Cheap prices and negative scanning

[Pedroga]

I found a hippie in the country who would develop and scan my negatives, but here's the thing, I'm very new to analog photography (new to photography in general, actually) and I needed to know if his offer was a load of crap or not.
In this case, he would develop any of my negatives, whether black and white, orthochromatic, c-41 or ecn22, for the price of 5.73 US dollars and would scan them for 2.50 US dollars, that's for each roll, i.e., 36 exposures.
I won't know the real quality of the photos unless I test them, but these prices make me very suspicious of this crazy guy.
I don't know if it's better for me to develop the negatives at home (if that interferes with the quality of the photo or not) or if I should just send everything to him and that's it.
but the negative scan is at 24MP resolution (that's what he said). Now I don't know if he would photograph the negatives with another camera and "develop" them, or if he would use a scanner like a Plustek.

 

[brbo]

I was that sort of a "hippie" (in my country). I'd develop your C-41/BW/E-6/ECN-2 roll with 4000dpi (24MP) scanning for 4 EUR. If you didn't have money for film I'd "sell" you a Vision3 roll for 1 EUR (ah, the days of dirt cheap short-ends). RA-4 print or drum scan if you asked nicely.

My intentions weren't solely altruistic, though. I liked having all the developers for color films at hand, but since I can't shoot that much film before at least one of those developers would go bad, I thought that if I had a group of people that would pay for the cost of materials I could put in my work for free...

 

[koraks]

In this case, he would develop any of my negatives, whether black and white, orthochromatic, c-41 or ecn22, for the price of 5.73 US dollars and would scan them for 2.50 US dollars, that's for each roll, i.e., 36 exposures.

Here in Europe you typically pay twice that for processing and up to 6 times as much for scanning, but the latter is more variable.
I don't know about Brazil, specifically, but those prices look very reasonable to me. The price point @brbo mentions is IMO more of an 'enthusiast' pricing that helps to pay for materials, but is not really economically sustainable if you factor in labor etc., at least not in a European context and for a small operation (which is also what @brbo appears to indicate, cf. free labor). Even large-volume labs (the one or two that's left) where labor is only a fraction of the cost can't hit that price point anymore. The last one we had around here was a Fuji lab that offered C41 development for approx. €4.50/roll, but that proved to be unsustainable - the lab now only processes digital prints and dismantled their film operations.

I don't know if it's better for me to develop the negatives at home (if that interferes with the quality of the photo or not) or if I should just send everything to him and that's it.

It depends on how much effort you're willing to put in. But it's definitely feasible to do high-quality film processing at home, even for color film. It takes some equipment (not much), some chemistry (B&W will be easy, color might be a little harder to get hold of) and some knowledge/awareness of how to do it. In terms of that knowledge - there's plenty around here and also plenty of people willing to answer your questions and explain everything, so if you end up trying, you've come to the right place.

the negative scan is at 24MP resolution (that's what he said).

That's plausible. I bet he uses a digital camera for scanning. The quality can be quite good, but it depends on his setup and competence. One thing to keep in mind: don't compare digital camera megapixels to film scan megapixels. The image quality is very different. Generally the film scans look (much) more soft and there will be grain in them.

Welcome to Photrio!

 

[250swb]

I found a hippie in the country who would develop and scan my negatives, but here's the thing, I'm very new to analog photography (new to photography in general, actually) and I needed to know if his offer was a load of crap or not.
In this case, he would develop any of my negatives, whether black and white, orthochromatic, c-41 or ecn22, for the price of 5.73 US dollars and would scan them for 2.50 US dollars, that's for each roll, i.e., 36 exposures.
I won't know the real quality of the photos unless I test them, but these prices make me very suspicious of this crazy guy.
I don't know if it's better for me to develop the negatives at home (if that interferes with the quality of the photo or not) or if I should just send everything to him and that's it.
but the negative scan is at 24MP resolution (that's what he said). Now I don't know if he would photograph the negatives with another camera and "develop" them, or if he would use a scanner like a Plustek.

