Overheard a guy at my local lab say he develops C-41 in his bathroom sink

I was dropping off some Portra at the photo lab in Austin last week and this older dude was telling the clerk he does all his color processing in his bathroom with a sous vide and no darkroom setup. He said he gets great results and saves like $15 a roll. Has anyone else tried developing color film without a proper darkroom setup?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver5234d ago

but what about the temperature swings when you open the door or flush the toilet? i'm genuinely curious how he keeps everything steady with a sous vide in a bathroom. like, those things are designed for a pot of water on a counter, not a porcelain sink with airflow and drafts. does he just leave the water running for the whole dev time or what? i've messed around with black and white in my kitchen but color is way more fussy about temp and timing. seems like a lot of faith in a kitchen gadget and a prayer lol.

beth_baker696d agoMost Upvoted

Hold up, a sous vide? Like the thing people use to cook steak? lmao I mean I get the logic for keeping the chemicals at a steady temp but that just sounds like a recipe for pink chicken and ruined negatives all at once. I can barely trust myself not to spill coffee on my scans, I can't imagine trying to develop color film in a bathroom sink like it's no big deal. More power to him I guess if it works, but that's some next level confidence right there lol.