[dhodgeh]

Digging out my LX with with intent to start shooting B&W.

Long term is to do my own development and scanning, but to get started, I'm thinking that having a lab develop my film would be the way to go.

So, I'm looking for recommendations and feedback on labs that people in the group have had any experience with (good or bad).

Thanks in advance.

[Xmas]

Try also asking for free processing kit tank, changing bag,...

[dsmithhfx]

Try also asking for free processing kit tank, changing bag,...

Last I checked, you have to buy 'em...

[abruzzi]

Digging out my LX with with intent to start shooting B&W.

Long term is to do my own development and scanning, but to get started, I'm thinking that having a lab develop my film would be the way to go.

So, I'm looking for recommendations and feedback on labs that people in the group have had any experience with (good or bad).

Thanks in advance.

When I first got back into film a year ago, I started by sending my film out to thedarkroom.com. The develop most formats, B&W, C41 Color, and E6 color. They include small scans in the price and you can upgrade to larger scans.

For B&W about $90 will get you everything you need to do the developing yourself:

Patterson Tank and Reels: $35
Rodinal Developer: $15
Fixer: $15
Stop: $10
Misc measuring cups needed.

(I'm not necessarily recommending rodinal as a developer except that it mixes in high dilutions of 1:50 and doesn't go bad, so it's an easy developer to start with.)

Once I started doing black and white a home, I started sending out my C41 to Precision Camera in Austin, TX, because they have a very good price on C41 with hi-resolution scans. It is a special price they give to members of rangefinderforum.com:

RFF Ultra-High Resolution Scans

They do E6 and B&W as well, but I've never used their B&W service.

[twilhelm]

abruzzi covered what you would need for home developing.

Have you checked locally? I have a small, not well stocked (read as no Pentax) photo store that does in-house development of B&W and C-41. I’ve never used them because I do all of my own, but the results I’ve seen from others was really good. They also carry a small array of darkroom accessories for when I need to replace something.

The best way to find out is call the nearest college. Most still have a photography class and can tell you if there’s someone locally doing development.

[LesDMess]

I wonder if you have a local college available that has a course on b&w? Been awhile since I last went to one but if it is accessible and the price is still right, you practically get unlimited use of their lab for developing film as well as paper.
You really just need to develop the first roll and it is all downhill from there.

[jcsnyc]

I have been using Home - www.bleekerdigital.com for my LX photos and also TLR shots and have been very happy with them!

Pentax LX - 50mm 1.2
I believe Ilford 400 pushed to 800...and Kodak Tri-X

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Last edited by jcsnyc; 01-09-2019 at 08:29 PM. Reason: Added samples

[runswithsizzers]

After not shooting any B&W for 40-plus years, I just started shooting mono in my old Pentax MX(s) again. I have collected a small list of labs recommended by members of another forum. I haven't tried any of these yet, but I trust the folks who say these labs are good:

The Darkroom, San Clemente, CA,
The Darkroom | 35mm Film Developing by Mail

Richard Photo Lab, Los Angeles,
Richard Photo Lab

Photolab (Photolaboratory), Berkeley, CA
High Quality Film processing at Photolab

Precision Photo, Austin, TX
B&W Film Processing- 35mm

For my first few rolls of b&w I have been trying out something different - there is a lab in Stuart, Iowa called DR5 that can develop many standard b&w films (but not all) as positives. That is, b&w "chromes" or slides. If you plan to scan the film rather than making prints in a chemical darkroom, DR5 claims their reversal process has several advantages compared to the same films developed as negatives (finer grain, wider dynamic range, higher D-max, etc). You probably don't want to fall in love with b&w positives if you plan on home developing because I doubt dr5's propritary process can be duplicated at home. And there are very few other options for b&w positives in the US.

Be warned, DR5's website is Not Pretty. In fact, it's almost laughably bad. But if you want to check it out, this page is as good a place to start as any
dr5CHROME THE ONLY UNIVERSAL b&W SLIDE PROCESSING - For most ALL film-types. The Highest Quality SCALA PROCESSING - WORLDWIDE
... and these two pages show some comparisons to conventional processing
dr5 CHROME - Black and White transparency process + THE ONLY RELIABLE SCALA PROCESSING WORLDWIDE
dr5 CHROME - Black and White transparency process + THE ONLY RELIABLE SCALA PROCESSING WORLDWIDE

I have no affiliation; not even really recommending them because my experiece is still very limited. Anyway, like I said, it's something different.

Ilford HP5 Plus developed as positives by dr5 and home scanned on my old Minolta film scanner; post processed in Photoshop:

[dhodgeh]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I do intend to develop at home in the future, but at the moment, it's just not feasible (long story......). And I want to make sure this interest is going to stick before I go down that path.