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is. Consider how much your time is worth going out and taking your photographs and do you want to risk a compromise in quality? But at the same time according to Google the average hourly wage in Brazil is $3 so he's maybe charging a fair price with materials etc. Send one film to a photo lab and another to the hippie in the country and see what you get back, but make sure you do get your negatives back in both cases.

 

[runswithsizzers]

Speculation is futile in a case like this, because everything depends on the skills and integrity of one individual -- who we have never met.

If a person wants to wear their hair long and live a simple life in the country, that does not tell us anything about their ability and inclination, either in the darkroom, or as a business person. Where I live (in the Ozark hills, there are a lot of people who live back in the woods that have good skills. Some make excellent cheese from goats milk; some write best selling books. One guy makes custom fitted wooden display cases for firearms -- his clients are from all over the world.

So give the guy a try and report back. If you think his price is too low, you can always pay him more. ;-)

 

[loccdor]

I developed and scanned film as a service for a year or two in college, with my Paterson tank and Epson flatbed... I think I charged $8 a roll if I remember correctly. It was basically a $2/hr wage at best that I just did out of interest in the topic.

Seems like you don't have much to lose by sending him a roll to try it out.

 

[Pedroga]

Durante um ou dois anos na faculdade, eu revelei e digitalizei filmes como um serviço, usando meu tanque Paterson e meu scanner de mesa Epson... Acho que cobrava US$ 8 por rolo, se bem me lembro. Era basicamente um salário de, no máximo, US$ 2 por hora, que eu fazia apenas por interesse no assunto.

Parece que você não tem muito a perder enviando um pacote para ele experimentar.

Especular é inútil num caso como este, porque tudo depende da habilidade e integridade de um indivíduo – que nunca conhecemos.

Se uma pessoa quer usar cabelo comprido e viver uma vida simples no campo, isso não nos diz nada sobre sua habilidade e concepção, seja na câmara escura ou como empresário. Onde eu moro (nas montanhas Ozark), há muitas pessoas que vivem no meio da mata e têm ótimas habilidades. Alguns fazem queijo excelente com leite de cabra; outros escrevem livros que são best-sellers. Um cara fabrica vitrines de madeira sob medida para armas de fogo — seus clientes são do mundo todo.

Então, experimente o serviço dele e depois me conte o que achou. Se achar o preço muito baixo, você sempre pode pagar mais. ;-)

Se parece bom demais para ser verdade, provavelmente é. Pense em quanto vale o seu tempo saindo para tirar fotos e se você quer arriscar uma qualidade inferior. Por outro lado, segundo o Google, o salário médio por hora no Brasil é de US$ 3, então talvez ele esteja cobrando um preço justo, considerando os materiais e tudo mais. Envie um filme para um laboratório fotográfico e outro para o cara lá no interior e veja o que você recebe de volta, mas demonstra-se de receber os negativos de volta em ambos os casos.

Aqui na Europa, normalmente se paga o dobro pelo processamento e até seis vezes mais pela digitalização, mas este último valor é mais variável.
Não sei especificamente sobre o Brasil, mas esses preços me parecem muito razoáveis. O preço mencionado por @brbo é, na minha opinião, mais um preço para "entusiastas", que ajuda a pagar pelos materiais, mas não é realmente sustentável economicamente se considerarmos a mão de obra, etc., pelo menos não em um contexto europeu e para uma pequena operação (que é também o que @brbo parece indicar, cf. mão de obra gratuita). Mesmo os grandes laboratórios (os um ou dois que restam), onde a mão de obra representa apenas uma fração do custo, não conseguem mais atingir esse preço. O último que tínhamos por aqui era um laboratório da Fuji que oferecia revelação C41 por aproximadamente € 4,50 por rolo, mas isso se mostrou insustentável - o laboratório agora só processa impressões digitais e desmantelou suas operações com filme.


