Developing black-and-white film at home
Less complicated than it looks, cheaper than a lab, and strangely calming.
I started developing my own black-and-white film when the local lab doubled its prices. Six months later I would not go back.
What you need
A changing bag, a developing tank with reels, a thermometer, three bottles of chemistry (developer, stop bath, fixer) and somewhere to hang the negatives. The whole kit costs about the same as developing ten rolls at a lab.
The process
Load the film in the dark bag, pour in the developer at 20 °C, agitate for ten seconds every minute, then stop, fix and rinse. A full roll takes about forty minutes including washing.
Mistakes I made
Kinked film on the reel, water marks from hard tap water and one roll that was completely blank because I forgot to advance the film in the camera. That last one was not the chemistry's fault.
Tip: A few drops of wetting agent in the final rinse prevents most drying marks.