which film processor?

[john shiell]

I'm looking to upgrade my darkroom and interested in acquiring a secondhand "automatic film processor". Is there anybody out there can shed some light on the subject? The name Jobo ATL and CPP have been mentioned throughout this forum, but I'm in a complete muddle as to which is which. At the moment I use the combi-plan tank, which is OK. But in this cold snap I have great difficulty maintaining a constant temperature. I would also like to try and process E6, but always worried about the fluctuation in the temperature. If someone can help I would appreciate it. If all else fails I shall attend "Focus on Imaging" atr the NEC (March I think)
Happy new year to you all and lets hope its a good one...
John

[Joanna Carter]

Whether you get a Jobo CPP or CPA, or whether you get an ATL series processor, the main advantage is that it will have a water bath to maintain temperature and a motor drive to agitate the tank.

The main difference between the CPP/CPA series and the ATL series is that the ATL is a fully automatic machine, where you fill up the chemistry bottles, put your film in a tank, switch the processor on and go have a cup of tea whilst it does everything for you. After half an hour (40 mins for E6) you will have film that is ready for drying.

The CPP/CPA series are, sort of, semi-automatic, in that you have to time the various stages and fill the tank with the various chemicals and rinse water at the appropriate times. Tim Parkin has a video on his blog, demonstrating the use of the CPA type of processor.

If you can obtain an ATL series processor, I would go fo the ATL1500; this is not as big as its higher number cousins but it is also a little more sophisticated than its predeccor, the ATL1000. The ATL2500 is a brute and more suited to someone who has a dedicated room setup.

[gari]

hih John, Jobo also made a CPE and the DuaLab, both semi auto as Joanne mentions.
There is also the Nova dunk tank, SDS have a used one in at the moment, a few days ago at least. It is a set of drums in a water bath, upright. This means that it doesn't rotate so you would have to agitate yourself. It would also use more chemistry than a Jobo, problematic with E6, though not the end of the world, and no problem at all for B/W if you are using ID11,D76 et al.

I have had both a Duolab and CPE and was happy with both, automation is great but I personally never found sitting at the processor for 30 mins a major issue. The ATLs are becoming quite expensive now(actually I have noticed Jobo prices increase dramaticaly over the past 12-18 mnths.
God luck with the hunt.

Gari

[Paul Arthur]

Tim actually has a CPE2 , but the process for a CPA2 or a CPP2 is the same, the latter two are just bigger and have more spaces for water bottles.

I'd go for one of those, don't bother with the ATL as they're far too expensive, especially since you are used to spending your whole time with the film whilst it is processing.

I think Tim has a lot to answer for the prices of Jobo's increasing - by showing everyone how easy and cheap it is, he increased the demand several times over! It certainly worked on me.

[Richard Warom]

I have a Jobo CPP 2 which I now only use for B&W but I started with a CPE2 which I also used for E6 with very good results the only thing I found was that the water needed to flow in the tank as this model has no pump like the CPP2 and the flow of water keeps the temp right around the drum. I overcame this by buying a small aquarium pump with a short piece of tube attached this worked very well. I would also advise that you invest in the lift as this makes the process much more comfortable.

[timparkin]

Tim actually has a CPE2 , but the process for a CPA2 or a CPP2 is the same, the latter two are just bigger and have more spaces for water bottles.

I'd go for one of those, don't bother with the ATL as they're far too expensive, especially since you are used to spending your whole time with the film whilst it is processing.

I think Tim has a lot to answer for the prices of Jobo's increasing - by showing everyone how easy and cheap it is, he increased the demand several times over! It certainly worked on me.

!!

If I had money sloshing about my ankles, I would buy an ATL but really the CPE is excellent and allows reuse of chemicals too (I beleive the CPP is a lot bigger and has a pump to push water around (probably because of the increased volume of water). I haven't had a problem not using the lift although I can see how it might be handy if you were using longer drums.

As I say though, I've not experience with any other Jobo's so take my comments with a pinch of salt.

Tim

[gary mulder]

Take into consideration which type of developing tank you like to use. The larger expert drums cannot be used on all processors. At the moment you are maybe spoiled with the uniform development from the combi-plan tank.

[Paul Arthur]

Well I have the CPA2 and it is huge! The water bath is a different design to the CPE2, in that the water to warm the tank flows in to a trough on top, and then overflows through an outlet into a much larger trough underneath which keeps the bottles at the correct temperature. The design strikes me as much more robust that the CPE2. although you pay for it in size.

The upside to the size is that you can use big tanks for either film or prints (neither of which I need) and also the expert drums (which I can't afford).

I think any of the Jobo processors are a great place to start (and end up) and I wouldn't say it's worth going down the ATL route unless you have money coming out fo your ears.

[Joanna Carter]

I wouldn't say it's worth going down the ATL route unless you have money coming out fo your ears.

It is possible to pick up a good deal; I bought my ATL1500 for £200 and it cost me another £200 to buy the bits (like one of the tanks and a couple of reels) that were missing.

[Keith Tapscott]

I'm looking to upgrade my darkroom and interested in acquiring a secondhand "automatic film processor". Is there anybody out there can shed some light on the subject? The name Jobo ATL and CPP have been mentioned throughout this forum, but I'm in a complete muddle as to which is which. At the moment I use the combi-plan tank, which is OK. But in this cold snap I have great difficulty maintaining a constant temperature. I would also like to try and process E6, but always worried about the fluctuation in the temperature. If someone can help I would appreciate it. If all else fails I shall attend "Focus on Imaging" atr the NEC (March I think)
Happy new year to you all and lets hope its a good one...
John

The CPE2 is the entry level processor and the CPP2 is a larger version which holds larger bottles and more bottles than than the CPE2 . I have a CPA2 with the Jobo lift accessory which has the same chassis as the CPP2, but without the digital display. The CPA2 and the CPP2 will handle the largest processing drums and would be a better choice for processing large-format film-sheets, especially if you plan to buy one of the Expert-Drums.

[Peter B]

I know I spend too much time on eBay, but only 'cos there's nothing on the telly. There is a new/unused CPA2 with lift listed earlier tonight, but it's a full 10 day auction if anyone is interested. (I think there was also a CPP2 the other day as well.)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Unused-JOBO-C ... 45f04e035d