If you’re into home film development, you’ve probably heard of the name Jobo. For those that haven’t, this is one of the Jobo variations. This is my personal Jobo CPE2 Plus.

For those new to film development, some developing process requires strict temperature management. By this I mean that the chemicals need to be held at a very specific temperature and this is where a machine like the Jobo comes in.

There are many variations to the Jobo machine. Some are very manual and are essentially just rollers and require you to do all the work. Some are fully automatic. You just press a button and don’t have to worry about a thing. Most people are going to buy a machine that falls in the middle, like this CPE2 Plus. Machines like the CPE, CPA, and CPP essentially do two things, they allow you to keep your chemicals and tank at a certain temperature via a water bath and the machine agitate the tank for you at a predetermined speed. These two factors contribute to consistency because if you were to do these things manually, human error can effect the final result.

This leads me to the topic of this post, is a Jobo worth it? Well, like most things in life, the answer isn’t so black and white or straight forward. The answer is pretty much yes and no. I want to share with you my experiences with using a Jobo and you can determine for yourself wether or not it’s worth it, if you are interested in picking one up.

In my opinion, you have to be developing a lot of film for a Jobo to be worth it. I picked my Jobo up from eBay for a little under $600. This machine was new old stock meaning that although it is old, it has never been used. As the name indicates, CPE2 is the second version. Current models are CPE3 and CPP3. The CPE line is generally smaller with slots for 4 chemical containers and graduated cylinders instead of 6 in the CPP. The CPP are intended for the larger drums, but you can get quite a bit done with the CPEs.

Newer machines can range from $1700 to 3800 give or take depending on whether or not you’re going to be using a Jobo Lift or not. The lift costs around $600 and further adds to the consistence trend of the machine. These prices are of course only for the machine. You still have to buy the proprietary tanks. The tanks also need magnets or cogs to be used with the machine. The point is, there is a lot of stuff to buy and it’s all pretty expensive. Like I said, you have to be developing a lot of film, really care about consistency in film developing or you have some money to blow for this machine to be worth it.

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At the end of the day, owning Jobo like this doesn’t make film development effortless. You are still attached to the process. You still have to pay attention to development times, switch chemicals and clean everything. This is not an automatic machine. Like I said, the only thing that this machine really does is keep temperatures steady and agitate your drum. When I consider things in this regard, it’s almost clear in my mind that a Jobo is not worth it. That is why I’ve made videos on my YouTube channel (YouTube.com/TheUpperLeftUSA) showing alternatives to this machine that gets you similar results. Don’t get me wrong, having a Jobo is nice, but it is a luxury and is kind of over the top. It is not necessary. Most people hand develop in a sink and they get good results. Don’t think that you absolutely need this. To me, this should be the last thing that a film shooter should pick up. Try manually processing for awhile and see what kind of results you can get. If you feel that you are getting mediocre results, maybe send a couple rolls in to get them professionally developed and compare to your results. Try other alternatives first.

Check out these two videos where I've shown cheaper alternatives to the Jobo that I've come up with.

If you're considering on buying any of these products, please support my work by using the links below.

Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker WIFI + Bluetooth
http://amzn.to/2xROXyw
Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Bluetooth
http://amzn.to/2za0aMy
EVERIE Sous Vide Container 12 Quarts
http://amzn.to/2zvwtby
Unicolor C-41 Powder Developer Kit
http://amzn.to/2Ad0A4O
Ivation Foot Spa Massager
http://amzn.to/2xknBoA
Cibachrome Motorized Roller Base / other motorized roller bases