Change of C41 developer

[John King]

This is the solution which 'goes off' but as the full bottle only contains 90cc it is a little difficult to decant them into smaller bottles. Although 30cc ones are available they they are not the perfect solution. The colour of the developer now when it is new is a very pale cream. Solutions 'A' and 'B' are clear and they should not deteriorate with age.

I am about to resort to a time honoured method of filling the part empty bottle with small glass beads to displace any air.

A few years ago I bought a number of cheap (very) costume jewelery necklaces from a 2nd hand shop and broke these down so I could use the beads to fill the bottles and clear out all the air. I have more than enough to fill the developer 'C' so it should last the distance.

As I said before you should be able in theory to get 33 x 35mm films out of a full kit and even allowing for wastage, I will be more than happy if I manage to get 30.

[Tom Kershaw]

Originally Posted by Mike O'Pray

My worry as in all C41 stuff is that the Fuji-Hunt kit, especially the developer part, might deteriorate before you have developed all the films that the kit is in theory capable of developing. Not a problem if you are using maybe several films a week but at my rate of use I'd have concerns that the developer part especially would last long enough.

If the Digibase kit has a lack of consistency in quality that is also clearly a problem but as I understand things it is possible to buy just the developer part which is I think the part that loses its efficacy the quickest.


Mike

From reading the Kodak documentation, the bleach has twice the capacity of the developer and the developer should not be over used. Maybe 4 rolls per litre of developer (not 800 ISO film); the bleach is the more expensive part. However, considering the price of Kodak Portra film or the Fuji equivalent; for limited use 20/25 rolls from a 5L Fuji kit seems ok. I would save up a batch of film to process and then run the whole lot together.

Tom

[JOReynolds]

In C41 developer kits, part C contains CD4, the colour developing agent. It is preserved in sulphuric acid, which can react with atmospheric carbon dioxide if not protected. Eventually the CD4 oxidises, stains brown and yields developer solution of reduced activity. Withdrawing small quantities with a syringe and maintaining the volume with beads is undoubtedly the best way of avoiding degradation.