----- Original Message ----- From: Shel Belinkoff Subject: Running Film Through The Spin Cycle
> I hate developing film. It's been said that a Jobo machine will at > least make the pain endurable. Well, I've resisted getting a machine > until now. I read (perhaps here) that using a Jobo can free you up to > shoot more film, as it can be processed automatically. I wouldn't have > to burn film with much thought to the time/energy/boredom of processing > the rolls by hand. I suppose it depends on the Jobo. Mine requires babysitting, as it is a manual lift. > > Questions for those who have used both hand and Jobo processing for B&W > negative work: do you see any qualitative differences between Jobo > processed film and that which you've done manually? Is the grain > structure the same? How does the contrast compare? Any other comparison > points would be welcome. I honestly haven't compared grain structure between Jobo processed film and hand processed. Here is what I have found: The Jobo requires a higher concentration of developer, as it uses very little chemistry. With the 1500 series of tank, I can process 5 36 exposure rolles of film, or 6 120 rolls of film in 570 ml of chemistry. The only developer I have found that works well in the Jobo is HC:110. Because the Jobo is constant agitation, the tendency is to higher contrast. This means that processing times are shorter, I have found by as much as 30~40%. This decrease in processing time is enough to affect film speed. The Jobo cost me about a stop, overall. Jobo processed films are very evenly developed. I have had no problems with uniform processing, even with developing times as short as 3 minutes. A prewash is a good thing with a Jobo. It increases developing times by as much as 15 seconds. So, everything does change with a Jobo. However, I wouldn't go back to hand processing for anything. William Robb - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
