|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 07:21 PM
|
| |
Thanks, I'll check out Mike's lab. My first roll of E-6 is in the fridge. Plan on shooting that sometime when there are actually colors to shoot rather than the dead of winter and considering there's no snow, there's not much to take advantage of now except sunrise and sunset.
|
|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 04:17 PM
|
| |
Good deal, thanks. I have about 10+ rolls of traditional B&W in the fridge. As a non-pro and one who doesn't make a living with photography, I may give the C-41 B&W stocks a try, even to compare to TMAX.
|
|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 02:18 PM
|
| |
I have a roll of Velvia to shoot. Never shot slide film. Looking forward to trying Portra 400 shot at 200 on the camera. Also picked up a light meter. Should make flash work easier and help me get better results on film as well.
|
|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 01:34 PM
|
| |
This is the feedback I am looking for. $9/roll sounds great, but not if you aren't happy with the results. I was impressed with Find and Richard with the time they spend on the phone with me and description of the services. The gal at Dwayne's that answered the phone couldn't tell me what scanners they use without having to put me on hold. Film is expensive enough to shoot to get back results you're not happy about. At $13/roll, that's worth it for color from Find to get feedback and higher quality work. $22 vs $9 for B&W is quite a jump though. The problem I face is even if I develop my own, scanning services are almost the same or more than having the film processed and scanned at the same time.
Can anyone speak to the scan quality variations with B&W? I can see how color corrections and adjustments are far more critical with C-41 than B&W. I'm likely wrong, but it seems getting a good exposure and metering properly with black and white would lead to a straightforward scan to get what what you shot. I'm willing to pay for quality work and attention to detail. I would expect Dwayne's to be better service than a local pharmacy photo machine, but if it's only slightly better and the scans are marginally better, it is what it is and I'll have to pay more.
One reason for me wanting to shoot more film is the time saving. If the lab does awesome work and I have very little to do on the computer, I'm happy. I don't want to do post production work. I realize that time costs money and that's what I'm buying when working with a photo lab - someone else's time to develop and properly scan for me.
|
|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 10:53 AM
|
| |
I'll never go in the store. I wasn't a huge fan even when it was Coe. The other "local" lab is Dan's Camera City in Allentown. At about an hour or so drive, I'd treat them like any other mail order lab.
---------- Post added 02-15-17 at 12:55 PM ----------
Matt, I've seen your stuff on the forum for years and always liked your work. I think most of what I've seen has been digital, but if you're happy with how the film turns out, I'd trust your judgement.
Thanks, I'll check them out.
|
|
Forum: Film Processing, Scanning, and Darkroom
02-15-2017, 09:50 AM
|
| |
After about three years since I last used film, I'm going back to it. I'm going to work with B&W and color 35mm. I'm not a pro nor do I make a penny with photography; however, with the price of film, process and scanning, I want good results. I'm not looking to do my own developing or scanning. One aspect of shooting film to which I'm looking forward is the reduction in post processing time. Developing, scanning, and post on the digital image probably puts me back, time-wise, to working with digital images to edit with software.
I saw some labs recommended on a few posts and just curious what labs people are using. Pricing seems to vary quite a bit and all seem to offer slightly different work flows and "extras" above processing and digital images. No one local does in house for B&W. The two local shops typically hold rolls until they get a large enough order to send it out. They said expect 4-6 weeks turnaround time on B&W. I'm not willing to wait that long, especially since I'd have to send it out anyway, why wait for others if paying to ship it is part of the process either route.
Here are the labs who are not local who I spoke with:
North Coast Photographic Services
The Find Lab
Richard Photo Lab
Dwayne's Photo
Prices vary from the low end to the high end by more than double. I understand there can be a wide variety of difference in the end results based on the operators and settings on the scanners. Has anyone tried more than one of these labs and found significant differences in the quality or consistency of the results? What other labs are out there?
|
