All three options produce sharp and colorful images. However, Kodak Portra is still the number one choice for film photographers because of the faithful recreation of skin tones and beautiful overall color saturation.
The film overexposes well while creating softer, warmer, more pastel colors which is difficult to recreate with a digital camera without editing. The Portra also works well in many different lighting situations and the fine grain makes it great for digital scanning.
However, it is expensive compared to other films. Lomo Color Negative is another great option for color film. It has fine grain for scanning which appear sharp and has cult status for its consistent color reproduction with a lot of contrast and vintage feel though not as revered as Porta and it is a cheaper alternative to other films. While Fuji H has never been as popular as Kodak Portra it is a good solid film that has many of the same qualities as the other films.
It overexposes well like Portra creating softer more pastel colors, great for portraits, sharp, and has fine grain that works well for scanning. One way people without a darkroom can develop film is by using a film changing bag.
To use a film changing bag, place your unopened film canister, bottle opener, scissors, developing tank, and reels through the openings where you can insert your hands of a blacked-out changing bag and do the loading process inside the bag.
Even though it will block much of the light, it is still recommended that you keep the changing bag out of direct sunlight and in a room with low light like a closet or basement bathroom to minimize light reaching the film before being developed. Film changing bags can vary from something that looks just like a small plastic bag like this one on Amazon. I recommend this highly rated changing bag on Amazon. Whichever option you might choose, either will work well for developing film.
If you happen to see weird things on your negatives after developing the film, see this guide to help you understand your problem and how to fix it or, at least, prevent it in the future. Some of these steps are somewhat time-sensitive. Before you begin this step, both films should be out of the camera. See this guide on how to rewind your 35mm film and how to take your medium format film out of the camera. See this video on how to do this correctly. Make a cut near the end of the roll to remove the plastic piece the film is attached to or paper backing for medium format film.
This cut should be straight across the width of the film, perpendicular to the long side of the roll. Keep in mind that every step until your film has been loaded into your film tank needs to be done in total darkness to preserve the images in the film.
If you ever lose the film leader inside its canister, you can purchase a film leader retriever like this one on Amazon. Some people have also found success retrieving film leaders wound back into the canister by using the film leader from a second canister. See this Youtube video on how this process works. See this video on Youtube. Many auto-load film reels also known as metal reels can make this part of the process easier, but regardless, take care when transferring the film to the reel as the metal canister can potentially cut your fingers.
Then, use scissors to cut the remaining portion of the film that will still be attached to the canister. With medium format film, this will be a second paper backing. Once the film is loaded onto the film reel, you need to re-assemble the developer tank.
With a bit of effort you can easily exceed the quality and consistency you get from commercial processors. Commercial processors have a tendency to overdevelop C film to artificially boost the colour saturation, which most undiscerning amateur snapshooters like.
However this destroys the brightness range capability of the film and its colour accuracy. I use good quality chemistry, not the cheapest, and check my processing with Kodak quality control strips. In this way I can get much better C quality than most commercial labs. E6 reversal slide film is a totally different matter and I wouldn't recommend home processing of that at all.
Bob: The Paterson reels aren't very good! Jobo ones are far easier to load - especially for the larger sized tanks, as are stainless reels after a bit of practice. Stainless tanks are also usually abit more economical to use unless you use rotary processing. Come, come, now! There's nothing wrong with Paterson reels.
Myself, i don't like the Jobo reels: loading them is a bit more 'involved' than loading the Paterson thingies. Not much, but still: why? What I am about to say is not an opinion, it is a fact.
Disregard all above comments to the contrary, they are mostly made by people who have never tried it, or who have problems following directions precisely. Should have started years ago, my wallet would be much thicker now! All you have to do, is follow the simple directions, and use a cheap Styrofoam cooler and regularly monitor the tap to keep your water at the correct temp.
Do it my friend. It's not all about learning or to reduce costs. It's our "time out" form daily work, it's our little private moment.
