Dark rooms

Well since I have been trying to sell my film camera for a couple months and no one seems to want it, I am going to put it to use.

I happen to have a perfect room in the basement for a dark room. It's been around fifteen years or so since I have messed with any film stuff. So, if someone could please give me a rundown on what equipment I should be keeping an eye out for it would be much appreciated.

Also are there any good sights to go and maybe get a refresher course for all this sutff?

Do you want to just develop film, or print it too? Developing doesn't even require a darkroom, just a dark changing bag. You can then scan the film using a suitable scanner (I use the Epson 3170), process on your computer, and print it.

If you want to print, ideally you will have an Enlarger, developing trays, a timer, a red light, papers, chemicals, thermometers, and access to a hot and cold water supply and drain. I don't think you need to take a class, just poke around on Youtube.

There are tons of sites out there. My personal fave for developing film is the Massive Development Chart. It's got most every film ever made, matched with most every developer ever made.

Nothing useful to add, but...

When I was at Diego Garcia (top secret naval base in the Indian Ocean), they had a hobby shop with a photo lab. The nice Filipino working there would take you into the dark room and show you exactly what to do to develop and print your film. First (and only) time I ever did that. It was cool. "Take this church key and pry the end off the film canister like this when the lights are off..." The Filipinos working on the island got U.S. minimum wage, which was like a fortune for them.

bastomatic wrote: Do you want to just develop film, or print it too? Developing doesn't even require a darkroom, just a dark changing bag. You can then scan the film using a suitable scanner (I use the Epson 3170), process on your computer, and print it. If you want to print, ideally you will have an Enlarger, developing trays, a timer, a red light, papers, chemicals, thermometers, and access to a hot and cold water supply and drain. I don't think you need to take a class, just poke around on Youtube.

Dr. Hess wrote: "Take this church key and pry the end off the film canister..."

+1 on all of the above. It's fun doing traditional film development. B&W is the easiest. The enlarger is less complicated for B&W than for color, which requires strict temperature control.

Or you can try the C-41 process B&W films like Ilford's XP2. Just bring it to a one hour lab, like Walgreen's has, and get them done and scanned. Walgreen's may still sell the Kodak version of XP2. If it's a pro lab that does one hour as well, they can set up a channel to do B&W prints as well. The pro lab should develop and scan slides.

For film and supplies, Adorama and B&H photo are the two mail order houses that carry nearly everything. I've found http://www.freestylephoto.biz/ that carries off-brand film at very low prices.

Have fun!

I comverted the shop/laundry room at my parent's house into a darkroom for a couple years during high school and while commuting to college. Bought a Beseler enlarger off of e-Bay (I think it was in the $250 range but there's some on there now for $100), chemical trays, those tongs with the sponges on the end, paper, and a timer for the enlarger. I got really thick, cheap, black cotton cloth at a fabric store, and velcro squares every foot to hold it to the wall to cover the door and window. An old light fixture with a red darkroom bulb in it served as light. I would get the film developed at a store, just negatives, and then do the actual printing at home. The total cost, including the enlarger was below $500, but I didn't buy anything to do the developing there. That's probably another $100 for the bag, canister, and extra chemicals.

Worked pretty well. I did have a slight dust problem, because it was a laundry room, after all. I couldn't print if a load of laundry had been done in the last day or two, but a small price to pay, really. Made some really good prints in there, actually.

Our house came with a darkroom, but I haven't gotten around to learning how to make use of it. As such it's currently the beer storage room instead.

Some day I will put it to use as a darkroom again though.

Once you've got some practice loading film onto a developing reel, you can do it in complete darkness, like in a windowless bathroom or closet at night. Once you've got the film "in the can" you can turn on the lights and process it quite easily. Truly, it is easier to process the film than to produce good quality prints, although both are well within the capabilities of the hobbyist. Perhaps the best reason to process your own film is the flexibility it gives you regarding choice of chemicals, etc. It is all but impossible today to find a lab that will process true B & W film like Tri-X or T-Max.

Audio went from analog to digital, then analog started a comeback as "true...." Digital photography has wiped out film (analog, kinda.) I wonder if film will develop (ha ha) a comeback as well. My professional photographer friend said that Hasselblad cameras are practically free today, like in the $100 range or something.

Whoa! I need to think about picking up a Hassy, then!