The Untaken Photos smallest movie film development tank. Created specifically for Regular 8 cine film (also known as Magazine 8 or Standard 8). Small enough to load in a darkbag, and still develop two 25′ rolls of film in 650mL of chemistry. Shoot and project the same day!

Our Regular 8 tank is fully contained in a 7″x3″ circular tank. It needs no funnels, no tubes, and requires no additional accessories. Pour your preferred developer in from the top, agitate with the twizzle stick, and pour out the side. No funnels, easy handling, no spills (some spills, let’s be honest here it is diy film development).

The Regular 8 tank processes two rolls of 25’ long, 16mm wide film, this is commonly known as Regular 8, Standard 8, sometimes Double 8 or even Magazine 8. It cannot process super 8. The Super 8 negative is 8mm wide and will not load correctly.

We print all of our development tanks with PETG, a chemically stable material for common photographic processing chemicals. The Untaken Photo’s development tanks are compatible with most common developers, stops, fixers, bleaches, and blixes. B&W negative, B&W reversal, and E-6 kits all have been tested.

Quick liability note: It would be impossible for us to test all possible chemistry combinations (diafine anyone?), if you are trying something novel let us know and we’ll see if it’s compatible! Home film development is a common and fun process, but all responsibility to be safe is yours.

Loading 25′ of film is intimidating in the light, let alone the dark. So we added a few features to make it easier. There are slots in the top of the reel to feel if the film has been loaded correctly. The center post used to turn the reel while loading always points to the end of the spiral, use it to quickly check for a full load and any extra film. Lastly, but not leastly, the spiral has exactly 27 turns so remember to count while you spin.

As with any new home development tool, practice in the light before attempting in the dark. Get a feel for the loading, how to hold tension on the film, how to trim the film when your hand rolled reel was 28′ instead of 25′, and what a properly loaded reel feels like from the top. If you’re looking for junk film to practice, look for old 16mm movie film.

The Untaken Photo’s Regular 8 tank is a small, easy to use, beautiful piece of film processing equipment. If you love your Regular 8 camera, and you want to make home development part of your process, buy this one.

Note from the untaken photos: Alright, so there’s a movie I want to make. It’s a concept piece of a series of cinematographs (static framing of a moving scene). Anyways I took some shots, and borrowed a friend’s Lomo UPB-1A, the 10m version. I did not enjoy the experience. So I made this. And it just works. I have yet to have a failed load, it’s small, the chemistry pours in and out without any trouble. And it’s super pretty (I came up with that part on my own). I wonder when the Super 8 tank is coming out!

the physic

The Untaken Tank – Regular 8mm