Depende do quanto você está disposto a se esforçar. Mas definitivamente é possível revelar filmes de alta qualidade em casa, mesmo filmes coloridos. Você precisa de alguns equipamentos (não muitos), alguns produtos químicos (preto e branco será fácil, os coloridos podem ser um pouco mais difíceis de encontrar) e algum conhecimento/conhecimento de como fazer. Em termos de conhecimento, há bastante por aqui e também muitas pessoas dispostas a responder suas perguntas e explicar tudo, então, se você decidir tentar, veio ao lugar certo.


Isso é plausível. Aposto que ele usa uma câmera digital para digitalizar. A qualidade pode ser muito boa, mas depende do equipamento e da habilidade dele. Uma coisa a ter em mente: não compare os megapixels de uma câmera digital com os megapixels de uma digitalização de filme. A qualidade da imagem é muito diferente. Geralmente, as digitalizações de filme ficam (muito) mais suaves e apresentam granulação.

Bem-vindo(a) ao Photrio!

I was that sort of a "hippie" (in my country). I'd develop your C-41/BW/E-6/ECN-2 roll with 4000dpi (24MP) scanning for 4 EUR. If you didn't have money for film I'd "sell" you a Vision3 roll for 1 EUR (ah, the days of dirt cheap short-ends). RA-4 print or drum scan if you asked nicely.

My intentions weren't solely altruistic, though. I liked having all the developers for color films at hand, but since I can't shoot that much film before at least one of those developers would go bad, I thought that if I had a group of people that would pay for the cost of materials I could put in my work for free...

I asked him for some examples of photos taken using the method we're discussing here, and he sent me these.

 

[marhalloweenvt]

I asked him for some examples of photos taken using the method we're discussing here, and he sent me these.
View attachment 417349View attachment 417350View attachment 417346View attachment 417347View attachment 417348

The result is quite good as I can tell. I really imazed by 4th photo. That image makes me thing he use DSLR/Mirrorless camera to scan 135 mm and the 3rd image (6x6 format) is from a flatbed scanner (my 2 cent opinion)

 

[Pedroga]

The result is quite good as I can tell. I really imazed by 4th photo. That image makes me thing he use DSLR/Mirrorless camera to scan 135 mm and the 3rd image (6x6 format) is from a flatbed scanner (my 2 cent opinion)

He says that all the images were taken using the DSLR/Mirrorless method.

And he only has that method; it's a really small place in the interior of my country.

 

[Pedroga]

Did I get the result approved? Can I trust it?

 

[Pedroga]

One question I have about the forum is that I bought MANY, MANY, DIFFERENT types of 35mm analog camera film and others that I found among my grandparents' things.

Where can I discuss them on the forum?

 

[koraks]

The processing and scanning look OK as far as I can tell. I'd give it a shot with one or two test rolls and then evaluate the results.

One question I have about the forum is that I bought MANY, MANY, DIFFERENT types of 35mm analog camera film and others that I found among my grandparents' things.

It depends on the questions. We have a subforum for 35mm here: https://www.photrio.com/forum/forums/35mm-cameras-and-accessories.73/
Assuming you have several questions that are more or less specific to each camera type, I would start by searching for existing threads/answers to these questions on the forum and see if that already resolves your questions. If not, then make one or more threads about your remaining questions. Generally it works best to group questions about a particular type of camera in a single thread with a title that clearly states the camera brand and model and a few keywords of the question.

 

[RezaLoghme]

One question I have about the forum is that I bought MANY, MANY, DIFFERENT types of 35mm analog camera film and others that I found among my grandparents' things.

Where can I discuss them on the forum?

If there are Leicas included I am happy to help.

 

[marhalloweenvt]

Did I get the result approved? Can I trust it?

IMO, it's GO!.
Personally, whenever approaching a new lab/darkroom tech/... I will use at least 1 c41 and 1 b&w to test their capabilities. Then I will evaluate results and decide if I can stick with them for a period of time.

 

[RezaLoghme]

Make sure the guy hands you the negatives.