Ektar 100: Develop Where?

brofkand · May 4, 2009

OK guys, so I am wanting to make the jump to color film photography. I'm not ready to start developing it at home, nor am I sure I will ever be until I am able to have a dedicated darkroom to myself.

In any event, are the local 1-hour labs (wal-mart, walgreens, cvs, etc) good enough to get good colors and contrast out of Ektar 100? Which among them is the best would you say? I don't have a pro lab local to me, and I'm not a pro so sending off the film is nothing I am interested in.

Thanks!

Ektagraphic · May 4, 2009

Dale Labs are awesome for a mail service lab. Dalelabs.com

aluk · May 4, 2009

Ektagraphic said:
Dale Labs are awesome for a mail service lab. Dalelabs.com

"sending off the film is nothing I am interested in".

In any case, since you say that you have no local pro labs are are not interested in send out or home developing, you will have to go with minilabs. I suspect that there is not that much consistency among these large chains and their many branches. You would probably be better off going into your local walmart/cvs etc. and asking the lab manager about his quality control, or ask other photographers in your area what they use. Or just try out a couple of rolls on one place and see if it is what you are looking for.

nickandre · May 4, 2009

Giving your film to some drug store these days presents a risk. It's possible that you will get perfectly good results, but I don't know if that is worth the botched rolls. The best is to look for some dedicated labs or a drug store that runs a lot of film.

Sirius Glass · May 4, 2009

aluk said:
"sending off the film is nothing I am interested in".

In any case, since you say that you have no local pro labs are are not interested in send out or home developing, you will have to go with minilabs. I suspect that there is not that much consistency among these large chains and their many branches. You would probably be better off going into your local walmart/cvs etc. and asking the lab manager about his quality control, or ask other photographers in your area what they use. Or just try out a couple of rolls on one place and see if it is what you are looking for.

Yes, what he said. The personal contact with the lab managers at Costco and Samys makes all the difference! [See my other posts about color processing]

Steve

SchwinnParamount · May 5, 2009

Even if you have a good rapport with a drug store manager, you'll still get lousy results if the service guy who comes around and cleans the processor and changes the chemicals hasn't been around in a while. If you knew that the machine had just been serviced and there were "fresh" chemicals in the thing, then you might trust the output. The technician can either scratch your film or not, can either plant a lousy thumb print on your best frame or not... regardless, old filthy equipment and chemicals will screw up all of your rolls. It might be worth it to send the film out in spite of your hesitation to send it out. You would kick yourself if you went local and a negative was scratched.

2F/2F · May 5, 2009

I would drop off the film at the CVS that you mentioned, with special instructions to send it to Fuji U.S.A. Labs for processing, if you want processing of consistent high quality. Even though it will be shipped off, the CVS will take care of the hassle of doing this. That being said, for your first attempts, there is nothing wrong with just getting it processed in CVS's machines, and this certainly is a quick route.

Ektagraphic · May 5, 2009

aluk said:
"sending off the film is nothing I am interested in"

Sorry...I misread that.

dwdmguy · May 5, 2009

I would stay FAR away from CVS based on a lot of peoples exp. here.
I have indeed used Target with the following guidelines:
1. NO PRINTS (yuk)
2. Process ONLY (then scan) great
3. NEXT DAY pickup, then it's only .99 per roll.

Luck

BetterSense · May 5, 2009

I use target for C41 as well. Develop only, next day is $.99. They are usually done within a couple hours and almost always on the same day, although there are no guarantees unless you buy the 1-hour service.

Ektar 100: Develop Where?

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