I have a shed that is completely dark. It has no windows, and is very well insulated. It is actually quite large and is amazingly dark. I plan to go to photography school fall semester. About how much does it cost to set up an efficient dark room? I actually already have a work bench that is a nice fair height ( about a couple inches under my chest.) It stretches across the whole length of the shed. The shed is about 14 X 16 ft, maybe a little larger.
So how much approximately is this going to cost me. Exclude the cost of the camera. How much are chemicals, and the rest of the equipment?
No stupid remark, no wikipedia copy and pastes.
Thank you. The previous estimates are, in my opinion, only reasonable if you're pricing brand new items. With darkrooms being the endangered species that they are, you can get started for $200 or less easily.
I have a very nice darkroom set-up which cost me under $100 for everything.
First of all, to develop film you need a developing tank. New ones run anywhere from $10 to over $100. On Ebay, you can get an older stainless steel two-roll tank and reels for around $20-30. This will last you forever. For a while, I used a Yankee Clipper, which is literally the cheapest developing tank on the market($10 from B&H photo), but was bad enough that I don't recommend that you actually try to use one. I upgraded to an old Omega stainless steel tank, along with a half dozen reels, for free when a local lab when out of business last summer.
For the casual home darkroom user, I'd suggest using concentrated liquid chemicals, which will last a long, long time even if you're not using them provided that you squeeze all the air out of the bottle. You need film developer, print developer, and a rapid fixer. Skip the stop bath, as you don't need to use one. I'd also suggest getting some Photoflo.
You'll need to invest in some graduated cylinders. Plastic is fine-you don't need the accuracy of glass, and it's not fun to break a glass cylinder in the dark. For starters, get a 2 oz. cylinder and a 20 oz. cylinder. This should cover most all of your needs. I'd also suggest getting a plastic graduated medicine dropper from the drug store for measuring small amounts.
You don't need to spend a lot on a thermometer. I use a spirit-filled glass lab thermometer which was about $6. Kodak makes a decent spirit-filled "darkroom" thermometer for about $12. Unless you specifically want a digital thermometer, anything more expensive than this is overkill.
I use dish tubs and paint trays to develop prints-they work fine for anything smaller than 8x10, and are a lot less expensive than(and work just as well as) proper print trays.
The enlarger at one time was the most expensive single investment. I got lucky and got an Omega C700 at a yard sale for $2. The same model, which will handle negatives as large as 6x7, can be had on Ebay for under $50 with the negative carriers and so forth.
This should be plenty to get you started on a budget.
By the way, there's very little chance your shed is completely dark. If it's not, you can just use a changing bag for about $20 to load your film on the developing reels.
Also, running water is nice, but not an absolute necessity. Get yourself a few 5-gallon buckets. Keep hot water in some, and cold water in others. You should be able to make up any temperature of water you need, and not run out at an inconvenient time.
Also, developer can go down the drain. Fixer needs to have the silver removed before doing so. If you toss some steel wool into spent fixer, you'll eventually get silver sludge that can be sold for silver recovery, and then the remaining liquid can be safely poured down the drain. Alternatively, I add hydrochloric acid, which immediately precipitates out silver chloride. I then filter this, leaving solid silver chloride, and a liquid that can be poured down the drain. About $200 for chemistry
$50 for trays.
$400 for hardware.
These prices are at the high end. You can probably do it for much less if you shop wisely. I am assuming 35mm. 6x7cm or 8x10" will be much higher. You can expect to spend a few thousand dollars.
An enlarger, neg carriers, lenses, paper easels, paper safe two timers (one for the enlarger and one for developing your film and paper), developing trays, film developing tanks and reels. safe light(s), paper cutter, grain focuser, loupe, light table, tongs, funnels, thermometer, film dryer (or dust free box) and of course the chemicals (which you will have to take to a hazmat recycle location when the are exhausted)
For that reason, I use the schools darkroom and let my 4x5 omega sit in the garage until my son decides if he wants it or not.
NOTE: If you are only going to develop film, the a good developing tank with reels and a calibrated thermometer will be the most expensive hardware, that and the cost of building a dust free box that you can hang your film in while it dries overnight.
Chemicals (developer and fixer) are relatively inexpensive.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/ I tried that and it runs about 3000 not including chemistry and then you have to factor in repairs. Its also going to cost you a little to completely light proof the shed. It's not worth it, if your a student use your school Darkroom and then get on the good side of the staff and they will probably let you in if you need to work. THEN once your making the money CONSIDER making a darkroom at home
The operational costs are HIGH because you cant stockpile chemicals
OH and the shed might not be a good idea because you need a sink and it has to be pretty well ventilated ....you should also be able to keep a constant temp of about 68 degrees One of the most important things you'll need is a sink, or at least close acsess to a sink. This is important, since you need it to stop the developing or fixing cycles, or just to rinse the film at the end.
From the pricing that I've done, chemicals are really cheap. A small bag of fixer and developer cost around $5. For a larger bag of chemicals, the price goes up to $10-$20, but only buy these if you plan to use it. I find the smaller bags work better. A good size bottle of Hypo clear costs $5. I just mix the chemicals in some old plastic jugs. Store them in a dark location. After that, a film reel costs around $20-$30. Metal reels are expensive, but they take time and practice to master; and even then there are mistakes. If you mess up with a metal reel, your film could easily be ruined. Because of this, I found it a better option to buy a double plastic reel for $30. It's much easier than loading a metal reel, and is quite faster, too. You'll need film clips as well, to allow the film to dry evenly. You can buy a drying box, but these cost $1200, last I checked. But for $.99, you can buy to film clips. This takes care of the developing of the film. Total: $41.
Of course you'll need to print the film. This is where things get more expensive. You'll need trays, which can be easily found for $10. A good thermometer will be $20. You'll need more chemicals for developing and fixing the paper. This will be around $30-$40. Paper costs about $10, and a paper cutter will be about the same. Here comes the real investments. Now, you need an enlarger and a "red" light. It's actually an amber brown light, but red is easier to say. Anyway, a used englarger can be found for $250-$500. You'll need a good lens, too. If you skip out on the lens, your prints will not look so good. So, add another $250-$500. Of course, the better the quality, the more expensive things will be. For the "red" light, this can be very expensive, or very cheap. When I was printing my own film, I had a light setup that cost $1000. However, you can find cheap version red lights at Ritz camera for $40. I've never used these before, but they must work. To what extent, I don't know. Total cost: $600 or more. Most likely more.
Hope this helps. First, "amazingly dark" may not be dark enough. Sit in the shed, with everything shut up for a good five or ten minutes. If you can see ANYTHING, it may not be dark enough. Next, think about how uncomfortable that shed will be, in summer, when you have plugged up all the holes that admit light.
Also, think about all the chemicals you will be exposed to in a small space with uncirculated air.
Lightproofing and ventilation will be costs to consider before you get to any hardware or accessories. Dont forget the need for running water, sinks and electricity.
As far is the hardware, you might consider looking for used equipment from a trusted source. Many camera stores take in used equipment as trade ins for photogs upgrading. Most of these should offer some kind of limited warranty on what they sell. This should save you some serious bucks if you want top of the line gear. |
