Some "good" film news...

The camera store I frequent Is the last place my side of the state to process film in house, and I've been told they're running film every day now (at least for the summer).

I have a fairly new local shop mostly dedicated to film processing and film sales now too! It's only a few minutes from my house. Somehow they made it through the pandemic. They process/scan/print 35mm and 120, maybe other formats I'm not sure. They can handle C41 or black and white, and they have good turn around times (usually a day for 35mm C41). I give them whatever business I possibly can. Their prices are quite reasonable too.

For those residing in the suburbs to the east of L.A., or to west of San Bernardino, or even SoCal generally, you might give them a try. They are called Pro Photo Factory, and are at 9455 Central Ave, Montclair, CA 91763.

This is an unsolicited plug - I have no connection to the owner - I just support film photography!

Robert Maxey said:

I worked for Bill Shipler Photo. We started in the 1800's. Because Kodak is largely no more, my way of printing would have to stop.
I really try to support local shops, but sadly, i can't. And I am not sure what the answer is.

Bob

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What was the part that Kodak played that cannot be substituted by materials from others such as Ilford? Hasn't Kodak seen a revival? We are short of colour film for instance or so it is said because Kodak cannot keep up with current demand.

pentaxuser

Robert Maxey said:

General query: do you all support your local lab? If so, how do they (generally) compare for mail-order processing and printing? One of the very last rolls of slides I had locally processed came back ruined. They were stereo and i said NO MOUNTING. They figured out a way to spoil my day.

Perhaps we should all pay a little more for things locally.

Bob

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my local lab is 103 miles away....yes, I do drive down there occasionally, drop off a few rolls of film for D&P and pick up my prints in a week or two.

I have one local E6 lab - "The Lab" - dip and dunk, all formats including sheet film, same day service.
They also run a similar C-41 line, as well as black and white.
There is one 35mm E6 line in one branch of the local London Drugs multi-store chain - their volumes are low, and service times are moderately long, but they are pretty good quality.
London drugs have C-41 machines in a fair number of their stores as well. They only do inkjet prints from scans.
I have two other local C-41 labs.
One runs out of the main store of Kerrisdale Cameras - the relatively large chain around here. They use mini-lab equipment with 120 capability, and their prices are excellent.
The other main pro lab is ABC Photo. They run C-41.
Both The Lab and ABC will make machine prints from scans or custom colour enlargements optically. They supply both RA4 prints and inkjet prints. The optical enlargements are not inexpensive.
There are a couple of other small players, but no mini-labs that I know of other than London Drugs and Kerrisdale Cameras.

pentaxuser said:

What was the part that Kodak played that cannot be substituted by materials from others such as Ilford? Hasn't Kodak seen a revival? We are short of colour film for instance or so it is said because Kodak cannot keep up with current demand.

pentaxuser

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Add them all together, and Kodak offered a vast selection of sensitized goods, as well as a huge catalog of processing aids, tool, and products. The only concern that comes close in terms of film, is Illford and their custom sizes ordering program.

Indeed, Kodak can't keep up with demand, but only for a mere handful of products. It is simply a matter of to few customers for films and papers. Do you think we will be talking about the demise of digital when something different arrives?

Bob

Thanks Bob I too touch on some of your points above in another current thread and share some concerns about the long term viability of "things analogue" but as I said in that thread the key question is: Are there signs of sufficient import that suggests that these few customers for film and papers are either now in big enough numbers to sustain a smaller model or at least does the trend of growth indicate that this sustainable figure will be reached?

pentaxuser

ChristopherCoy said:

Day before yesterday I went over to the local camera shop, Houston Camera Exchange, to pick up some bulk film cassettes. I was surprised to see how much analog things they had.

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After some problem on their mini lab they shut down the film processing service a few years ago. Had to ship my films to Austin (Holland Photo), where they usually did a good job but with too much of the occasional problem (scans not done as indicated, slides taking forever to come back as they themselves shipped slides to be processed elsewhere), something I did not experience at HCE when the friendly Matthew took care of the lab.
I pray that the resurgence in film for them means that they will eventually reopen their processing service…

I do C41 colour via my local camera shop which has an Agfa DLab on site, operated by a lady who's been in the business long enough to remember C22. I think she also does E6 and B&W but I do B&W at home and haven't shot E6 in a while. The prices are cheap and she's reliable. £4 for process and scan with download for any format...135, 120, 110, 126, 127. Turnaround is anything from 36 hours to a week depending on how busy she is and if her machine needs spare parts - she often has to perform minor repairs. She's processing films every day and has been rushed off her feet at times. If you shoot 6x9 on 120 or some other format that she doesn't have scanning masks for on the DLab she'll do manual flatbed scans *at no extra cost*, bless her.

I would say the quality might disappoint a professional who makes their living by photography and requires absolute perfection but she does do processing for pros. the scans I get, as an amateur, occasionally have a spec of dust or similar on them.

I've used mail order labs too, nothing wrong with Nik & Trick or Photo Hippo...just more expensive and I usually walk past this shop when I get into town after work. Win-win.