Samy's slide processing

BetterSense · Jan 16, 2010

I've been getting all my slides done through Samy's camera. They have been coming back with a lot of shallow scratches on the base side. Not the kind of scratches that show up in scans or projection, but the kind that make the slide itself ugly. The scratching could be coming from my pressure plate or film cassettes, but I was wondering if anyone else was using Samy's and having the same experience.

Screwdriver · Jan 16, 2010

I live by Samy's...never used them. In LA I use Swan Photo for my developing. They have done a great job so far. Canoga Camera, Valley Photo and Freestyle use them...not sure who Samy's uses. I was using Woodland Hills Camera and the lab they used scratched all my negs.....so i gave up.

Shawn Rahman · Jan 16, 2010

Are you shipping your slide film from Texas to Samy's in L.A.? I think Samy's does well on color prints, but I've never tried chrome there.

You should really try to send your slide film to A&I in Hollywood - it is, IMHO, the best color lab in America.

nickandre · Jan 16, 2010

Do the scratches run the length of the film?

Darkroom317 · Jan 16, 2010

I have used Samy's for some 120 transparencies and haven't noticed any scratches.

DanielStone · Jan 16, 2010

BetterSense said:
I've been getting all my slides done through Samy's camera. They have been coming back with a lot of shallow scratches on the base side. Not the kind of scratches that show up in scans or projection, but the kind that make the slide itself ugly. The scratching could be coming from my pressure plate or film cassettes, but I was wondering if anyone else was using Samy's and having the same experience.

are you sending them to Samy's 805(santa barbara store) to the in-house lab?

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Samy's in the LA area uses A&I for E-6 processing. Not sure why they don't just do it in-house, much cheaper(look at the above website, they're running a $5/roll(35mm mounted/unmounted, 120/220) special on E-6.

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they use Fuji chems in Refrema Dip-N-Dunk processors.

I haven't had ANY problems with them so far.

nice people on the phone too.

btw, FREE RETURN SHIPPING on the E-6 processing special.

support them, they do great processing, and losing this cheap lifeline for e-6 processing is not something I(or many other students and pro's I know) want to lose .

-Dan

BetterSense · Jan 17, 2010

I'm using the $5 processing, on account of it being $5. The scratches run along the length of the film, and are on most of the slides. It could be my cartridges are scratched. I was just wondering if other people had good luck or if I was going too cheap here.

railwayman3 · Jan 17, 2010

Scratches running the length of the film (particularly if they are in the same position on more then one film) could well indicate a pressure plate or grit problem in the camera,

Grit on a cassete light-seal is possible, but very unlikely if you are using the films straight from the factory packaging and keeping them in a reasonably dust-free place while out of the camera. Reloaded cassettes can give problems with repeated use, though.

Maybe try one film at a different lab and compare...that should show whether the issue is with your current lab rather than your own equipment or working methods.

DanielStone · Jan 17, 2010

to the best of my knowledge, ALL the film sent to them, c-41 and e-6, is processed on dip-n-dunk refrema processors. they might be running the $5 films through a RT machine, who knows. When I talked with them last(october I think), I remember asking them if they did what I just mentioned, and they said that they used RT ONLY for their 1hr turnaroud film processing(which I don't think they do anymore anyhow, for any service)

send them a message, maybe you'll hear back

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

otherwise, send a roll to another lab, and see if the scratches still appear in the same places...

-Dan

Samy's slide processing

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