That $50 developing tank I cheaped out on totally wasted my film

I bought a plastic Paterson clone off Amazon for about $50 thinking I was saving money over the real thing. First roll I loaded, the reel jammed halfway through and the film stuck together in a mess. Took me 3 tries to get a decent roll out of it, but the scratches are still visible on every frame. Anyone else found a budget tank that actually works or should I just bite the bullet and get the genuine one?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_spencer23d ago

Did you check the reel for burrs before loading?

vera51423d agoMost Upvoted

Forgot to check it before loading and it chewed up my first twenty feet of line something awful. Made a right mess of things and I had to cut it all out and start over. Lesson learned the hard way, that's for sure.

young.kim23d ago

Check the reel for sharp edges or rough spots with your finger before you load it. Hit them with a little fine grit sandpaper if you find any, usually fixes the problem.