Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/07/06

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Subject: [Leica] home processing C41
From: msmall at infionline.net (Marc James Small)
Date: Tue Jul 6 21:38:53 2004

At 06:56 PM 7/6/04 -0500, Eric wrote:
>I'm trying to decide if I want to home process some C41 or not.  First time
>I've shot color in a few years.  I've been doing all my own B&W.  Bought 4
>rolls of Fuji NPH to try out.
>
>There is no local lab that does dip & dunk.  It's either the corner
>drugstore, or I mail them to a pro lab.  Or I get a "room temperature" kit
>and do them myself in my manual tank.
>
>Any recommendations one way or the other?  If I do it myself, what kit
>should I get?  Thanks!
==============================

C-41 is rather easy to do at home and I have done a LOT of it over the past
ten or fifteen years.  Developing the film is not the problem but PRINTING
it can be a nightmare when you just cannot get the right filter combination
to work -- often, when printing color negative materials, you have to
review them in natural sunlight or the equivalent, and this can be
difficult to do at four in the AM.  Temperature control is a minor concern
but that can be handled by the possession of both a decent thermometer and
a small sink, though you might have to adjust for a color-balance shift
when printing the negative.

But, all in all, developing C-41 and printing RA4 (or even EP2) is a simple
expansion of doing monochrome darkroom work.  Ilfochrome work is much
simpler and is almost bulletproof but this, of course, only applies to 
slides.

Marc

msmall@infionline.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
Cha robh b?s fir gun ghr?s fir!




In reply to: Message from ericm at pobox.com (Eric) ([Leica] home processing C41)