I’ve done a little looking and haven’t found a kit that doesn’t also have a bunch of crap you don’t want or weird, expensive chemistry starter kits that give you just enough to develop two rolls. i’m not saying they’re not out there, but I haven’t run across one yet.
So what @Pork_Rind posted. From what I can see, he’s recommending the chemical storage bottles ($33) and the Patterson/Ilford processing kit ($200); plus a chemical.
No, not that kit, sorry if I was confusing. You need the mixing beakers as in that kit. But that kit is a terrible value because of the gimmicky starter chemistry pack.
I did a search on Amazon for 35mm mixing beakers, and didn’t find anything 35mm film processing mixing specific.
They don’t need to be. Just get some cheap graduated beakers like so:
In other film photography news, I sent three camera bodies to Garry’s Camera Repair for service today. romansperson graciously gave me an Olympus OM-1N body, lens, and carrying bag. Unfortunately, the film advance lever is ‘disconnected’. I was chatting with the guy at the camera shop today, and he said that usually has something to do with a spring under the bottom cover. The shop no longer does repairs, so I sent it to Garry’s. My Pentax K1000 needs new light seals, so I sent it for new ones and a CLA. The mirror on my Pentax SV is locked up. Garry’s doesn’t have the SV in their drop-down menu, but they do have the Spotmatic. AFAICT, the cameras are the same, except the Spotmatic has a light meter and the SV doesn’t. So in a month or so, I should (hopefully) have three more usable cameras.
@beowulf: Thanks. I’ve put them into my cart. Oh, and I’ve ordered the book mentioned earlier.
ETA: I’ve also added chemical storage bottles (different ones), a Patterson tanks, and another changing bag. I’ll need to be reminded what chemicals to get for B&W processing.
I found this video review of the Pentax K1000. The guy is almost as enthusiastic about it, as @minor7flat5 is about the Canon AE-1 Program and A-1.
Batteries
Looking at my FM2 and FM3a manuals, they call for one 3v lithium battery, two 1.55v silver oxide batteries, or two 1.55v alkaline batteries.
I only have 76A alkaline batteries, which it looks like I can use. The dead batteries in the cameras are 303/357 silver oxide batteries, and I’ve ordered some more that will arrive Monday; so I’m just asking for information.
Is there any reason not to use alkaline batteries instead of silver oxide batteries? Aside from being a single cell, is there an advantage to using the lithium cell?
I would think the Lithium cell would last much longer.
Boy, now I want to find a perfect K1000. What a great camera!
And it has the same unfortunate feature as my new Rollei…the light meter is on whenever it sees light. I have an Ikea display case in the dining room filled with small steam engines and a few cameras, and that’s a perfect place to display the Rollei 35 when not in use, but I’ll have to take out the battery in order to have it sitting around outside of its case.
There’s a reason they sold 3 million of them! (Of course I still prefer the OM-1. 
)
Here’s a Pentax K1000 New (unused) in box. It’s $500, but where else are ya gonna get a NIB vintage camera? One person has it in his cart.
Anyway, here’s a search on ‘Pentax K1000 mint’. Looks like about the $150 range.
It strikes me that the K1000, FM2, and OM-1 are all pretty much the same. (I don’t know about, or have, a Canon equivalent of these mechanical, manual exposure cameras.) Once the K1000 comes back from CLA I should think about doing a comparison.
I received a Pentax Takumar-A 28-80mm 1:3.5-4.5 zoom lens with a front cap and a Tiffen haze filter in the mail today. Twenty-five bucks (plus tax and shipping).
It looks like the K1000/FM2/OM-1 equivalent from Canon is the Canon FTb I found one in near-mint condition on eBay for $99.90, or $152 with tax and shipping from Japan. Too cheap to pass up. By the time the K1000 is CLA’d, I’ll have a manual, mechanical camera from each company.
Light meter recalibration
The light meter in my OM-1 was recalibrated a few years ago to work with modern 1.5v cells. I should do that for all of my cameras that were designed for mercury cells, but the local shop that worked on the OM-1 closed last year. Does anyone have recommendations for a reputable shop to do this?
Personally I’d just get the adapters that step down the voltage of the modern batteries. They’re not cheap, but neither is electronic service these days if you can even find a person.
And as I type that, I realize that’s not even what I do. None of the cameras that I snoot with use a battery, but my old Gossen Luna Pro meters do. And for those, I just use the Wein cells. In theory, the adjustment screws that would allow me to recalibrate for a modern battery are easily accessibly, but there are FIVE of them, and they interact in pairs. I’ve got one of my meters close, but man is that process an ass-pain.
I think my dog helped my type that.
I was going to get one (or more) from Amazon, but I was concerned because most reviews are not visible, and two of the three that were visible said it didn’t work.
Yeah, I don’t think anybody thinks those Domke ones on Amazon work. But the Criscam ones I linked to seem to have a good reputation.
I’ve ordered one from your link, along with a cell. Bloody expensive; but if it works, I’ll buy more.
Gotta say, there’s nothing quite like seeing a nice photo come out of a roll to rekindle one’s spirits after unpleasantness.
I was in a foul mood yesterday because I went out with the Rollei 35 to shoot, got home, developed the roll, and they were all black. I went to use my shutter tester on the camera and noticed it had developed a sticky shutter, it doesn’t close fully, likely because the spring was in tension for fifty years…nothing I’m about to fix. Grumble. It’s now in the display case as a shelf queen until I feel motivated to work on it.
So I grabbed my half-frame Pentax 17 this afternoon before I went to the gym and was going to repeat the photos I had taken…2 of a USPS mailbox, one of a fire hydrant, and so forth. Then I had a guy come and act super threatening because I dared to photograph in his direction…with a half frame camera with grainy HP5 at fifty yards, nothing but a blob. He was more than just an ordinary angry person, he seemed like a gangbanger type, with the thousand-yard stare. I really felt threatened and I got out of there.
With those two events completely souring my day and my feelings for photography, I went for my run.
Afterwards, I decided to go finish the roll anyway.
I’m super glad because it’s shots like these that remind me I love film because of the art, not just because of using old cameras. And I need thicker skin.
(By the way, Johnny, it took me 15 minutes to develop the roll, about an hour for it to dry, and about 15 minutes to scan, add metadata, and so forth.)
These are in my shopping cart:
Patterson tank & two reels
3x 1 litre storage bottles
Plastic graduated beakers; 50ml, 100ml, 150ml, 250ml
Changing bag
Film cassette opener
Yes, I could use a church key instead of a dedicated opener. Yes, I could use my Harrison changing tent, or find my changing bag.
I have an instant-read thermometer that I use for cooking. I don’t think I need a squeegee.
I think I need the following:
- Developer (liquid, to start out with. e.g., Ilford Ilfotek DD-X)
- Fixer (e.g. Fotographer’s Formulary TF-4 Archival Rapid Fixer)
- Wetting agent (e.g., Forma Flo)
The above is based on this B&H video. I also found this 43 minute video that I haven’t watched yet.
If you have any suggestions, please post links (preferably Amazon).
Clips for hanging film to dry. Binder clips are fine but the made for purpose clips are cheap and have a nice hook.
A three-ring binder and negative sleeves.
A plastic tub that can hold all your chemicals and tools that can also double as a workspace that contains spills and drips.
Masking tape and sharpie for labeling your bottles and noting the date made and for the fixer, how many rolls developed.
Edit: a dead roll of film to practice loading the reels in the light. Loading is easy, but does require a few practice runs before you get the feel for how it all works.
Edit edit: nice to have - a cheap LED light table and a loupe for looking at your news.