Hit 200 rolls developed at home this week and I'm kinda shocked

I started developing black and white film back in March after a friend gave me an old stainless steel tank and a broken thermometer. This week I loaded roll number 200 into my Patterson tank and it hit me that I actually stuck with this hobby for once. Most of those rolls are just me messing around with a beat up Pentax Spotmatic I found at a thrift store for $15. I ruined at least 30 rolls in the beginning because my developer temp was way off or I forgot to agitate. But now I can nail exposure compensation without even thinking and my negatives come out clean almost every time. The biggest surprise was how much money I saved doing it myself since a lab in my town charges $12 per roll just for develop only. Has anyone else kept count of how many rolls they've done at home?

2 comments

2 Comments

johnfoster13d ago

I read somewhere that developing your own film is like a superpower for saving money, lol.

danielmartinez12d ago

Yeah, the "superpower for saving money" part caught my eye. I used to think it was just a money pit, but then I actually tried it and realized how much you save compared to paying a lab every time.