How does £15 for developing of 50 films of 35mm or Medium Format film, or even for 200 sheets of 4x5 film sound? Nah, it's not a scam, just a little clickbaity and it's actually incorrect - read on to see why it's actually cheaper!
Today in this post I want to discuss my experiences of trying to save cash with my film photography. Obviously film is just getting more and more expensive, especially in the last few years and there are some things you can do to save your hard earned cash to buy more film with! Please note that the links in this page are affiliate links if they go to Amazon, but if they go to other sites such as Zone Imaging or Firstcall Photographic then they're links to products or things I've historically bought and thought it worth linking to. I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you if you buy something from Amazon, but don't get anything from the other links.
Firstly, let me start by saying that I've not tried every developer under the sun, and I've never made my own chemicals. Like anything, making your own is probably going to work out cheaper once you've got all the component parts, so I'm going to refer to off the shelf developers. Additionally, this refers to home developing of black and white films.
So where did I begin? Many moons ago I started off with a bottle of Ilford DD-X, a bottle of Ilford Ilfostop, and some Ilford Rapid Fixer. I had no idea what I was doing, wasn't part of any online forums and really didn't know anyone who shot film so I was an island unto myself, so to speak. This meant that I had no frames of reference, which wasn't a bad thing in retrospect as it meant no one could laugh at my exploits - such as using my fixer as one shot fixer, and loading film onto my developing reels under the duvet! Yup - I actually did that for a short while! 🤪
Fast forward several years and many cameras joined my ever-growing collection - a couple of SLRs, my beautiful Bronica SQ-Ai, and the inevitable purchase of an Intrepid 4x5, which prompted me to explore this technique.
The build up to buying my Intrepid took me about a year or so of convincing myself and saving up. Before picking up my Intrepid 4x5, I was consigned to my Ilford Obscura pinhole, and at the time my go to developer was the fantastic 510 Pyro from James Lane of Zone Imaging. This ran to about £30 for a 100ml bottle delivered, which was good for 30 rolls of 135 or Medium Format film in a Paterson 3-reel tank. I don't mind paying for the quality of the developer, but I had my sights set on moving up to a large format field camera, and I didn't want to fork out £3ish of developer each development process. I used (and still do) my Mod54 insert in my Paterson tank which allows me to develop from one to six sheets of 4x5 at a time, but requires 1 litre of developer regardless of the number of sheets. Not particularly ideal if you want to explore N+ or N- contrast development, which I most certainly did.
So I went on the hunt for a more economical developer so my wasted sheets of film wouldn't cost as much...
Then I came across Kodak's Xtol, and watching this video decided to give it a go. I bought 5 litre pack and made it up. For storage I picked up a 5 litre home-brewing wine bladder, as also used by Patrick in the video. This would let me keep up to 5 litres of developer with a little tap so I could more easily replenish my developer.
Self-Replenishing Developer
A self-replenishing developer is a developing solution designed to maintain its strength and effectiveness through the addition of fresh developer and replenisher chemicals after developing a film. This method helps to keep the developer's composition consistent over multiple uses, ensuring consistent image quality. It is commonly used in high-volume photo labs to reduce waste and maintain efficiency. Kodak Xtol is a self replenishing so after slicing off one litre, the remaining 4 litres I made up can then be used to replenish my working solution so long as it doesn't spoil and go off... which mine did! About 1 litre from the end I discovered that my developer had gone to Developing Heaven and had spoiled. Boo! I guess some air had got into it and it had oxidised.
So I went I pick up another 5 litre packet, but couldn't find any anywhere! A little research later and I came across Adox's XT-3, a Kodak Xtol clone. That'll do, its the same formula for all intents and purposes, and the development time for all films remains the same. 5 litres was purchased, mixed up and then stored in individual concertina bottles, so I could compress them as they were depleted and also should one bottle spoil, then the rest will hopefully remain good to use.
I've made up a few 1 litre pouches and a couple of 5 litre pouches, and bought some spares in case I need any and a bottle has spoiled but so far all is good. My current batch of working developer was made up on 22nd September 2023, so coming on for a year now, and I made the replenisher bottles at the same time and stored them under the stairs where the temperature remains a bit more constant and there's no light around either.
Really 200 sheets?
