Just plaine had it with Dwayne's B&W, C-41, ...

Sirius Glass · Oct 1, 2007

I just read Steve Robert's "Had it with Dwayne's/Kodachrome" and I agree! Black and white, color - it does not matter. They are in their own world!

I request 35mm cut into strips of 6 and 120 cut into strips of 4. Some times they can do it; some times they can't.

I send in rolls of UC 400 in 35mm and 120 which were taken at the same time. The 120 has blue skies and the 35mm has turquoise skies. They said just send it back and they will reprint it. The mailing costs to me are greater than the processing costs of one roll of film.

I just went to Freestyle this weekend and brought tanks and chemicals. I am doing it myself from now on. For the moment I will scan the negatives and have CostCo print them. For big enlargements, I will still go to my custom photo finishers!

Steve

Kino · Oct 1, 2007

Yeah, I am afraid it has come to that. I got back 20 rolls of 120 color from them and... lets just say, I won't ever do that again...

Good thing I have a JOBO or two...

Sirius Glass · Oct 1, 2007

I called Dwayne's today and complained about their botching two jobs in a row and that I was also tired of paying the postage. They said this time they would pay me back for the postage.

Then I told them about the bad press that they were getting here and that in the past people, including me, used to recommend them. They said that they would have a supervisor visit APUG.

I will wait and see what happens, but I have started developing my film myself.

Steve

copake_ham · Oct 2, 2007

It's worse than you "blokes" realize over there where you still have alternatives for E-6.

Back here in the USA, both Fuji and Kodak now direct all of their E-6 chrome mailers to Dwayne's.

It just took 3 weeks for me to get back one roll of Velvia 100F (which had my APUG 5th Anniversary shot) and it's full of the usual black dust specks etc.

I've still got a half dozen Fuji mailers to get through.

And you want to hear the real kicker? The add insult to injury kicker?

I've now learned that, apparently due to a change in postal rates, instead of two first class stamps (i.e. US$ 0.82) I now have to pay a parcel rate of US$ 1.30 for the privilege of having them trash my slides!

I'd think that F and K were trying to get rid of slide film by using Dwayne's - but then I wonder - why did F just introduce the new Velvia 50? :confused:

Anyway, once I get done with these mailers it's goodbye to Dwayne's!

There HAS to be someone else in the USA who processes E-6!

Marc Akemann · Oct 2, 2007

It's been a couple of years since I last used Dwayne's. I used them only for Kodachrome processing and they did a good job.

Currently, I send my non-urgent E-6 slide film to Carl's Darkroom in New Mexico. They do excellent work at a reasonable price. Dead Link Removed

Marc

tjaded · Oct 2, 2007

E-6 saviour!

copake_ham said:
It's worse than you "blokes" realize over there where you still have alternatives for E-6.

Back here in the USA, both Fuji and Kodak now direct all of their E-6 chrome mailers to Dwayne's.

It just took 3 weeks for me to get back one roll of Velvia 100F (which had my APUG 5th Anniversary shot) and it's full of the usual black dust specks etc.

I've still got a half dozen Fuji mailers to get through.

And you want to hear the real kicker? The add insult to injury kicker?

I've now learned that, apparently due to a change in postal rates, instead of two first class stamps (i.e. US$ 0.82) I now have to pay a parcel rate of US$ 1.30 for the privilege of having them trash my slides!

I'd think that F and K were trying to get rid of slide film by using Dwayne's - but then I wonder - why did F just introduce the new Velvia 50? :confused:

Anyway, once I get done with these mailers it's goodbye to Dwayne's!

There HAS to be someone else in the USA who processes E-6!

We do! Try www.newlab.com--if you send it to my attention (Matt) and mention APUG, you will get 10% off! We still run lots of E-6 and C-41--both get multiple control strips per day to make sure the chemistry is perfect. If it's processing only, we turn film around same day for shipping. Push/Pull by 1/8th stops...

I'm not trying to be a total salesman here, but here is a shot to have a DIRECT connection with someone in the lab. I'm a big fan of APUG (and thus APUGgers!) and I am more than willing to personally take calls, handle shipping...anything it takes to help fellow analog shooters going. When you run out of mailers, give us a try.

