Why developing C-41 color film at home is easier than B&W

Today I'm describing 3 reasons why developing C-41 color film at home is not nearly as intimidating as it may seem. Then I load up some film and develop it!

[NickPayneHH]

This is the best tutorial on color film development I've seen on YouTube. Great work!

[Being_Joe]

The Sous Vide is a game changer. Hardest part of C41 is the temps. For black and white development I keep a bottle of distilled water in the fridge and mix with room temp until I have what I need.

[dalehammond]

The developing tent is the way to go. I struggled with a flat bag for way too long.

[melody]

The sous vide is kind of the key element here. Also though you have to understand that with black and white the temperature literally doesn't matter all you do is adjust your developing time to the temperature recommended. And then it just works. And you can use any developer they're all going to give you results as long as you're using a normal film you can put in almost any combination. Plus the only tools you're going to need is the film developed in fixer and a tank and that's literally it you don't need anything else

[boerge]

The video explains very well how to develop color film with C-41 at home. Thanks very much! I did not yet know the formula for extending the time and will incorporate it into my workflow in the future. I have a few additions based on my experience. After the developer, I rinse 3x with water of the same temperature, which keeps the subsequent bleach clean. The Photoflow used at the end, I also use several times, in which I put on a bottle with demineralized water and Photoflow. This saves chemicals and money.

[agubser]

The glove trick is fantastic! I was having a hard time loading 120 because of the humidity issue. Just loaded a roll with gloves and it went on like butter!

[satyarod]

This is great! I thought that B&W would be easier as the temperature issue for color seemed complicated! But you have explained it very well with how the Sous Vide can help - that does not seem so daunting! Definitely will try this with a SV.

[frankdiscussion]

For b&w film all you need is a b&w developer of some kind (Rodinal) at room temp.. Forget buying a chemical "stop bath" solution just use running water then use a fixer (Ilford). It works for any 35mm b&w film. I did it for 25 years this way. Negatives came out beautiful.

[eherrmann]

I just developed a couple of rolls this afternoon, and definitely agree that C-41 is easier than B&W. One tip I would like to pass along is don't screw up like I did today and mistake a roll of Tri-X for Ektar. oops!
I will say this though, the film comes out a nice clear purple color.

[cecilsharps]

I just started shooting film again after 13 years. I use a laser thermometer gun, aquarium heater and a b's rotary processor to make the process a little easier and more consistent. I plan on picking up a sous vide and shooting some color eventually. I want to get more consistency in the black and white before hopping to color. great vid.

[gabrielsilvaz]

The Patterson tank lid is designed to be pressed in the middle as you’re putting it on the tank to create suction

[nicklopro]

Already agree with the premise man! I gotta do 4 steps with dev, stop, fix, and hypo for BW. The only thing hard about color is babying the temp and agitating every 30 seconds. Love your content man! Very informative. I'm starting to think I gotta get serious about my film photography youtube stuff. Nobody seems to like the silly stuff i do, but there's already so much informational detail oriented stuff out there it doesn't feel like me to try and produce that. Anyway, I have subscribed. See you on the scroll!

[batex]

Nice shots and great info! I tried color once before but found it much more finicky than black & white. You've convinced me to give the Sous Vide a try. Appreciate the little tips too. Did not know you could get two rolls onto a Paterson reel. Love the dropper hole in the PhotoFlo lid. I've been shooting with X-Ray film for a while, it's a great film for testing old cameras. Would love to see a video of how you are using it.

[musa]

Narrator: Its not. But its easier than most think. This video taught me how to develop color.

[jorgemtrevino]

Doesn't your fridge have a cool water dispenser? Mine (a GE) serves me water at 14ºC; for B&W I just let it reach 18 while I load the tank and the developer reaction will bring ot to 20º faster than you can say *cool!* 😉

The best storage is 1L mason jars or equivalent. Fill them to the brim as the volume decreases with glass marbles.
Cs41 lasts me for a year and over 40 rolls by adding 10" for every roll developed.
Try Jobo tanks and reels. I process by rotation floating them in my tempering bath.
Leave your storage bottles outside and just heat the needed volume, it will be faster.
No concern about longevity; I have film shot 55 years ago.

[IncendiaHL]

4:10 just remember to never develop exactly 40 rolls, because the math might collapse into a black hole.

[buranagel]

temperature control is a pain in the ass even with a sous vide, for bw you can just use some room temp rodinal and fixer

[ramzx]

hey Kerrenton, what's the trick you used to double load one roll of 120 onto the reel?

[vilacron]

noob here. is the prewash fluid just water?

[krzysztofdrozd]

Question for you. Do high ISO film exhaust developer quicker? Rollei kit says that 400 ISO and higher = less rolls/litre. I'm just before my first color dev at home, so no experience with that.