What is your monthly film developing and scanning budget?

[Certain Exposures]

What is your monthly film developing and scanning budget for those of you relying on professional labs for C-41 and E6 processing and scanning? How many rolls do you average a month? I am curious because I am in the middle of putting together a budget. I may be using labs for the rest of the year.

I developed everything my self last year.

 

[lowleft]

Every time I start to think about using labs for time savings, the cost just sky rockets so quickly. I shoot in bursts, sometimes going out 3-5 times in a week and other times not shooting for a week or two at all. But if I only did 2-3 rolls a month I might send it to a lab.

 

[Certain Exposures]

We are in the same boat. I have exposed more than 100ft of just 35mm film this year.

I mostly survive off an expired supply like a scavenger.

 

[lowleft]

We are in the same boat. I have exposed more than 100ft of just 35mm film this year.

I mostly survive off an expired supply like a scavenger.

Haha yeah that's fair. I do tend to gather a bit of a backlog, but after a bit there's just a flow of film to dev and scan so it feels like something new all the time. I also will prioritize some stuff that I'm real excited for, and wait on other stuff that is just kinda for fun if I'm not needing it asap. This way I spend less money, as long as I don't let the chems expire anyway.

 

[mshchem]

I have no idea. I have so much stuff I could get by for 5+ years. I have a tendency to try to support companies that I'm fond of, namely Ilford and Kodak for film, Foma and Ilford for paper. Adox is a great company, I use some of their chemistry, their new 3 bath E6 kit is nice.

I mostly shoot 120 black and white, some Ektachrome and Fujichrome (when the Fujichrome is gone from my freezer that's it, I'm not chasing the Velvia dream. Way too expensive!!!)

Film is expensive, but I require it.

 

[Agulliver]

I shoot way more B&W than colour so I think I average only two rolls of colour per month, 20-25 rolls a year give or take.

So for me, that means £12 a month. At current rates that's US$16.32 according to Google.

 

[loccdor]

No more than $4/roll using kits. Lab was not only too expensive but lower quality and made mistakes. If I'm on a roll I might do 9 35mm develops in a month, but usually it's closer to 4-6 rolls per month. I have a backlog going back about a year now, but I'm whittling it down.

 

[pentaxuser]

Just out of curiosity can I ask why learning about others' budgets helps you to decide on yours. In asking this question I assume that your budget like everyone's else's budget depends on your own financial resources.

Thanks

pentaxuser

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I don't shoot much, so I'm not concerned about budgeting. From your standpoint, if you shoot a lot, just divide your budget to figure out the amount of film and developing you can shoot. Also, keep in mind ancillary costs like gasoline, automobile depreciation, tolls, equipment, etc. Photographers often don't consider these other items. This is why I suggest using film that hasn't expired. The few bucks you save is only a very small portion of the overall costs when you include all these items. If a shot is blown because the film is expired, you also wasted the money required for gas, tolls, etc.

 

[Certain Exposures]

Just out of curiosity can I ask why learning about others' budgets helps you to decide on yours. In asking this question I assume that your budget like everyone's else's budget depends on your own financial resources.

Thanks

pentaxuser

I do not think it will help me decide on my budget. It will might help me identify fellow film addicts though.

Photographers often don't consider these other items. This is why I suggest using film that hasn't expired.

True, a bad roll of expired can sour an evening (or two). When I have purchased expired film I have always done so in a decent sized batch and done tests with the hope that the whole batch aged similarly. I may not go down that path anymore, though.

 

[BurntOutElectronics]

Personally, no specific budget is set. I shoot as I desire but exactly what the stock chosen is often is weighed more by how easily it is to get more, be it cost or scarcity, than it is by the specific subject matter.
Though I am near on 40 rolls in this year, mostly E6/C41, so perhaps I'm not as stingy as others might be.

 

[Saganich]

Film roughly $30/month, developing <$1/month for D23, scanning, lets say scanning equipment life about 144 months at an initial cost of $2000, so about $15/month over 12 years.

 

[Alan Edward Klein]

I do not think it will help me decide on my budget. It will might help me identify fellow film addicts though.



True, a bad roll of expired can sour an evening (or two). When I have purchased expired film I have always done so in a decent sized batch and done tests with the hope that the whole batch aged similarly. I may not go down that path anymore, though.

Makes sense. Once burned; twice foolish.

 

[Prest_400]

I go on bursts, and specially depending on trips, events and family visits. No specific budget.

With my more targeted and spontaneous shooting habits sans travel, it tended to be about 1-3 rolls of color per month. Count 10-12 per half year that I sent out to the lab, and had scanned in some instances. Depending on the scans that's easily $150-200. GOing to budget concerns, $200 is some money and another hobby is travel or such, and that is almost enough to cover a well planned weekend getaway.

After some Asian trips where I had it done locally, the other rolls that didn't travel there were develop only. I I have about 15 rolls of color film not scanned frame by frame spanning back fall 2024. Have some flatbed contact sheets ready however... So for dev only at $6 give or take, it's just $60-70 per season. I keep procastinating the set up of digital scanning, perhaps when NLP comes out standalone...

B&W I am much more proficient, but that does not go to a lab. I stocked up on all types of films again from last summer film deals. About 15+15 rolls of B&W HP5 and D400, 10 of Kentmere, some other odds and ends (IR, CHS100II). Frozen fresh E6. C41 I am down to a couple Portra 160 rolls that are leftover from my travels and kept as speciall and somehow got a couple propacks worth of Gold 200 loose here and there. I hit a few rolls of it, fresh, of a local auction site and shaved off $2.5 each off what they go retail here.
Expired happens if it's my stock, I have even been burned by backing paper mottling in some Foma that was fresh but had been warm and humid in these travels; the other rolls too but thankfully not affected. I gave away the couple rolls left to a Toy camera user.

Ironically also I am a paper scavenger. I've either thrifted, been given, or used common donated paper of our photoclub. 20 year old Ilford MGIV RC does great workprints still. Last winter it was a couple boxes worth, about 200 sheets used. $250 give or take.

 

[Pieter12]

Whatever it takes. My film use varies, I don’t scan film.