Adios,

Matt

bdial · Oct 2, 2007

If you want a source in the East, Concord Camera in Concord NH does E-6 35 and 120. Everything they've done for me has been perfect. I get mine unmounted, so I can't comment on that, but they are a small shop and have clearly experienced people running the machines.
For me they are local, I don't know what they would do about mail orders, though other shops in the area send E-6 to them.
Their web site is http://www.concordcamera.com/ note, be careful of the URL.
I have no affiliation with them other than satisfied customer.

Thomas Bertilsson · Oct 2, 2007

A great source for E6 processing in the Midwest is Photos, Inc. They are located on Minnehaha Avenue in Minneapolis. I have not had a single dud from them for four years. They run what seems to be two batches per day, one morning and one afternoon due to declining demand. I just picked up two sheets of E6 and they were clean as a whistle.
http://www.digidigi.com/
Don't be discouraged by the web address... They really take good care of their reputation.
- Thomas

3Dfan · Oct 2, 2007

copake_ham said:
And you want to hear the real kicker? The add insult to injury kicker?

I've now learned that, apparently due to a change in postal rates, instead of two first class stamps (i.e. US$ 0.82) I now have to pay a parcel rate of US$ 1.30 for the privilege of having them trash my slides!

I think the postage rate Fuji (I mean Dwayne) is telling people on those little notes is conservatively high. I take them to the post office counter to get weighed and end up paying $1.13.

copake_ham said:
There HAS to be someone else in the USA who processes E-6!

I've had good luck with DR5 when I need E6 and quality is more important than price. It's competitive with A&I and the film is nicely sleeved instead of rolled into a tiny tube with paper backing. (I normally get my film uncut.)

bob100684 · Oct 2, 2007

for those of you in CT, Connecticut photographic in danbury, great results, same day turn around, plastic mounts if you want them, or cut to any length if you dont. They also do b/w but it can get pretty expensive.

AZLF · Oct 2, 2007

We are fortunate enough in Tucson to have two local labs who do excellent E-6 processing. The one I prefer is http://www.photographicworks.com/. Jones photo is the other and I have no complaint with them but Photoworks is closer and I like the people who work there.

I don't know if Jones does out of state work but I know Photoworks does. I have never had and issue with them on the quality of their processing.

gr82bart · Oct 2, 2007

Dwaynes? Why on GAWDS green earth would anyone send anything to them when there are so many better places? A&I in CA, Duggal in NYC, Gamma in Chicago, Elevator in Toronto, Metro in the London, DR5, etc....

If there is one film lab I hope goes bankrupt, it's Dwayne's.

Regards, Art.

aldevo · Oct 2, 2007

gr82bart said:
Dwaynes? Why on GAWDS green earth would anyone send anything to them when there are so many better places? A&I in CA, Duggal in NYC, Gamma in Chicago, Elevator in Toronto, Metro in the London, DR5, etc....

If there is one film lab I hope goes bankrupt, it's Dwayne's.

Regards, Art.

There's no problem finding quality "mailer" service, but if you want "walk in, drop it off, and pick it up" service, there's no guarantee of its availability even in large metropolitan areas.

For example, the Boston, MA metro area is more than 3 million people but there is no processor anywhere near the city I would trust with my E-6. In fact, I'd say one outfit - Dorian Color Labs - seems to be handling most of the market and as the competition has closed up shop they have really let their outfit go to hell in a handbasket as far as QC goes...

It's gotten to the point that every time I visit NYC (about 4-6 times a year), I drive down with my exposed E-6, drop it off with a friend who gets it taken to Gamma for me, and then pick it up on my next trip. I absolutely will not use local processing in Boston and the mailers are simply devoured at my apartment complex's management office...

Makes me glad I'm mostly shooting B&W these days...I sure do miss being able to walk into the National Geographic Imaging Lab in DC back when lived in Arlington, VA a few years ago.

Vaughn · Oct 2, 2007

I have had some 4x5 and 8x10 E-6 done at NewLab in the SF Bay Area with always good results. I don't need the service very often, but when I do, it is good to know they are there. It is just a few hundred miles down the road from me.

