Processing Velvia 50 at Wal-Mart

mtjade2007 · Apr 15, 2012

A few months ago I dug out a partially used 100 ft roll of Velvia 50 that has been in my freezer for maybe 10 years since I bought it. At the time I cut a 36 frames roll out of it and shot it for testing. Everything was great back then. I have stored the remaining in the freezer ever since.

This time I cut a 24 frame roll to shoot another round of testing. I sent it to Wal-Mart for processing. They sent to to a Fuji lab to do the actual processing. 10 days or so later I picked up the slides and found that the colors on the slides are rather poor. The exposure looks fine but the colors are off and ugly.

There are two possible reasons. One is my film is too old and is no good any more. The other is poor processing. I have never had any processing done by Wal-Mart. I have yet another unopened 100 ft roll of this film. It has been in the freezer for so many years that I now want to get it exposed and processed. I don't know why I kept them for so long. I am willing to buy a Kodak E6 gallon kit to process it using my Jobo ATL 2300 processor. But I would like to make sure that my Velvia 50 is still good. My film is about 12 - 13 years old. It has been in the freezer for 10 years. How good a chance this film is still good? I think the reason I left it in the freezer for so long was because I was occupied by my Pentax 67ii with negatives. I still have quite some 35 mm negatives in my freezer waiting to be exposed.

I know I have to test the Velvia again and send it to another lab to process. But if the film is likely garbage now I would rather simply forget it. Any suggestions? Thanks.

hrst · Apr 15, 2012

I've used some Velvia 50 at about 12-13 years old and it gave results with very magenta Dmax. It was usable though if this kind of effect was acceptable. However, it was probably stored at room temperature for years if not more, so your film may be in better condition. Still, definitely do not use it as a reference to evaluate processing quality.

Attached an example. This was shot in a shade which compensates for the error. Frames shot in warm light conditions are very red.

Lee L · Apr 15, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
I sent it to Wal-Mart for processing. They sent to to a Fuji lab to do the actual processing. 10 days or so later I picked up the slides and found that the colors on the slides are rather poor. The exposure looks fine but the colors are off and ugly.

Fuji shut down their E-6 lines years ago, and subcontracted the work. From what I've been able to determine, sending E-6 to Fuji through Walmart now actually goes to Dwayne's in Parsons, Kansas. The same place that did the last few years of Kodachrome. I've had good results with them on Kodak E-6 and Fuji Provia and Sensia in the last couple of years in both 35mm and 120. I don't have an answer to your problems, just wanted to mention where I think the processing is actually done.

Lee

brucemuir · Apr 15, 2012

Velvia does not keep well IME.

Klainmeister · Apr 15, 2012

I echo Bruce. I had Velvia 2 years expired that had a very heavy magenta shift. Velvia 100 on the other hand, I have not had any issues.

Tony-S · Apr 16, 2012

My Walmart won't take any slide film.

RVP50 is not as stable as RVP50 II and RVP50 II has better reciprocity characteristics.

ME Super · Apr 16, 2012

I've not had any problems getting my local Wal-Mart to accept slide film for send-out. I just put a big X through all the print options, check the special instructions box and mark it as E-6 slide film. Off it goes to Dwayne's, who has the contract for Fuji film developing, and I pick it up in a bit under 2 weeks.

Are you getting a "Service not available" slip with your returned film, or what are you getting back when you try Wal-Mart's send-out?

As for color, the Velvia 100 coming back from them looks rather warm, though whites are usually pretty close to pure white. I'm finding I prefer Provia's color palette for people shots to be much more to my liking, but for nature shots, Velvia 100 is awesome.

removed account4 · Apr 16, 2012

it wasn't fuji that processed it, it was dwaynes..
up until 2 years ago, i sent lots of 35mm + 120 color,
and cn/bw ( and even regular b/w ) film through sams club
to fuji to dwaynes, and never had troubles.

Tony-S · Apr 17, 2012

ME Super said:
Are you getting a "Service not available" slip with your returned film, or what are you getting back when you try Wal-Mart's send-out?

No, they won't even take it. They also send out C-41 now.

As for color, the Velvia 100 coming back from them looks rather warm, though whites are usually pretty close to pure white. I'm finding I prefer Provia's color palette for people shots to be much more to my liking, but for nature shots, Velvia 100 is awesome.

