.)Turn on the sink and adjust the hot and cold water so that the water comes out pretty much at room temp. Fill the tank with tap water then turn off the water. Let the film sit in the water for 2 minutes or so. Then dump out the water. Depending on the film it may look very blue or purple from the antihalation dye in the film. Other films will not have any color to the water. Once again fill up the tank with tap water and dump it out. Do this a few times more until the water looks for the most part clear.
3.)Pour in Solution A. Then put the lid on the tank and invert the tank 2-3 times. Using a watch/stop watch start counting the time. After one minute and thirty seconds have passed invert the tank another 2-3 times. Then wait another minute thirty, and (you guessed it) invert another 2-3 minutes. Then wait another sixty seconds and dump Solution A back into your jug.
4.)Do the same thing for Solution B as you did for solution A.
5.)After you dump solution B back in the jug fill the tank with tap water and dump it out. Then fill it up again and dump it out again. Then fill it up again and put the lid on the tank. Invert 2-3 times and dump it out again. Then fill it up again put on the lid and invert 2-3 more times then let it sit in the water for a minute or so. This process is called a “stop bath”. The idea here is to rinse off the developer and stop development. You can buy special chemicals to do that also but with Diafine you just need plain water. You goal is to rinse off the film with water and remove the traces of developer that are left behind.
6.)Dump in your fixer and follow the directions on the bottle. Each brand is different so just follow the directions. I prefer the rapid type as it is quicker.
7.)After fixing your film it is time for the final wash. I fill up the tank and dump it out 2-3 times with plain water. Then I fill it up again put on the lid then invert it 5 times. Then I dump it out refill and invert 10 times. Then I dump it out and refill then invert 20 times. This method is often called the “Ilford Method” as it is widely promoted by the film maker Ilford. It uses far less water than other methods and works very well.
8.)All that is left now is to remove the film from the reel and hang it up to dry. I use plastic clothes pins and hang them up on a string over my bathtub. In dry weather they dry in around an hour. If it is humid like in the summer it can take 2-3 hours, if it is dry like in winter it can be much faster.
