Re: E-6 Home processing & bulk loading Message-ID: <9601292218.AA09902@xxxxxxxxxxx>

Bob Mannle writes:

#Personally I've done both, and continue to do so on occassion. #Although I keep the processing to processing of dupes that I #make... I feel it's far to risky to home process some valuable #images you may want... or worse yet... those of a client. 

I could see that you might be queasy with a client's shots ;) Of course, "oops" can and do happen even at the best pro lab - but I agree the odds are much less!

#Another concern is shelf life. Once mixed you'll want to use these #chemicals as quickly as possible. Which could actually wind up costing #you money (for film) if you hadn't planned on taking more images #right away.

Good point, the Kodak 1-gallon kit has directions for mixing 1 pint at a time, which will do four rolls, and if I recall correctly the shelf life of the mixed chemicals in stoppered, full bottles is 8 weeks, so this isn't a huge drawback, but it could happen. 

#A final point is to mention that many of the chemicals are reused to process #additional rolls of film. At this point the various times change for #how long the film will stay in a particular bath. Obviously your #chemicals are being diluted or weakened by use... One must pay close #attention... know how many rolls have been processed with these particular #chemicals... and apply the proper times. 

Perfectly true.


[re: bulk loading]

[much deleted]

#I also have fears that someone at the lab will drop one of my bulk #loaded cannisters and the cap will pop off. Sometimes these do come #off very easily, especially when you don't want them to. 

I've had this happen twice to me with my bulk loaded film. Perhaps I should get the floor carpeted ;) Easier than becoming less clumsy ;) 

#The other disadvantage is that the last frame will be ruined due to #bulk loading... but this is no big deal as long as you plan for it. 

You _can_ bulk load in a darkroom, and eliminate this by doing that step in the dark, but I don't bother - like you I just plan for it. 

#I think every serious photographer should at least try both of these #processes. At least that way... when and if you need them, you'll at #least be familiar with it. Home processing has saved my butt a time #or two 8-)

I agree. And you can really save costs - some or a _lot_. B/W film in particular is economical in bulk. Also, Freestyle often has good deals on short-dated 100' rolls. Bob wouldn't want to use that for his client work, most likely, but I've used it and for my needs it was fine. I bought a 100' roll of Velvia from them for $55, and by keeping it refridgerated, it has continued to worked well, though probably post-dated by now.

Since all my shooting is for myself anyway, and not for clients, I will routinely buy and use post-dated film, at least if I know the source - for example, my local pro lab refridgerates all film, so I never have a concern buying their short or post-dated film. Frozen film too - I recently got 100 rolls of 120 Fujichrome, free, that was 1-2 years out of date, but had been frozen the whole time - I shot a test roll, and it was beautiful. No colof shifts, exposure still good...

One BIG advantage I see for bulk-loading is that I can load as many OR AS FEW exposures on a roll as I wish. I routinely use really short loads (I load 10-12 exposures on a roll) for camera testing, or simply because I often want to change film types, i.e. from Velvia to B/W. Yes, there is more overhead for film headers, but in the long run I save, because I don't have to shoot a bunch of exposures to finish a long roll if I want to switch film types. I tend to buy a 100' roll of film and make a variety of frames per roll, so I can pick a roll size that fits what I am shooting. 

Of course, again, doing your own processing helps here as well, unless your lab is very flexible on how they charge for processing. 

Joel Alpers
Rocky Mountain Memories - Equipment and Supplies for the 3D Photographer rkymtmem@xxxxxxxx
http://www.frii.com/~rkymtmem


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