Astia is their "people film" but I agree that Provia is good, too. Provia can do adequate jobs of both Velvia and Astia, but of course there are some trade-offs in color saturation.

mtjade2007 · Apr 17, 2012

Thanks for the replies to my question. I don't think my Velvia 50 film was sent to dwayne's for processing. It looked like a Fuji lab. I could be wrong of course.

I did some search on the internet and found some said that if kept in freezer Velvia 50 can be still good over 10 years. One even said that Velvia 50 tends to have a magenta cast without being expired. My slides did show a bit of the magenta cast. Here is one shot I scanned. I think I will test the film again and this time I will send it to Dwayne's directly and see what it comes out.

CatLABS · Apr 17, 2012

Reversal film is terrible... why even bother with it when we have such great negative material nowa days???

jscott · Apr 17, 2012

I'll never forgive Walmart for losing two rolls from my Iceland honeymoon, without a trace or an apology.

Best to bypass them if it's photos you care about.

wogster · Apr 17, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
A few months ago I dug out a partially used 100 ft roll of Velvia 50 that has been in my freezer for maybe 10 years since I bought it. At the time I cut a 36 frames roll out of it and shot it for testing. Everything was great back then. I have stored the remaining in the freezer ever since.

This time I cut a 24 frame roll to shoot another round of testing. I sent it to Wal-Mart for processing. They sent to to a Fuji lab to do the actual processing. 10 days or so later I picked up the slides and found that the colors on the slides are rather poor. The exposure looks fine but the colors are off and ugly.

There are two possible reasons. One is my film is too old and is no good any more. The other is poor processing. I have never had any processing done by Wal-Mart. I have yet another unopened 100 ft roll of this film. It has been in the freezer for so many years that I now want to get it exposed and processed. I don't know why I kept them for so long. I am willing to buy a Kodak E6 gallon kit to process it using my Jobo ATL 2300 processor. But I would like to make sure that my Velvia 50 is still good. My film is about 12 - 13 years old. It has been in the freezer for 10 years. How good a chance this film is still good? I think the reason I left it in the freezer for so long was because I was occupied by my Pentax 67ii with negatives. I still have quite some 35 mm negatives in my freezer waiting to be exposed.

I know I have to test the Velvia again and send it to another lab to process. But if the film is likely garbage now I would rather simply forget it. Any suggestions? Thanks.

I think the real issue is using the terms processing and Walmart in the same sentence, it's like using honest and politician in the same sentence. Walmart doesn't process slides, they send them to someone else, you have no idea who they send it to, a lot of Fuji stuff will come back using Fuji branded materials, doesn't mean it's done by Fuji, just that the people doing it use Fuji supplies and probably a Fuji machine, but they may not be doing all the proper maintenance on it.

ME Super · Apr 17, 2012

krifartida said:
Reversal film is terrible... why even bother with it when we have such great negative material nowa days???

When I project negatives or look at 'em on a light box, the colors and tones are all wrong. Skies are dark, the sun is dark blue, and shadows are light. Leaves and grass are bluish-red. Plus there's that whole orange discoloration to 'em.

That's why I shoot reversal film.

albada · Apr 18, 2012

ME Super said:
Plus there's that whole orange discoloration to 'em.

Huh? You must be using the wrong kind of film. My film has a neutral base, smooth tones and it's never had problems with color-shifts. The edge-markings say "Kodak 400-2TMY". /2

Mark Overton

dehk · Apr 18, 2012

Why would bring it to the place where they sell tampons and take film at the same time?!

Lee L · Apr 18, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
Thanks for the replies to my question. I don't think my Velvia 50 film was sent to dwayne's for processing. It looked like a Fuji lab. I could be wrong of course.

Fuji shut down their own US labs years ago. Dwayne's now subcontracts for all Fuji E-6 lab work, even if it goes to Dwayne's in the Fuji envelope from Walmart. Another store in my area also sent out to Fuji, and that also went to Dwayne's. If you check the Fuji brand E-6 mailers at B&H, you'll see on the web site that it goes to Dwayne's. There is no Fuji run E-6 lab in the US. If you send direct to Dwayne's the cost will be a lot higher than Walmart and the processing is done on the same line. The box, mounts, and markings all match. If you don't believe the multiple people here, and need confirmation, call Dwayne's at 1-800-522-3940 and ask.

One reason to use Walmart for E-6 is that most areas in the US no longer have active E-6 lines. The one pro lab in a major city near me only does one E-6 run per week, same turn around time as Walmart/Fuji/Dwayne's. Walmart is often the only option for local drop-off and pick-up.