[gofour3]

For my first few rolls of b&w I have been trying out something different - there is a lab in Stuart, Iowa called DR5 that can develop many standard b&w films (but not all) as positives. That is, b&w "chromes" or slides. If you plan to scan the film rather than making prints in a chemical darkroom, DR5 claims their reversal process has several advantages compared to the same films developed as negatives (finer grain, wider dynamic range, higher D-max, etc). You probably don't want to fall in love with b&w positives if you plan on home developing because I doubt dr5's propritary process can be duplicated at home. And there are very few other options for b&w positives in the US.

+1 for DR5!

I've been using them to process my b&w positives for 10 years now and mostly use Fomapan R100. Adox Silvermax is also very good as a positive and the website has some of my shots as an example.

Phil.

[runswithsizzers]

I wonder if you have a local college available that has a course on b&w? Been awhile since I last went to one but if it is accessible and the price is still right, you practically get unlimited use of their lab for developing film as well as paper.
You really just need to develop the first roll and it is all downhill from there.

This is a good suggestion, especially for those of a certain age. A friend who teaches photography at a nearby state university told me about a program for "seniors" (over age 62) who can enroll in one course per semester - for free!

Tomorrow I hope to enroll in her Medium Format Photography class. I have been thinking about getting a 645 or 6x6 film camera, and now I can get some hands-on experience with several models as provided by the school.

[abruzzi]

Learning to develop B&W at home is the default position most of us take, hence all the responses on doing it yourself. However there are lots of reasons why that might not work for you. In that case, I'd look at some of the larger, more reputable labs--Dwaynes, The Darkroom, Richards Photo Lab. When I started, I didn't have any way to scan either, and since I didn't want to go through all of this for a 4.5mp JPG, my decision was based on the cost to get a reasonably high resolution scan. In some cases I found it surprisingly difficult to get actual resolution specs on the scans:

https://www.dwaynesphoto.com/newsite2006/color-neg-processprint.html
Information on scanning your negatives - The Darkoom
Richard Photo Lab | Blog


As an aside, I'm surprised that online labs don't advertise what B&W developer they use, and some people might want to know that. I've heard that thedarkroom.com uses DD-X and that Xtol is also very common.

[runswithsizzers]

Learning to develop B&W at home is the default position most of us take, hence all the responses on doing it yourself. However there are lots of reasons why that might not work for you. In that case, I'd look at some of the larger, more reputable labs--Dwaynes, The Darkroom, Richards Photo Lab. When I started, I didn't have any way to scan either, and since I didn't want to go through all of this for a 4.5mp JPG, my decision was based on the cost to get a reasonably high resolution scan. In some cases I found it surprisingly difficult to get actual resolution specs on the scans:

Processing and printing of color negative film - develop and print - great prices from a trusted name for over 50 years - Dwayne's Photo Service
Information on scanning your negatives - The Darkoom
Richard Photo Lab | Blog


As an aside, I'm surprised that online labs don't advertise what B&W developer they use, and some people might want to know that. I've heard that thedarkroom.com uses DD-X and that Xtol is also very common.

Not b&w, but I recently had Dwayne's develop and scan some Portra 160 color neg film. The negatives looked fine, but I did not care for the scans done by Dwayne's. If examined at 100% pixel magnification, there were some kind of speckled, grainy artifacts present. When I rescanned the same negs on my home scanner, the images were much better, so I'm pretty sure the gritty speckles were somehow introduced by Dwayne's scanning or digital processing.

I have used Dwayne's in the past - a lot - for E6, which was fine. But if you want scans, I would suggest testing a roll first and look at it close.

I did find one lab which mentions the type of developer they normally use, and they give you option to use some others, as well:
Photolab (Photolaboratory), Berkeley, CA
High Quality Film processing at Photolab
... says their Standard b&w processing is in Kodak Xtol, but they also offer "Special" b&w processing in Acufine, Rodinal, or HC110

[LesDMess]

This is a good suggestion, especially for those of a certain age. A friend who teaches photography at a nearby state university told me about a program for "seniors" (over age 62) who can enroll in one course per semester - for free!

Tomorrow I hope to enroll in her Medium Format Photography class. I have been thinking about getting a 645 or 6x6 film camera, and now I can get some hands-on experience with several models as provided by the school.

That's a great opportunity worth taking advantage of!

Last class I took, I involved myself with the rest of the class projects even though I really only wanted to use the facilities more. Got to try various papers and other developers too. Turned out to be a lot more fun engaging with others of similar interests - hipsters and old alike!

[abruzzi]

Not b&w, but I recently had Dwayne's develop and scan some Portra 160 color neg film. The negatives looked fine, but I did not care for the scans done by Dwayne's. If examined at 100% pixel magnification, there were some kind of speckled, grainy artifacts present. When I rescanned the same negs on my home scanner, the images were much better, so I'm pretty sure the gritty speckles were somehow introduced by Dwayne's scanning or digital processing.

interesting. I've never used Dwayne's, though I've heard positive things about them. I started with the Darkroom, then moved to Precision in Austin due to their C41 pricing. The only issues I've encountered with either is on rare occasions, when the image is pretty dark on the edge, whatever detects the end of the frame will sometimes miss and the scan will have a black bar on one end, and be cutoff on the other.