Speaking for myself, developing at home makes me feel like I'm doing my thing, my own selfish pleasure. I'm not only a husband or a father, first of all I'm Paulo, a laim ass who loves photography. You will love it all, you will hate it too when the results are not good, but it's all part of the path. Trust us, do it. As a starting kit you have many options, use plastic, use metal, use Jobo or Patterson. You will get the hang of any kit fast enough. Sorry for this "from the heart answer".
As you have gathered by the responses so far it is quite possible to develop at home. I use "standing development" almost all of the time, unless I'm in a hurry. The graininess is most notable when using Fomapan film. Standing development is a method where you use VERY diluted developer and develop for an hour or so by just leaving it in the kitchen sink at room temperature.
This way I really don't need to have a watch with second hand on it Lately I have also tried a Tetenal C kit for colour film. The only problem is holding the temperature at at steady 38C during the developing phase which lasts only minutes depending on how used the soup is.
But apart from that I would not hesitate to recommend C at home. It works. Well, since there are so many with experience and expertise in home developing I will take the opportunity to ask a very basic question.
I've just gotten started; did my first roll of 35mm a few days ago and today I did a roll of The results have been fine, but I'm still unsure of many things. So, my question is about fixer. How important is the time. I've read minutes. The first day I did about 5 and it was fine. Today I did about 7 and it was fine How important is it, and how do I find out the proper time?
I've been using Fuji fixer. Have you seen what the fixer actually does? Cut off a strip of film a few centimetres will do , dip it into a glass with fixer, after a few seconds or half a minute you will see the film change!
That is what the fixer does. You only need to fix as long as it takes to get the film clear, in an exposed and developed film the developed parts are already there and wont be removed. So 5 or 7 minutes is normally ok. Perhaps even 2 minutes would be ok but just to be on the safe side add a couple of minutes.
BTW, nice pictures there so far! Medium-format is the way to go! You can 'overfix'. Time how long it takes for it to become to the eye perfectly clear, and use double that time to fix your film. Pushing film also alters the visual characteristics of it, which can be a potential downside.
You can expect to see higher contrast, less shadow detail, increased grain, and lower resolution, as well as saturated and distorted colors in color film. It is certainly possible to develop color negative and color positive film at home, but there are added difficulties to consider. The Cnegative process itself is much more difficult, due to being extremely temperature sensitive, especially without a basis in developing black and white film.
Developing is the most critical point of developing film, as dramatic temperature changes can cause wide color changes. Another important change is the stabilizer, which is used to protect the dyes in the film from fading. C41 and E6 chemistry are generally considerably more expensive than for black and white, but most are designed for multiple reuse.
Developing film at home may seem a little difficult, especially with the way to load the film, the developing time, the soaking, and loading the rolls. However, there are lots of little tips and tricks that you can do to make sure the rolls are developed exactly the way you want.
The process of agitating the film can be daunting. The total process time it takes to develop your film should be around 5 minutes. During the first 30 seconds of the development, you should agitate the film constantly to ensure that the film is soaked thoroughly into the chemicals. You want to be as gently as possible, inverting it back and forth. Sending your film to a lab will save you time, but developing rolls of your captured photographs at home is not as expensive as you think.
The process of developing film at home will cost you the chemicals and tools. Most people will tend to buy chemicals in bulk, as it will be cheaper and last for a longer time. The cost of the developer, fixer, stop bath, and other chemicals you buy will determine the price of developing your film.
Of course, a tray will be much cheaper than a tank due to its size. Choose a process and tool kit that works best for you. We understand the using chemicals may not be the best option for many people when developing film at home. The process of caffenol uses products you can find in the kitchen.
All photos by the author. Liam Harrison is a photographer and writer based in Glasgow, Scotland. Log in Get Started. Liam Harrison July 31, A changing bag, to facilitate removing the film from its canister 35mm film or spool film to your developing tank.
A developing tank and reels. This is where the actual developing takes place after you load your film in the reel. Your developing tank is a light-tight box that ensures there is complete darkness during the developing process. A digital thermometer, to ensure your chemistry is at the right temperature. A timer, to ensure correct development times.
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