$60 wasted on a 'film drying rack' I could have built for $5

Bought one of those fancy nylon film drying racks off Amazon for $60 thinking it would be a game changer for my home developing setup. Thing showed up and it's basically a plastic frame with some clips, nothing special at all. First time I used it, the clips left little dimple marks on the edges of my 35mm rolls that I had to crop out of every scan. My buddy down at the camera shop in Detroit laughed his head off and showed me how he just uses a $5 wooden clothes hanger and some binder clips from the dollar store. Works perfectly, no marks, and you can hang three rolls at once easy. Wish I had asked around before I clicked that buy button. Anyone else waste money on a tool that turned out to be junk?

3 comments

3 Comments

kevin_west1d ago

Bought myself a "professional" developing tank a few years back that claimed to be spill proof. First time I used it I dumped 600ml of developer all over my kitchen counter and ruined a roll of Tri-X I was really excited about. Now I just use a repurposed pickle jar with a hole drilled in the lid and some rubber bands. Funny how we convince ourselves we need the fancy stuff when the junk drawer usually has the answer. My drying rack is literally two shoelaces tied between cabinet handles.

ray_campbell461d ago

Honestly that's exactly how it goes sometimes. I bought one of those fancy squeegee things for drying film and it scratched the hell out of my negatives the first time I used it. Ngl I was pretty bummed about that. tbh what worked best for me was just using a regular old wooden clothespin on a string. No marks no scratches and it cost basically nothing. It's funny how the simple stuff always beats the overpriced gadgets.

lucasschmidt1d ago

Man I was the same way for a long time. I thought the expensive stuff had to be better because it costs more. But yeah @kevin_west your setup sounds a lot like what I ended up switching to after that stupid rack messed up my negatives. I use a wire coat hanger I bent straight with some office binder clips on it and it holds four rolls no problem. Funny how the dumb cheap fix always wins.