So what about my bold claim at the top of this post? Well, I stick by that becuse I have 101 sheets of 4x5 developed since October 2023, PLUS 10 Medium Format rolls and 13 135 films too. I have roughly 1 litre remaining. Each 135 film or roll of medium format equates to 80 square inches of film, where as a 4x5 is obviously just 20 square inches, so multiply 23 by four and you get 92. 92 plus 101 equals 193! Right on track.
With Xtol the recommended replenishment rate was about 70ml per 80 sq in of film, whereas XT-3 don't give you a specific amount, they just say between 80-100ml. The info on the website states:
"In the case of re-using the stock solution you can process up to 10 rolls per liter. After the 5th film the developing time has to be increased by 1 minute for each following film in order to make up for the developers exhaustion".
That's too complicated for me! The easier method:
"In case of using the stock solution together with a dedicated repelisher (sic) there will be a given amount of replenisher (usually around 80 to 100ml) which you add to your stock solution to make up for the partial exhaustion. If necessary discard excess stock solution to keep the volume at 1 Liter. XT-3 as well as XTOL can be self replenished. This means fresh stock solution of regular developer can be used to replenish".
They state to replenish between 80-100ml per 80 sq in of film, so I went with 100 to try to keep the developer as consistent as possible. I didn't want a gradual weakening over time, but had I replenished at a rate of 80ml / 80 sq in of film then you can add 20% to your developing yeild! Not a bad increase. I might try this on my next batch, but my intention is to keep my working developer for at least a year.
So, 5 litres of developer will give you roughly 50 films, at 10 rolls per litre replenished. Remember though that that's after you've sliced off your first litre (or however much you need) for the working solution. Your first batch from a 5 litre powder kit will give you 1 litre of working solution and 4 remaining litres for replenishment. Other ratios are available, as you required, of course, but I went into this looking for 1 litre of working solution to cover my Mod54.
Speaking of which, when I develop just one sheet of 4x5 I only require enough developer to be replenished for 20 sq in of film (not 80), therefore I only replenish 25ml at a time. Noice!
What about cost for the Film Developing?
Today (7th July 2024), a 5 litre pack of Adox XT-3 runs at £14.90 from Firstcall Photographic. Add in their (very high) delivery charge of £7.99, that comes to £22.89. How much is that per sheet of 4x5? Well...
£22.89 develops 200 sheets of 4x5 or 50 rolls of 135 or Medium Format
That puts it at 11.445 pence PER 4x5 SHEET!
Or 45.78 pence per roll of 135 or medium format film.
😎
Image Quality
However, below is a small gallery consisting of 135, Medium Format, and Large Format 4x5 photographs I've developed using Adox XT-3 using the Replenished Stock technique. This genuinely is the only way. I've ever used Adox''s XT-3 so rest assured that each of these images has been developed in my paterson tank, using standard Ilford Agitation.
Hopefully now you can see how using a self-replenishing developer can save you some cash! Let me know your prefered developer and methods in the comments!
All the best,
Olly
*Hey! These links are affiliate links, and they'll take you through to Amazon if you wanted to check anything out. I'm sure you've seen messages like this before, but in case you've never seen an affiliate link or don't know what one is it is simply a link that earns me a small commission for referring you to Amazon for your purchases to help with the costs of running this site, and it won't cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Analogue Stuff
Ilford HP5 film - https://amzn.to/3QQcJ8E
Ilford Delta 100 film - https://amzn.to/3R3unGi
Ilford DD-X - https://amzn.to/3WbY9eP
Ilford Ilfostop - https://amzn.to/3xODMuQ
Ilford Rapid Fixer - https://amzn.to/3VXQfV0
Film Holder Pouches - https://amzn.to/4aFReOV
Glass sheets for digitising 4x5 Negatives - https://amzn.to/4bZSmxT
3-Reel Paterson Developing Tank - https://amzn.to/3zrrmcI
Mod54 - https://amzn.to/3VVQK1T
Kaiser 500-1000ml Accordion Bottle - https://amzn.to/3XQyNnV
RALENO LED panel for digitising at home - https://amzn.to/3ynJFz4
Sous Vide for developing at home - https://amzn.to/3WJhftl
Don't fancy buying anything off Amazon but still want to help me out a bit, then you can always buy me a brew 🙂
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