Film Developing Equipment List
In this list I reveal the best cost efficient tools for processing, and these tools come from all different stores. This is the exact equipment I use, along with the practices I use them for. I started home development back in 2018 to save money, to save time, to have creative control over my images. I enjoy the hands-on approach, but it’s understandable that not everyone has the interest, time and space to learn, but I wouldn’t hesitate and would encourage for you to look into it if you have any interest. I have done the research and have compiled it to this one place, searching around for all the answers is the hard part and it’s all right here. The upfront cost may seem steep, but if you invest into it all at once, you can move past the logistics and searching, and go right into making images. Developing requires multi-tasking and thinking ahead a few steps, but once it’s been done a few times, that period of a few months of learning will equate to confidence and the comfort of knowing you are truly self-sufficient.
ECN-2 Buy List
This list contains exactly the tools you will need to develop ECN-2. The ECN-2 equipment list may look extensive, but it buying this equipment will allow you to process C-41 and B&W as well.
PPE & Mixing
This might go overlooked, but it is important to block these chemicals from entering the body. Skin absorbs whatever is on it, and invisible vapor that we cannot see will arise when working with chemicals. To protect yourself, use a respirator when mixing chemicals (vapor), gloves to protect your skin, and safety glasses in case there is any backsplash or vapor. Research long term health effects of workers from Sodium Sulfite mines, or any of the listed chemicals, it’s just better to be safe!
Sodium Carbonate MSDS
Sodium Bicarbonate MSDS
Sodium Sulfite MSDS
Potassium Bromide MSDS
CD-3 MSDS
Potassium Ferricyanide MSDS
Processing
A separate bath for Developer is essential, not only because it is a different temperature than the rest of the solutions, but because any runoff that might occur. For instance, you don’t want a spot on bleach in the heating water of Developer. Chances of crossover occur when you do multiple sessions in a row using the same bath water.
Developer is 106F
Stop, Bleach and Fixer are 100F
Stopping the Center Column with B’s Penguins
This is optional, but if you use a rotary machine, like a B’s processor , with Paterson tanks , then for the center column to rotate with the tank, the center spool must have a penguin in them so the column is stopped. This mimics how the Jobo works. The reason I use Paterson is because for ECN-2 processing you must shake the hell out of the tank, and the Paterson is one unit, while the Jobo can be a multi unit tank. There’s a risk that your hand slips and loosens one of the pieces, thereby making a leak or worse- exposing all the film in the tank. I also like how with the Paterson reels you don’t need to physically touch the film, you load the film leader into the ball bearings, then move the reel back and forth. In contrast , to get film into a Jobo reel, you need to use your hands to push it through the reel. The last reason is, Paterson is cheaper and gives EDU discounts on B&H. The plastic feels more sturdy on the Paterson, I’ve worked in labs where Jobo’s leak, or chip.
Temperature
The temperature of the developer is most critical, so it gets its own thermometer. It’s easy to take temperature by using a clip to hold it in the chemistry while it’s heating.
Manual Remjet Removal & Hanging
While the prebath removal stage gets rid of much of the remjet, the rest needs to get manually removed after the fixer wash. I use a foam paint roller with a microfiber on top, for extra cushiony removal that won’t damage the sensitive emulsion.
Use a clip with teeth to hang the film after doing a few passes with the microfiber, then fold up two Kimwipes and do 1 pass on the film. This does two things, it dries the base of the film so that there are no water marks, and guarantees no remjet.
Bottle Cleaning & Filtering Remjet
Overtime you will notice the bottles start to accumulate build up on the inside. It is good practice to grab a dedicated bottle cleaner and scrub the sides, and possibly even use white vinegar to clean it up. If you let the scum build up, it may affect results, by changing pH and introducing inactive chemical into the new active chemical. For instance, I had a fixer bottle I did not clean for several months, and I started to see small white dots on my images. When I deduced it, I realized after buying a new bottle for the fixer, that it went away.
The filters are for the trace amounts of dust that are left in the prebath. Prebath is the first chemical your film will encounter in the ECN-2 process. It will be contaminated with all the dust your film had on it while in the camera and while handling, and in the tank. Developer and bleach leave trace amounts of remjet. While in fixer you will filter out the silver.
Darkroom Equipment List for Processing ECN-2 at Home
ANOVA Cooker Mini (ANOVA) $49.00 x2 = $98.00, A sous vide, for heating a tempered bath.Foam Paint Roller (Ace Hardware) $5.99Darkroom Bag (AliExpress) $15.50Leader Retriever (AliExpress) $5.601 Liter Wide Mouth Bottles x2 (AliExpress) $4.705mL Graduated Cylinder (AliExpress) $2.24, Final Rinse is 1mL per 200mL25mL Graduated Cylinder (AliExpress) $4.31, Stop Bath is 16mL per 1L50mL Graduated Cylinder (AliExpress) $4.04, For Rodinal or HC-110Microfiber (AliExpress) $4.08 for 50 pcsPaterson Tank & Reel (B&H) $33.99Kinetronics Soft Microfiber Anti-Static Cloth (B&H) $9.99Air Blaster (B&H) $17.99Delta Steel Film Clips 10 Pack (B&H) $19.99300mL Graduated Cylinder (B&H) $8.95, Fixer can be a 1+4 dilution, but varies by manufacture.12” Paterson Color Thermometer (B&H) $34.96, The most accurate thermometer in .5F increments.6L Food Storage Container (Chefs Toys) $6.4912Q Food Storage Container (Chefs Toys) $15.991 Liter Plastic Measuring Cup x2 (Dollar Tree) $1.25Reusable Long-Cuff Glove (Dollar Tree) $1.25Respirator N95 (Harbor Freight) $18.99Eye Protection (Harbor Freight) $3.99Microfiber for Drying Equipment (Harbor Freight) $3.99Kimwipes (Office Supply) $3.19DOTline Stirring Paddle (Samy’s Camera) $5.95Filters (WalMart) $2.97
Total cost is $334.97 to acquire all equipment and to process any type of film -ECN2, C41, B&W, and E6 can be used with this setup. Just add more bottles for the chemistry keeping.
Storage
The plastic wide-mouth bottles I have listed above are wonderful, they are HDPE and are fluorinated treated. What that means is chemicals will not react with the plastic and made specifically for storing chemicals. If you only process every-so-often I would recommend amber Boston round glass bottles.
Negative Handling
Lint-free, made well. I’ve bought one from Freestyle and a different kind from B&H and they were both horrible and ran small in size. They were uncomfortable and cheaply made. I found these on Amazon, and they are made much better than anything I’ve found at actual photographic supplies stores. The cheapest pair at Freestyle is $7, here you’ll get 12 pairs for less than $12 and they are made better.
Chances are you have one of these for your camera, or an anti-static brush for the negatives. I recently discovered using a black light will see dust really well. Shining a light on the negative can help show dust too. It’s better to use dry air instead of canned air. Canned air you’ll have moisture, and you’ll have to keep buying once out. The air blaster won’t need to be replaced.