Vaughn

copake_ham · Oct 2, 2007

gr82bart said:
Dwaynes? Why on GAWDS green earth would anyone send anything to them when there are so many better places? A&I in CA, Duggal in NYC, Gamma in Chicago, Elevator in Toronto, Metro in the London, DR5, etc....

If there is one film lab I hope goes bankrupt, it's Dwayne's.

Regards, Art.

Art,

I never "chose" Dwayne's. As of July 1, 2006 Fujifilm announced that all Fujichrome mailers should be sent to Dwayne's (or else if sent to them they would forward to Dwayne's).

Sadly for me, I had just bought a bunch of mailers when this change occurred. So I am "stuck" with Dwyane's for a while yet unless I want to "eat" the cost of the mailers.

winger · Oct 2, 2007

For example, the Boston, MA metro area is more than 3 million people but there is no processor anywhere near the city I would trust with my E-6. In fact, I'd say one outfit - Dorian Color Labs - seems to be handling most of the market and as the competition has closed up shop they have really let their outfit go to hell in a handbasket as far as QC goes...

In Franklin, MA, I used Village Photo for my E6 and had no complaints. They do it themselves and only about twice a week, but at least someone's doing it. I have no idea if they do mail order, but they're just off 495 at exit 17 by Panera Bread in the Stop n Shop Plaza. Someone up by Lowell does E6, too, but they charge a lot (about $15 a roll).

Marc Akemann · Oct 2, 2007

Carl's Darkroom does E-6 processing and that's it. That is their business. I'm willing to ship my film cross-country to a lab like this. Their pricing is not bloated like other labs who charge $10 to $15 just because they can. $6.65 per roll of 36 exposure slide film is what they charge and they ship the same day if they receive it by 2 PM (their time). First time customers get 10% off the first order and any order over $100 is shipped free. Dead Link Removed

Like I mentioned in my earlier message, I used Dwayne's for Kodachrome because I had to, and they did a good job with those rolls. I still have some Kodachrome and the negative comments about Dwayne's on this thread makes me nervous, but, what else can I do......besides selling the rolls on eBay for more than what I paid for them?

Locally, here in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area, we have two labs who do E-6. One charges a little over $10 and the other charges about $15. I've had color problems with both labs with maybe 1 out of 10 rolls because they're not consistantly keeping their chemicals fresh. I have to use these local labs because, occasionally, my clients require a fast turnaround time. The only thing I can do is use negative film more often, or, learn how to do E-6 myself. Digital is a last resort². -Marc

copake_ham · Oct 2, 2007

FilmSprocket said:
.....

Like I mentioned in my earlier message, I used Dwayne's for Kodachrome because I had to, and they did a good job with those rolls. I still have some Kodachrome and the negative comments about Dwayne's on this thread makes me nervous, but, what else can I do......besides selling the rolls on eBay for more than what I paid for them?

..... -Marc

Marc,

My advice - dump 'em. Take the money and buy Velvia 50.

I loved K-chrome and it was my favorite film for many, many years. But it is obsolete and the entire planet is now down to Dwayne's to process it.

And from they way they're now mishandling it - it's clear they want to be rid of it too.

I ordered and shot five rolls a year and a half ago as a farewell to a great film - kind of a send off to a old friend. It was fun to do so - but I don't mourn it disappearing.

After all, the processing is environmentally unfriendly and there are newer alternatives that give us those "nice bright colors".

Besides, freeing yourself from K-chrome means freeing yourself from Dwayne's!

EDIT: BTW I think one reason why the K-chrome processing has gone to crap at Dwayne's is that they have the Fuji biz keeping them in gravy. Oh, and thanks for the info on Carl's - it's been bookmarked!

Marc Akemann · Oct 2, 2007

copake_ham said:
Marc,

My advice - dump 'em. Take the money and buy Velvia 50.

I loved K-chrome and it was my favorite film for many, many years. But it is obsolete and the entire planet is now down to Dwayne's to process it.

And from they way they're now mishandling it - it's clear they want to be rid of it too.

