Where to develop film?

[Huss]

p.s. I got sample prints from them and those look nice.

 

[mweintraub]

They wrote back and said larger sizes are twice the cost. But not what that larger size is.. So already I am at least at the cost of pro labs (that anyone can use) that I am already using for my gallery, who most probably are giving me higher rez images, and they process E6 as well as B&W. Not just c41.
Plus having to jump through the hoops of signing up etc etc, sending two emails after that and still not knowing what size the large scans are , and what the actual cost is.
I find this business model all a little strange.

If you shoot a lot of different processing types, I understand. Do you have your own scanner? I use their scans for sharing online and/or previewing (same with included prints) and if I want one or two photos to print, I'll scan it myself at any size I want/it can handle. It's much cheaper in the long run to do it myself, as much of a pain it is. Their same day processing with free overnight delivery back is awesome. Like I said, it seems their business model is more IPS than just process/scan.

p.s. I got sample prints from them and those look nice.

When I send them my samples, I send some quick "7MP" scans and the 8x10s they sent back were great.

 

[Huss]

If you shoot a lot of different processing types, I understand. Do you have your own scanner? I use their scans for sharing online and/or previewing (same with included prints) and if I want one or two photos to print, I'll scan it myself at any size I want/it can handle. It's much cheaper in the long run to do it myself, as much of a pain it is. Their same day processing with free overnight delivery back is awesome. Like I said, it seems their business model is more IPS than just process/scan.



When I send them my samples, I send some quick "7MP" scans and the 8x10s they sent back were great.

I don't have my own scanner and at this time do not have much interest in getting one due to time constraints. I want a one stop shop where I get the film developed and hi rez scans all at once.
Out of curiosity I tried to scan using a DSLR (D750), light pad, macro lens and a flextight film holder. For colour I could not get close to match what real scans did, and in B&W it was ok until I compared the sharpness to real pro scans. Then it was lacking (but would have been fine for internet postings).

The sample prints were good - I had uploaded 4 files as per their instructions - but what was interesting was that they gave prints showing what I had uploaded w/ no corrections by them, and the same image with their recommended corrections. My monitor is correctly calibrated using an Xrite device, which continuously calibrates it. All their corrected images were a little more contrasty losing fine details in the highlights. Their uncorrected prints were great, just how I wanted them (which is why I always refuse the option to have a lab 'correct' my images), so I can see using Miller for printing services.

 

[images39]

I used Allied photo in St. Louis for a few years, but they stopped processing black and white. I switched to Photo Lab in Berkeley, California. Have been very happy with them. They use dip and dunk, with XTOL as their standard developer for b/w. They will use other developers like Rodinal, HC110, etc. for an extra fee. They will also push/pull as you specify.

http://www.photolaboratory.com/

 

[cooltouch]

Where to develop film? In my bathroom. I do all my own processing now, both color and B&W. I load it into the tank in my bedroom closet with a t-shirt stuffed in the bottom crack of the door, then I turn my back to the door and keep the film close to my body -- just in case there might be a stray light ray or two peaking in. I have a changing bag somewhere but I recently moved and haven't found the box yet it's packed away in.

 

[thuggins]

Out of curiosity I tried to scan using a DSLR (D750), light pad, macro lens and a flextight film holder. For colour I could not get close to match what real scans did, and in B&W it was ok until I compared the sharpness to real pro scans. Then it was lacking (but would have been fine for internet postings).

The process you describe works very well for slides. The results are at least as good as a desktop scanner and it is a lot faster. One would think that it should work as well for B&W. The problem with color negatives is the orange mask. Scanner software is designed to deal with this, but that d!&!+@l image making thingy isn't.

It is hard to know what your experience is with "real pro scans" is, but the ones I've had done ranged from pretty good to unacceptable. I've had better results scanning myself.

 

[cooltouch]

• I duplicate 35mm B&W and C-41 as well as slides with a NEX 7 and a 55/2.8 Micro Nikkor as part of a dupe rig. I think the lens one uses for doing the duplication is critical for a good outcome. The duplicates I make with my NEX rival a Nikon Coolscan in terms of resolution (4000 x 6000 pixels); they're quite a bit better than desktop scanner images. I've found that often, with both color and B&W negative film, the reversed images are somewhat lacking in contrast. This is easy to overcome in post, however. I've used two different software packages to convert color negative images: Photoshop and Paint Sho Pro. They both have a negative/invert command which takes into account the orange mask, so this makes it easier to get the colors close to correct. The one exception I've found to this, however, is Ektar. The color opposite to orange on the color wheel is cyan and there's something about Ektar's orange mask that gives both Photoshop and Paint Shop Pro fits. When the image is converted, there is way too much cyan, and try as I might I can't get rid of it all. So, my solution to this problem is -- I don't shoot Ektar anymore. I shoot Portra instead. Problem solved. Heck, I like Portra better anyway.

 

[one90guy]

I use The Darkroom in California, they do an excellent job at both developing and scanning but they are more expensive. If you want cheaper try Dwayne's in Kansas City. Both do mail order.

Signed up with The Darkroom, but could not find on there site if they will just develop my color 120 and send me the negatives. Going to send them a message but was hoping for quicker response.

David

 

[BAC1967]

Signed up with The Darkroom, but could not find on there site if they will just develop my color 120 and send me the negatives. Going to send them a message but was hoping for quicker response.

David

They are usually very responsive, hopefully they answer your question quickly. They do send you the negatives but I'm not sure if they do it without scanning. Their scans are very high quality, that's one of the reasons I use them.

 

[one90guy]

They are usually very responsive, hopefully they answer your question quickly. They do send you the negatives but I'm not sure if they do it without scanning. Their scans are very high quality, that's one of the reasons I use them.

Thank you BAC1967, after thinking it over and remembering how tiresome scanning can be I can live with that. My only problem through is finding that photos I scanned say back in 2007 will not load on my newer computer. So wanted to make sure negatives were returned.

David