Universal Compact Developing Tank 2 Spiral Reel for Processing 120 135 126 127 B/W Film Camera Film Processing Equipment

After VERY long time (several decades) I have returned to developing 120 film. My prior experience was with totally diffrent tank and diffrent loading routine. 135mm film is not a problem, but youtube is full of clips about how not easy is to load 120 film into Patterson tank, and what kind of magic trick one can try. After some search I have found this tank which was praised for great spiral reel and easy film loading. I have tried it today and that was a blast. Film loading was so easy that I would not hesitate to characterize this spiral reel as self-loading. Basically you cannot make mistake. Film goes itself, no tricks is necessary and film stays put during development process. The rest is usual. Tank IS NOT designed for inversion mixing and will leak. Use it with rotational stirring. Total tank volume is about 750-800 ml and about 600-650 ml will cover loaded120 film roll. This is it. Price is good. If you do not like rotational stirring just try spiral reel from this tank as somoebody else said here on Amazon. Highly recommend.

Nice reels, makes loading a little easier. It leaks chemicals if you fill it into the throat.

As other people have said, the only thing good with this product are the film reels but besides that it does not work. The cap of the container should have a tight seal around the top but it is very loose causing the photo developing chemicals to leak all over the place which is a safety hazard all around.

This is a typical plastic developing tank. Reading the description it says: Material Stainless Steel.There is no stainless steel in this product. It also says not to invert the tank while processing, but I did and had no issues. I grasped the tank with my hand over the lid so it was held on. I found the little agitator very awkward to use so I didn't. This will do two 135 rolls, one 127, or one 120 at a time. I really would have liked to do two 120 but this will do for now. Thirty-three bucks seems just a bit high.

Easy load reels are nice.

no leak

This is a review after developing 1 roll. I have Patterson and AP photo plastic tanks for comparison. I would describe this as a copy of the AP version (sold under many names). All the pieces are interchangeable, but noticeably lighter and thinner. For normal use, should not be an issue, but does feel cheaper when directly comparing. The reels are the more desirable "big tab" type, smaller than the AP with a slightly different orientation of the tabs. I had no issues loading. The leak is real, if you invert. The red plastic lid does not fit as tightly as the AP lid. Overall, great value, as an AP reel goes for about 1/2 the price of this entire kit, and the leak is not an issue if you agitate.

The reels on this tank are the only good thing about it. They have broad, flat ramps that are easy to feel in the dark and that guide the film nicely. B&H sells the same reels for 18 or 19 dollars each and they are a definite improvement over the patinson style reals.The tank itself is complete trash. Badly designed and extremely leaky. There's a lip under the cap that's supposed to seal it that doesn't drain back into the tank, so chemistry will collect there when you fill or empty the tank. The cap that is supposed to make it water tight leaks so much that lip is guaranteed to be filled with whatever was -- past tense, WAS -- in the tank. And it does not seal. At all. Like, hold the tank upside down with the cap on and it'll just keep dripping endlessly.Suggestion, if it's less than $35 buy it just for the reels which cost about half that if bought separately. Then keep the reels for your patinson or other compatible tank, then throw everything else away. Don't try to use it, it WILL go badly. Then go buy the name brand tank that actually seals in the chemistry for the most part and use it with these reels.

6回ほど使用しています。自分のだけかもしれませんが、リールにバリ？欠け？があり、たまにフィルムが引っ掛かります。ただ、慣れるとなんとかなります。安いのでしかたがないのかもしれません。攪拌するときに逆さにするとたまに液が滴るのですが、私のだけでしょうか？