Friend's pile of Undeveloped Film. Good Grief!

[mshchem]

I enjoy developing film. I usually develop a few rolls at a time, within a day or so. My buddy came over the other day with a pile. So far I've processed 15 rolls of 35mm black and white, I have 6 rolls of 120, loaded ready to process. There's 6 rolls of color negative 35mm too.

Do you pile up a years worth of film, week, month??

 

[Oldwino]

I pile up C-41 as the chemistry has a limited shelf life once mixed. So I tend to do a bunch over the span of a few days. That also means I don't shoot that much C-41...
B&W is usually done within a day or two of shooting.

 

[hoffy]

Yes, yes I do. A lot of it comes down to motivation, pure and simple. I shoot, I put in the cupboard with the intent to do it "next weekend". Usually next weekend comes around, followed with a "can't be arsed" feeling.

I'm good at the moment. I think I have 1 roll of 120 and 5 sheets. I would do the sheets, but I like to do an even 4 or 6 at one shot.

Maybe next weekend...

 

[Bronson Dugnutt]

"We're going to need a bigger tank."

B&W is processed immediately, as is ECN-2 because I generally shoot enough of it at once (2-3 loads) to justify 200mL of developer. C-41 and E-6 will 'pile up' to 3-4 rolls as well, but it takes much longer as I don't use those films as much.

Sheet film is another can of worms; I'd probably wait to develop an entire box but I don't have that many holders.

 

[Cholentpot]

I pile up C-41 as the chemistry has a limited shelf life once mixed. So I tend to do a bunch over the span of a few days. That also means I don't shoot that much C-41...
B&W is usually done within a day or two of shooting.

I just developed 30+ rolls of 35mm 120 and 110 in a week going back to April. I'll spend the next few months scanning them. I get about 40 rolls out of a kit before I figure it's gone far enough.

Once I get that large amount done I generally wait until I have 4 rolls and then develop.

 

[mshchem]

I almost got out one of my (I've never used but it's cool) basket for SS reels. Develop 30 35mm at a shot. Takes 3.5 gallons of solution. I don't have that much fixer in the house

 

[Sirius Glass]

I used to collect 16 rolls for C-41 processing, but I do not like printing out that many rolls.

 

[mrosenlof]

I only do B/W, and typically process shortly after finishing a roll, or sheet. I mix from concentrates or from scratch and use developers one-shot.

 

[MattKing]

I'll spend the next few months scanning them.

That will rot your brain - said at least partially jokingly.
I've a bit of a B&W backlog right now, but usually no more than 3-4 rolls.
C-41 and E6 goes to a lab. E6 in particular is a fair drive away, so sometimes that backs up as well.

 

[Cholentpot]

That will rot your brain - said at least partially jokingly.
I've a bit of a B&W backlog right now, but usually no more than 3-4 rolls.
C-41 and E6 goes to a lab. E6 in particular is a fair drive away, so sometimes that backs up as well.

I usually develop my B&W pretty promptly but I've been letting it slide. I have 6 or 8 waiting to go.

My E6 lab is a drive away. Good price but I have to drive and pickup. I let the rolls pile up before heading out.

 

[NB23]

Came back from vacation in august with 100 rolls of film.
Shot another 20 locally and 20 in Miami, in the mean time. Total 90 color films, 50 BW.

Yesterday I finished scanning the 90th color film and cutting.

Now I need to contact the 50 bw films which shall be done tomorrow.

Basically, took me 3 months to do all this. 5 days a week, 3 hours a day.

Now what’s left is printing the bw work. I expect about a month of work. And another month editing the color work.

Let’s say that I should be done by the 15th of january 2023.

 

[250swb]

I process film pretty quickly, the incentive is because of what comes next if I don't, endless contact sheets, endless printing or scanning, all before knowing if there are any results that may possibly be worth showing.

 

[IMoL]

I voted 'Yes', but that only applies to C-41 - I tend to develop that in batches. Black and White I never pile up, I generally develop that the day after finishing the roll - my weekly cadence is usually to shoot 1-2 rolls on a weekend and then develop them on a Monday, scan on Tuesday and so on.

