Thanks for your input, Michael. So I should ignore the developers when making a decision as to which lab and use other criteria?F76+ is a Phenidone-based formula which, according to the manufacturer, is supposed to have working characteristics very similar to D-76.
If we assume that to be the case, all other things being equal, XTOL would be expected to give very slightly finer grain and very slightly higher sharpness. But these differences are very small. Depending on magnification, they might be negligible/invisible.
And we are assuming development to identical contrast etc., which probably isn’t a great assumption to make when comparing different labs.
Thanks. The ones I've used in the past use XTOL or D76 equivalent. So now I can use other criteria. One of them will switch to whatever developer I want to use. But there's a $50 setup charge. Not worth it to me. But it could be useful for others who need a special developer. All the ones I use dip and dunk and will push and pull if requested for a dollar or two more, another thing I'm not doing as I don't use the Zone System.I wouldn’t necessarily say ignore developers in general (although most labs will use similar B&W developers). I’m saying in the two cases you mentioned, F76+ and XTOL are similar enough that I would focus first on other criteria.
Thanks. The ones I've used in the past use XTOL or D76 equivalent. So now I can use other criteria. One of them will switch to whatever developer I want to use. But there's a $50 setup charge. Not worth it to me. But it could be useful for others who need a special developer. All the ones I use dip and dunk and will push and pull if requested for a dollar or two more, another thing I'm not doing as I don't use the Zone System.
I believe that is what the OP wants to know.
The OP may be conflating contrast with a characteristic curve that favours lots of shadow separation over midtone and highlight rendition.
I see a lot of examples of people describing an image as "contrasty" when it is essentially just dark.
Contrast really refers to how similar but adjacent tones render. A contrasty image looks like there are big steps between the tones, while an image that is low in contrast has tones that are close to each other.Honestly, I'm not sure I could reliably identify the shape of a contrast curve by looking at an image. I need to spend more time playing with curves in Lightroom to really get an internalized sense of how they look.
Adrian, I don't know much about this because I don't have my own darkroom. I suppose they develop "normally" for everyone, using the standard recommendation of the manufacturer. Otherwise, they would be leaning one way or the other depending on the photographer who submits their negatives to them. So they would want to avoid that situation. Should I ask them?
Also, I don't give them any special instructions. I shoot to my exposure meter and assume they develop "normally".
I'm amazed at your low prices, if I'm reading it right you supply 5x7" enlargements for less than a dollar a print. Are those hand made or do you have a minilab that prints that big?They just want usable pictures, ....
I'm amazed at your low prices, if I'm reading it right you supply 5x7" enlargements for less than a dollar a print. Are those hand made or do you have a minilab that prints that big?
Oh, I see. How about scanning, is that somehow automated, or do you have to do each frame at a time? Either way, it seems like you are offering valuable services at very reasonable prices for film users.The proof prints are digital. They're produced in-house with a Canon Pro-1000 pigment printer on RC paper with a luster finish. If you want darkroom prints, that's billed per hour plus the cost of materials.
Oh, I see. How about scanning, is that somehow automated, or do you have to do each frame at a time? Either way, it seems like you are offering valuable services at very reasonable prices for film users.
If I get a negative that when I scan its histogram is in the middle, I'm happy. That gives me the flexibility to do pretty much what I want with it in Lightroom.Well, if you expose at box speed and you're happy with their results, that's all that really matters. At that point, what developer they use is a bit of a moot point. If you're not happy with their results, then identify exactly what you're not happy with and see if it's something that they can address with either a different developer, or a different processing time, or maybe even you exposing the film differently. What you're not happy with will guide that course of action.
While I do offer the ability to ask for a specific developer with my lab, I've found that the vast majority of people who send film in just don't care what developer I use. They just want usable pictures, and trust that I'll do the right thing to produce that. The ones that do ask usually are just asking out of curiosity. The ones that really care about developers tend to process their own film. Every once in a while I'll get somebody who sends film in and is absolutely anal retentive about the developer and development process. While I'm happy to have their business because money is money, at the same time, I'm not going to lose any sleep over not having them as a customer, as it's not uncommon for those types of customers to chew up a huge amount of your time just dealing with them in general.
I really hate increasing prices and try to provide good value for dollar, but at the same time, I have to charge enough to stay in business and make it worth my while, otherwise, I might as well close up shop and do something else right now.
I understand that totally. It can be a fine line between profitability and pricing strategy.
When I had my lab I was often told by some customers that they could get the same service somewhere else cheaper.
In my head I would reply "off you go".
The thing I noticed the last time I visited B&H years ago was that they longer refrigerate the film as far as I could see. Is that normal?
Living in Florida, I've often wondered how much abuse film gets as it ships across the country in un-refrigerated shipping trucks in the middle of summer. I'd cheerfully buy from a local shop, but I'm in a rural enough area the nearest "local" shop is about 100 miles away. So far, the film has worked well, but I always ensure it has a few days to reacclimate to room temperature. Since my intention is to use the film reasonably quickly, I tend to keep it in a "cool, dry place".
Even back in the day (1970s to 1980s), stock turnover was the key to profit, because margins on film were narrow.
I had a manager who was constantly having his performance compared to a manager in another store, because that manager had an uncanny ability to arrange to have the next shipment appear just as the last bits of the last shipment were leaving the shelves into the hands of customers.
If the product could be sold before payment needed to be made to the supplier, that turned a low margin product (which senior management despised) into something at least acceptable.
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