[Wheatfield]

This thread is primarily about finding 'someone that cares enough to try & do a proper job of developing & scanning it'. I'm not seeing anything resembling that description either in brick and mortar or online. Do you have useful suggestions?

I've toyed with a slide duplicator and bellows, but I haven't hit on the right combination of lens and extension to get something I am happy with yet. I have an old Honeywell Repronar in the basement which, if i ever get the time, I am going to strip off the M42 body that is on it and see if I can mount an *istD to it.

Have you tried to find a used film scanner? Some of the Nikon ones were pretty darned good.
Heck, someplace around here I have an old HP Photosmart film scanner. It only runs under Win 98, and has to be plugged into it's own SCSI card, and is rather slow, but it gave decent scans.

[WJW]

Even though i live in the dallas/fw area and shoot color print film, i cannot find any local minilabs that process and scan my film satisfactorily. I have been using Target since they are close and very cheap but now even they are scanning my photos poorly (1.5Mpx with obvious frame misalignment).

Since my only local developing option is Target or a local photo shop that using the same machine, I just have the film developed. I get better scans from my Epson flatbed (4490 Photo) than I get from either of the locals. I just use the default settings and run them through quickly. If I find something I really want, I will rescan it at a higher resolution and more adjusted scan.

[BetterSense]

yeah, a photo scanner would really be the ticket. I'm not sure which ones work in linux, though.

[Ole]

Even though i live in the dallas/fw area and shoot color print film, i cannot find any local minilabs that process and scan my film satisfactorily. I have been using Target since they are close and very cheap but now even they are scanning my photos poorly (1.5Mpx with obvious frame misalignment).

I want to get my film developed to a good quality 2+Mpx digital file, is that so much to ask? I have heard that Costco is excellent; there are no costco's terribly close so I would really be interested in photo labs that I can ship film to for processing and scanning. I have heard of snapfish but AFAIK they don't provide proper scanning services.

I use North American Photo for 120 negative film. They really do quality work - I can only recommend them. To get going you must establish an account with them, i.e. surrender a credit card number.

North American Photo Home Page

[dantuyhoa]

One more option for you :

A trusted name in photo processing for over 50 years - Dwayne's Photo .

Also check out your local high schools/colleges . They may have a lab you can use .


For me a I used a local drugstore : I figured there must be somebody who trains all other photolab guys so I locate all the minilabs in 25 miles radius . I went and visited each one personally asking questions .

Voila I found him . Now I can have my C-41 done locally done at 10MP with 2.99/roll . CD included !

Apparently all my questions went back to him so he was quite impressed to see me going through all the stores to locate him .

Here what I did :

1. Visit the stores on slow days - middle of the week is best . Because just about everybody will drop off their films right after the weekend .

2. Don't expect it to be done in one hour . Come back and pick it up after couple days . It take time to scan at hi-res so give it time . If you insist one 1-hr , they just don't do it period !

3. Bring your photos / cameras and have a chit-chat with the guys . They love photography and always nice to talk to somebody about it , too .

Have fun .

[isa]

Hello everyone!

My first day on the forum, and this is already my 3rd thread!

Like most of you I shoot mostly film and do some digital as well. The best quality results I've had from scans are from Photo Scanning, Negative Scanning, Slide Scanning, Photo Restoration - ScanCafe. I met them at a tradeshow booth and sent them some 220 and 120 E6, about 100 images. They created 20 meg files for each negative and sent them back on a DVD. Clean scans, in fact: so clean, I can see chemical inconsistencies from my lab that are on the film itself: this happened in a couple of images.

ScanCafe is extremely reliable and cost-effective, but the downside is that one has to wait 1 month to 2 months for the scans. They are very upfront about this, and I haven't had anything missing, but the wait could be an issue for some. For me it's not a deal breaker, so I've been happy.

Thank you for the two folks who posted about Dwayne's and North American Photo. What I've been looking for is a good mail order film lab that does consistent E6. Unless you're a big name, Duggal in New York is the worst.

[Wombat]

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If you are going to take the time & effort to shoot film, then be at least willing to send your film to someone that cares enough to try & do a proper job of developing & scanning it..And, yes it might cost from 2-3 times what Target, Wal-Mart, or some other chain photo mini-lab is going to charge you..
Bruce

Amen, brother! As my Yorkshire mother would have said, "Why spoil the ship for a hap'orth o' tar?" ("Hap'orth" is "a halfpenny's-worth", ie a very small amount of money).

BTW, I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Oz local schools sometimes have photography equipment, darkrooms etc. which they sometimes make available to members of the local community for a small fee.

[bdp1]

You can scan film yourself with a digital SLR and a macro lens. Get or make a light board and some kind of holder for the film ( a little shelf for slides, an old holder from some scanner, etc ). Point the macro lens at the film and fill the frame and set the exposure and such, and you can copy as fast as you can get the film in front of the lens. Use a remote release or self timer, a tripod, and a blue filter if you are scanning negatives.

No automatic dust removal, but it does work well.