C-41 Film Developing Kit Comparison: ADOX, Bellini, CineStill, & Kodak by Taylor Blanchard

Written by Taylor Blanchard

Black and white is the first type of film I learned how to develop. While it can be a particular process, I find it fairly forgiving.

Water’s not right at 68°F/20°C? Use the Ilford temperature compensation chart. Reuse a one-shot developer? Sure. I’ve done it with Ilford DDX. Keep a bottle of opened Rodinal for years on end? Of course, that’s its strength.

For whatever reason, developing color film always felt more complicated to me: the water bath, the short and precise development times, the short lifespan of mixed chemistry. 

A few years ago, I took a color development class at the Charlotte-based The Light Factory. While the class helped demystify the process, I wasn’t yearning to develop C-41 myself. Then, last year, I decided to take the plunge with scanning at home, which meant the time was right to start developing C-41 at home. 

After procuring the water circulator, I went to purchase the chemistry. I was planning to buy the CineStill C-41 developing kit; However, it was out of stock everywhere. So, I went for the first C-41 chemistry kit I could find at Freestyle photo, the Italian-made Bellini. The next time I needed to restock, I decided to try another brand. A year later and I’ve tried four of the most popular at home C-41 kits: ADOX, Bellini, CineStill, and Kodak.

Wait, Isn’t All C-41 Chemistry the Same?

Black and white developers are more numerous and known for variations in underlying chemistry and related results. You have eco-friendly options like caffeine or beer or ascorbic acid developers. You can stand develop negatives for an hour: “set it and forget it.”

C-41 developers, though, lack variety in the market. While all C-41 developers use the same developing agent, there are differences between the development kits. At first glance, the differences might seem minor, but depending on your experience and style, they might have an impact.

A few notes about C-41 kits:

• C-41 kits come in liquid concentrate or powders.
• Liquid developers often come in three parts; some kits pre-mix the developer into one concentrate.
• The bleach and fixer are either separate concentrates or combined into one – “blix.” The advantage of blix over separate bleacher and fix is reduced total developing time and ease of use. Separating bleacher and fixer into two steps is supposed to reduce grain and contrast, although that advantage is slight and many people might not notice. You would notice the most with 35mm film.
• Not all kits come with a stabilizer, which includes an anti-fungal and a surfactant (similar to PhotoFlo or any other wetting agent). Stabilizer is not technically needed for modern color film emulsions, but it helps with the preservation of the negative and reducing spots when drying negatives.

My C-41 Tests

I tested the liquid version of the four developing kits. Of the four I tested, CineStill is the only one that comes in a liquid or a powder version.

I use a consistent process for developing C-41 that many people will find familiar: The CineStill TCS-100 Immersion Circulator and Patterson tanks. I use distilled water to mix all of the chemistry. I set my temperature to 102°F/38°C for all the kits for consistency. For these tests, I did not push or pull.

Quick C-41 Developing Kit Guide

*Average cost of each kit divided by number of rolls the manufacturer recommends developing.
¹ADOX does not specify 24 or 36 exposures in their guidance.
²Kodak kits come in 2.5 and 5L capacity, which is more cost effective, but then you have a lot of chemistry to work through.

ADOX C-Tec C-41 KIT Rapid

Based in Germany, ADOX has a storied history of multiple owners and focus areas. The current incarnation of ADOX has manufacturing in Germany and Switzerland and makes a range of films, papers, and chemistry. Availability in the U.S. can be spotty, so when I saw their C-41 was available from Freestyle, I jumped on it. 

• Chemistry included: Developer parts 1, 2, 3; Blix parts A and B; Stabilizer
• Mixing: All of the components for the C-41 kit come in 200 milliliter size bottles, which makes mixing very easy!
• Instructions: Of the chemistry I tested, ADOX has the most robust instructions with a visual guide for how much water to mix at each step. ADOX also has detailed processing advice and times for 30°C and 38°C; ADOX recommends 86°F/30°C for home processing. A great thing about developing at the lower temperature is a longer processing time, which would allow you to pull film. They don’t tell you how to pull film though; they only provide instructions for pushing.
• Notes and details: ADOX explains that the limiting factor in their kit is the blix and note you can try and get more rolls at much longer developing times. They also offer the longest shelf life for mixed chemistry of the ones I tested: 6 weeks for developer and 24 weeks for the others chemicals. ADOX provides the most info in their troubleshooting section of the four kits.

Find ADOX C-Tec C-41 Kit Rapid at cinestillfilm.com.

Bellini Kit C-41

Bellini Foto is an Italian company that says, “our aim is to preserve knowledge and skills about analogue photography.” They offer color and black & white development kits, and even raw chemical ingredients (which can be difficult to procure). Their kits include C-41, ECN-2, E6, black & white reversal, sepia toning, and more.

