Ditched my fancy developing tank for a plastic Paterson tank and honestly it's been way less frustrating

After 6 months of fighting with a stainless steel tank that kept giving me uneven development, I switched to a Paterson tank last week and got perfectly even negatives on the first try, has anyone else found that simpler tanks just work better for home development?

2 comments

2 Comments

nora11022d ago

Oh, have you had the stainless steel ones leak developer all over your kitchen counter? I spilled a whole tank of fresh Rodinal on my mom's vintage tablecloth once, it was a disaster. My Paterson tank has this weird quirk where the center column sometimes pops off mid-agitation and then the reel just floats around in there. I've learned to hold the lid down with my thumb while I spin it, feels like a top secret operation but the results are so even it's worth it.

jenny_hall22d ago

My friend Steve had a stainless steel tank for like three months and every batch came out with these weird streaks on the negatives. He finally borrowed my Paterson tank and his first roll was perfect. He texted me a photo of the negatives on a light table and said it was the best development he'd ever done. And @nora110 mentioned the lid thing - Steve actually had the center column pop off once during a late night session and it woke up his whole house when the tank hit the floor. He still swears by the Paterson now though.