Camera Repair Course

Lesson 5: Darkroom Techniques

This lesson teaches you how to process film and make prints in the darkroom. This is a useful skill for camera technicians because cameras often have to be tested with film after they're serviced.

The lesson materials were written 30 years ago before the advent of digital, when photo labs were commonplace and film processing was relatively inexpensive. Back then darkroom skills allowed techs to save a little money (when you are in business even small savings per customer-job can add up to a lot of profit), and speed. Photo labs could take days to get film processed, but a technician with darkroom skills could process test shots immediately and get the customer's gear repaired more quickly.

Today, photo labs are rare. There are large cities in the United States that don't have a single lab. Film often has to be mailed to another city or even another state for processing, meaning a very long wait.

This lesson consists of a Study Procedures guide, a Lesson Text, and a Quiz. Read the Study Procedures first, then go to the lesson text. Read the text several times to ensure that you fully understand it before completing the quiz.

If you do not have personal darkroom experience and wish to try these techniques yourself, please check out Christopher Crawford's photography tutorials. He has videos showing step-by-step how to process film, lists of recommended materials, and his tested film developing times for a number of popular films and developers that are available today. The link will open in a new browser tab

The Quiz for Lesson Five is an online quiz. Click Here for the Lesson Five Quiz.