FREE Report Shows You Just How EASY It Is to Make Money With Your Camera!!!

Click Here

A darkroom is simply a dark area where you can handle your film without exposing it to any light. For those just getting started in photography, this usually means converting a small area of the home to help setup your very own darkroom. But once you know what room you're going to use, what darkroom equipment are you going to need?

Starter Kits

Perhaps the easiest way to get all the darkroom equipment you need is to get your hands on a darkroom starter kit. These usually provide you with everything you need to develop your first film, and are useful if you want to save time. However, if you're planning on doing this for a while, and want the best choice of equipment, it helps to buy everything separately.

Processing Tanks

The first piece of darkroom equipment to buy is a processing tank. These are used for keeping the film out of the light while you work on what you need to work on.

Stainless steel and plastic tanks are the most common: the main benefit of choosing steel tanks is that they are durable and generally last a long time. Plastic tanks are more likely to break and crack. Steel tanks are also good for temperature control, though at times the caps may be difficult to remove. It's up to you which type of processing tank you choose.

Chemicals

Now you need to buy the chemicals required for processing the film. The chemicals come in both liquid and powder forms. If you opt for the latter, make sure you only use it in well ventilated areas so that you can avoid breathing it in.

On top of this, you're going to need a place to store these chemicals. They're sensitive to light, so you should only do this using opaque containers. You'll also find that chemicals react with oxygen in the air, eventually causing them to go bad. Some containers are designed with certain features to help avoid this problem.

Stop Bath

The last thing you'll need to buy is a stop bath. This is a way of lowering the pH level of the solution and stopping the developing process. Although water could be used for this, it isn't the most efficient choice. Instead, most people make use of acetic acid that has a pH level of 3.

It might look like you need a lot for darkroom equipment! It might take time in the beginning, but once you're set up you'll have everything you need to develop all the photographs you want.

These are just the most basic things you'll need to put into your darkroom. One other useful item to add is a dark room timer to get the very best photograph results. Take a look at Gralab 300 timer for an excellent timer option.