[pure-silver] :SPAM: Re: Re: how critical is E6 temp and...

I've been processing my own E6 since it was E2 in 1954. Back then I used Nikor tanks in my mom's kitchen sink. Image reversal was done via a flood lamp, six inches from the film, shining through the Nikor reel spirals as you rotate, via your wrist, the reel in front of the lamp - both sides.
I still used Nikor reels for roll film and hard rubber tanks for sheet film until 1970. Between 1962 and 1970 I shot, as a commercial photographer, an enormous amount of 8x10 Ektachrome for advertising agencies. All processed in Kodak hard rubber tanks.
In 1970 I got a Wilkinson rotary processor (similar to a big JOBO) and used it for all of my E4, and then E6 processing.
I used the Wilkinson rotary processor until 1998 when I got a JOBO ATL-2400. And have been using it ever since for my E6 processing.
What I learned over five decades of processing E-2, E-3, E-4, & E-6 is that the process is quite forgiving. I know that back when I hand processed everything, my temperatures deviated a degree or two during development. For the most part, you'll never see any difference. If you are processing film that needs to have exact flesh tones, exact fabric colors, etc, then adhering to the exact spec is necessary. For general photography, landscape, cityscape, etc, you'll never be able to detect a deviation. The nice thing about rotary processors is that they keep the temperature of the entire process exactly in spec and they provide consistent agitation. And now they are cheap: 

http://tinyurl.com/yrg2cm
I have always used the six step E-process. When the three step process came out, Kodak stated that it was for amateur films only, not professional films. Fuji stated the same. I use the 'KODAK PROFESSIONAL Single-Use Chemistry Kit, Process E-6' 

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ti2443/ti2443.jhtml
Which allows you to mix as little or as much as you need for a run. I have often mixed only 170ml to run a single roll of 35mm/36 or a roll of 120, or 270ml for a roll of 220. 

I process a run of E-6 roughly every other week. Mostly 220 Fuji Velvia 50.

Jim

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