 

[faberryman]

I enjoy developing film. I usually develop a few rolls at a time, within a day or so. My buddy came over the other day with a pile. So far I've processed 15 rolls of 35mm black and white, I have 6 rolls of 120, loaded ready to process. There's 6 rolls of color negative 35mm too.

What a service! Will you develop my film too?

I came back from a three day shoot once with thirty rolls of film. I calculated how long it was going to take me to process them in my two reel tank. So I ordered a four reel tank. I was going to get an eight reel tank, but I didn't think I would be able to fill it and drain it within the recommended time for development.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

No... but I pile up unprinted negatives! Piles sorted by project...

 

[DWThomas]

In film I only shoot B&W these days, and generally process it within a day or two. If I've been traveling and come back with a dozen or more rolls (120) they may drag out a bit -- but not months or years!

It does seem many people have stories of a relative finishing a roll at, say Christmas, sending it off and getting back photos of the previous year's Christmas, Easter, and the 4th of July picnic. For some, a camera is a write-only process!

 

[mshchem]

Came back from vacation in august with 100 rolls of film.
Shot another 20 locally and 20 in Miami, in the mean time. Total 90 color films, 50 BW.

Yesterday I finished scanning the 90th color film and cutting.

Now I need to contact the 50 bw films which shall be done tomorrow.

Basically, took me 3 months to do all this. 5 days a week, 3 hours a day.

Now what’s left is printing the bw work. I expect about a month of work. And another month editing the color work.

Let’s say that I should be done by the 15th of january 2023.

Wow! That's a lot of shooting. Is this 35mm? Scanning slides isn't to bad, slow for me. Closest lab to me is 60 miles. I have all chemistry on hand. I definitely need to get out more.

 

[MattKing]

Wow! That's a lot of shooting. Is this 35mm? Scanning slides isn't to bad, slow for me. Closest lab to me is 60 miles. I have all chemistry on hand. I definitely need to get out more.

Schedule a photography outing somewhere near the lab and drop off a prepaid mailing box at the lab when you drop off your film

 

[mshchem]

Schedule a photography outing somewhere near the lab and drop off a prepaid mailing box at the lab when you drop off your film

That's a good idea.

 

[braxus]

Not a bad idea Matt. Usually Im not in the city though.

I save my rolls of C41 and E6 120 for when I go to Langley, or mail it out in one shot. 35mm I can get done at the local outfit here. I process all my own B&W though, so it gets done fairly quickly, unless my chemicals are low.

Andy. I have a pile of negs that still need to be scanned up. 120 I don't mind, but 35mm gives me the shivers. I literally waste a day doing one roll in 35mm.

 

[Huss]

Andy. I have a pile of negs that still need to be scanned up. 120 I don't mind, but 35mm gives me the shivers. I literally waste a day doing one roll in 35mm.

Takes me maybe 5 mins to scan one roll 35mm 36 exp.

 

[Don_ih]

Takes me maybe 5 mins to scan one roll 35mm 36 exp.

Does that include adjustments to the images that need to be made on a computer?

 

[Cholentpot]

Does that include adjustments to the images that need to be made on a computer?

B&W takes me about 1/2 hour scans and adjustments. Color is more than an hour with adjustments, dust and hair and exporting. Negative Lab Pro sped things up a bit and the newest update got even faster with a few really cool new features. The most time consuming thing for me is cropping the photos post scan. I don't have a method of DSLR scanning that has the frame exactly the same for every frame. If I were able to duplicate the same framing then I could crop one and copy the setting onto the others. As for now I don't have that option.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

It could be months before I send out my film for development. Even color chromes.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

B&W takes me about 1/2 hour scans and adjustments. Color is more than an hour with adjustments, dust and hair and exporting. Negative Lab Pro sped things up a bit and the newest update got even faster with a few really cool new features. The most time consuming thing for me is cropping the photos post scan. I don't have a method of DSLR scanning that has the frame exactly the same for every frame. If I were able to duplicate the same framing then I could crop one and copy the setting onto the others. As for now I don't have that option.

I believe Irfanview might be able to do that for you. It's free on the web.