I ordered and shot five rolls a year and a half ago as a farewell to a great film - kind of a send off to a old friend. It was fun to do so - but I don't mourn it disappearing.

After all, the processing is environmentally unfriendly and there are newer alternatives that give us those "nice bright colors".

Besides, freeing yourself from K-chrome means freeing yourself from Dwayne's!

Yep, I think you're absolutely right on all points.

I guess now, out of curiosity, I'll have to look at my pages of Kodachrome slides to see what my very last shot was taken with this great film.

Thank you,

Marc

aldevo · Oct 2, 2007

bdial said:
If you want a source in the East, Concord Camera in Concord NH does E-6 35 and 120. Everything they've done for me has been perfect. I get mine unmounted, so I can't comment on that, but they are a small shop and have clearly experienced people running the machines.
For me they are local, I don't know what they would do about mail orders, though other shops in the area send E-6 to them.
Their web site is http://www.concordcamera.com/ note, be careful of the URL.
I have no affiliation with them other than satisfied customer.

Oh, lord, not those guys...

I was working a contracting project in early May, 2003 when I sent these guys some E-6 from my trip to Denmark a few weeks earlier. Well, they had an issue with their line and promptly sent it South to...Dorian Color...who promptly proceeded to absolutely butcher them with deep scratches.

Believe me...Concord would have been better off simply telling me the slides were lost then what they handed back to me. Their excuse was that they normally never send anything out to be processed, but they were doing me a favor by trying to meet the promised date.

The resulting noise I made in that store was probably the direct cause of the Old Man in the Mountain falling off Cannon Mountain later that day!

Silverhead · Oct 3, 2007

aldevo said:
For example, the Boston, MA metro area is more than 3 million people but there is no processor anywhere near the city I would trust with my E-6.

Have you tried Newtonville Camera? I grew up in that area and never had a problem with them.

IloveTLRs · Oct 12, 2007

aldevo said:
For example, the Boston, MA metro area is more than 3 million people but there is no processor anywhere near the city I would trust with my E-6. In fact, I'd say one outfit - Dorian Color Labs - seems to be handling most of the market and as the competition has closed up shop they have really let their outfit go to hell in a handbasket as far as QC goes...

I was back home in Boston over the summer and it was shocking. Dorian's in Arlington, right? I've heard a few complaints about them (haven't used them myself, though.) Calumet recommended a place on The Cape that was supposed to do good E-6.

The whole scene in Boston was so pathetic I took all my E-6 and B&W back home to Japan and had them done here (two bulging x-ray bags in my bag had the TSAs interested.) Fuji & Kodak did a great job on all of them.

copake_ham · Nov 28, 2007

Look at this filth!

Sorry to have to revive this thread but I just got back a roll of Velvia 100F from Dwayne's - which now does all the Fujichrome mailers (of which I still have a bunch).

Look at how filthy this slide is! It was only taken from the box for scanning - it has come directly from Dwayne's.

This is a rip-off operation to send out finished product like this!

Sirius Glass · Nov 28, 2007

George,

On the bright side Dwayne's motivated me to first start processing Black & White film again. Then Dwayne's screwed up some more of my processing order and that motivated me to set up my bathroom into a convertible wet darkroom and my den into a convertible dry darkroom. I have built two window blackout devices, brought a large adjustable height table, an Omega D5XLSuper Chromega [35mm, 120, 4x5] enlarger with voltage control and timer unit, two 6 element Rodenstock lenses, an Omega Arkay Dual-Dri Table Top Print Dryer, a paper rotary trimmer, four enlarging easels, safe lights, bottles, trays, film processing tanks, and chemicals. A few more things and I will start my own Black & white printing; C-41 color processing and printing will come later.

So good things can come from Dwanye's processing screw-ups.

Take your lemons and make lemon-ade.

Steve

Craig · Nov 28, 2007

I got a roll of PKR back from Dwaynes recently, and it was perfect, as have been all of my rolls from them. Ok, there is a bit of dust from the cardbaord mounts, but a quick bit of air from a blower brush gets rid of that. I prefer the cardbaord mounts, so it small price to pay in my mind.

Just plaine had it with Dwayne's B&W, C-41, ...

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