I have tried http://www.agximaging.com/ for 120 E-6 on the advice of another APUG member with good results, but I've also sent 120 E-6 in through Walmart to Fuji/Dwayne's with good results.

As for lost film, Walmart, their courier, the lab, or the postal or delivery service to any lab can occasionally lose film, but if you have no local E-6 line like most of the US, there's not a good way to avoid that risk. I've sent dozens of rolls to Fuji/Dwayne's from two local stores over the last several years with no lost film and good quality results.

Lee

ME Super · Apr 18, 2012

albada said:
Huh? You must be using the wrong kind of film. My film has a neutral base, smooth tones and it's never had problems with color-shifts. The edge-markings say "Kodak 400-2TMY". /2

Mark Overton

Nope. I'm using the right kind of film - reversal film. The film for color prints just doesn't look right when projected. I do have a roll of Tri-X in the fridge though that I'm gonna get out one of these days and bracket to find which ISO I like it shot at.

removed account4 · Apr 18, 2012

yeah ... fuji only did c41 35mm ( and cn c41 if you asked )
everything else went to kansas ...

albada · Apr 19, 2012

ME Super said:
Nope. I'm using the right kind of film - reversal film. The film for color prints just doesn't look right when projected. I do have a roll of Tri-X in the fridge though that I'm gonna get out one of these days and bracket to find which ISO I like it shot at.

In all seriousness, seeing just one set of slides in the 1970's convinced me to switch to slide film. Well done slides look almost 3-d, with stunning colors.
So why do I shoot just B&W and C-41 now? I dunno... convenience? More latitude? But I still love what reversal can do.

Mark Overton

chuck94022 · Apr 19, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
This time I cut a 24 frame roll to shoot another round of testing. ...

Any suggestions? Thanks.

I think you should periodically cut more off for another round of testing. Each time see what comes back. Eventually you'll run out of film, and the whole exercise will be moot...

madgardener · Apr 19, 2012

I just got some slides back from Walmart. I used to send my slide film to York processing, but sometime in the past year, they stopped and I got the roll back. So I took the roll (Elite Chrome 400) to Walmart. There is a place in Illinois that I am thinking about sending my film to that still does E-6. I have a lot of slide film in my freezer that's approaching 2 years expired. My goal is to get it all used up before summer ends, and I can start the fall with some fresh Velvia.

nickrapak · Apr 20, 2012

madgardener said:
I just got some slides back from Walmart. I used to send my slide film to York processing, but sometime in the past year, they stopped and I got the roll back. So I took the roll (Elite Chrome 400) to Walmart. There is a place in Illinois that I am thinking about sending my film to that still does E-6. I have a lot of slide film in my freezer that's approaching 2 years expired. My goal is to get it all used up before summer ends, and I can start the fall with some fresh Velvia.

I'm pretty sure there is a local lab in Allentown that does E-6, although I can't remember the name at the moment. If anything, I know of good labs in Philadelphia and Wilmington, DE that would be more than willing to process your film.

megalime · Apr 25, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
Thanks for the replies to my question. I don't think my Velvia 50 film was sent to dwayne's for processing. It looked like a Fuji lab. I could be wrong of course.

I did some search on the internet and found some said that if kept in freezer Velvia 50 can be still good over 10 years. One even said that Velvia 50 tends to have a magenta cast without being expired. My slides did show a bit of the magenta cast. Here is one shot I scanned. I think I will test the film again and this time I will send it to Dwayne's directly and see what it comes out.View attachment 49578

Is the magenta cast on the slide or just when you scan? My epson v500 gives all my color a magenta cast.

ricardo12458 · Apr 26, 2012

mtjade2007 said:
Thanks for the replies to my question. I don't think my Velvia 50 film was sent to dwayne's for processing. It looked like a Fuji lab. I could be wrong of course.

I did some search on the internet and found some said that if kept in freezer Velvia 50 can be still good over 10 years. One even said that Velvia 50 tends to have a magenta cast without being expired. My slides did show a bit of the magenta cast. Here is one shot I scanned. I think I will test the film again and this time I will send it to Dwayne's directly and see what it comes out.View attachment 49578

The colours look fine IMO. Are you sure it has a colour cast? Maybe check your scanner settings? Velvia is a tad hard to scan.....

-R

Processing Velvia 50 at Wal-Mart

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