• Chemistry included: Developer (one bottle); Bleach (ready to use); Fixer (one bottle); Stabilizer (one bottle).
• Instructions: As an Italian company, their instructions are printed in both Italian and English. Bellini provides times at 38°C/102°F only, and they provide guidance on extending the development times after reaching development thresholds, but the instructions are basic. They don’t provide push or pull instructions. They provide times for small tank processing only.
• Mixing: The mixing instructions are visual and easy to follow.
• Notes and details: Bellini sends enough concentrate to mix 10 liters of stabilizer, which is very odd because all the other components mix to 1 liter, so after using one kit you could make another 9 liters. I guess it’s useful if you buy a kit without stabilizer?

Find the Bellini C-41 kit at Freestyle Photo.

CineStill CS41 Color Simplified Liquid Developing Kit

CineStill is a ubiquitous C-41 kit, and it’s probably many people’s first. CineStill sells a lot of other brands of chemistry, too, and their website is filled with resources. Of course, CineStill gets its fair share of vitriol online. I really appreciate their commitment to making analogue processes more accessible.

• Chemistry included: Developer parts A, B, C; Blix parts A and B; Stabilizer
• Instructions: CineStill provides robust instructions but printed in very small font. They give development times at a range of temperatures and give the most detail of the four about pushing and pulling film.
• Mixing: Given the odd quantities of the concentrates, you will need very precise measurements of water. Additionally, the kit only mixes 1 quart, which is 956 mL. This is baffling to be given 120 film requires 500 mL of chemistry, and often I have two tanks going and need 1,000 mL.
• Push/pull instructions: Both provided
• Notes and details: They also include context about chemistry capacity and extending the chemicals to develop more film. CineStill is also the only of the four that gives capacity for developing medium and large format negatives. They also include a troubleshooting section.

Find the CineStill CS41 Color Simplified Liquid Developing Kit on Amazon.

Kodak Color Negative C-41 Film Processing Kit 

The color film behemoth, Kodak, previously sold a lauded 10 liter developing kit under the name FlexiColor. Working with Photo Systems, Inc, they formulated a newer version for 2.5 and 5 liter kits.

It’s important to note that Kodak claims this is a one-shot developer. The instructions that come with the kit don’t mention mixing the entire 2.5 liters and using the extra as a replenisher – you must find that detail elsewhere. I didn’t treat it as a one-shot or replenisher: I developed several rolls with 1,000 mL (and still have some to use)! But, Kodak says the mixed working solution of developer is only good for one week. Kodak’s developing time is also the longest.

• Chemistry included: Developer parts A, B, C; Bleacher parts A and B; Fixer part A and “final rinse” part A.
• Instructions: Kodak gives detailed mixing instructions and the development times for rotary and small tank, but that’s about it.
• Mixing: To mix 1000 mL of working solution, you have to do some math! First, you have to divide their water and chemistry volumes by 2.5, which leaves you measuring some very precise amounts of chemistry and water. For example, to make developer I measured 870.24 mL of water, 75.2 mL of Part A, 17.52 mL of Part B, and 37.84 mL of Part C. It would be helpful if Kodak provided the math. You won’t run into this if you mix the entire 2.5 liter kit at once.
• Notes and details: You have to go to Kodak’s website to find the instructions for using the kit as a replenisher, where they say: “To replenish the 2.5L kit, each chemical can be mixed and divided into 1000mL of working solution and 1500mL of replenisher solution, yielding up to 40 rolls. You can also divide it into 500mL of working solution and 2000mL of replenisher solution for a yield of up to 50 rolls.” It’s strange this very important detail is left out of the instructions that come with the kit.

Find the Kodak C-41 developing kit at Freestyle Photo.

Which C-41 Color Kit Wins?

There are other C-41 kits I want to test, including Arista (which is made by Photo Systems Inc, the maker of Kodak C-41 chemistry), FlicFilm, Tetenal, and Rollei.

Honestly, because C-41 provides consistent results, I didn’t notice much variation between the results. As I hone in on my C-41 developing, I may develop a preference for one of the kits over the other.

Because each has its quirks and strengths, I laid out my recommendations based on how you might use the kits:

• Longest storage life when mixed: ADOX
• For beginners: ADOX for the detailed instructions; Bellini for ease of mixing
• For the time-crunched: Bellini
• Pushing and pulling: CineStill
• Cost effective (if you use as a replenisher): Kodak
• Developing a massive amount of film at once: Kodak
• Rotary processing: Kodak, ADOX, or CineStill

What do you think about these C-41 kits? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you so much, Taylor! Taylor is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out her other articles here, such as B&W Film Comparison: Are Kentmere 400, Rollei RPX 400, & AgfaPhoto APX 400 the Same Film? and How Low Can You Go? Exploring Low ISO Films.

You can also check out more of Taylor’s work on Instagram.

Leave your questions about these C-41 film developing kits below in the comments, and you can pick some up for yourself here: ADOX, Bellini, CineStill, & Kodak.

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Taylor Blanchard

Taylor Blanchard is a landscape and travel film photographer and a regular contributor for Shoot It With Film. Find her other articles here, such as My Foray Into Large Format Photography and The World of Infrared and Red-Sensitive Black and White Film.

Image Credit: Ashley Thalman

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