Film Developing in the UK

mothdust said:
From getting a roll developed today, I can confirm that Costco's £1.50 C41 development does work, and was perfectly good!
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Interesting! Is this only at selected stores?

Genie Imaging's dev-only cost has now gone up to £2.79 ex VAT (it used to be £2.29), which is £3.35 incl VAT. It's still cheap for fast E6.
 
freecom2 said:
Interesting! Is this only at selected stores?

Genie Imaging's dev-only cost has now gone up to £2.79 ex VAT (it used to be £2.29), which is £3.35 incl VAT. It's still cheap for fast E6.
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Indeed, ridiculously cheap for E6 I think, and I was properly impressed with the condition of the negs I got back from them, and it was quick too
 
freecom2 said:
Interesting! Is this only at selected stores?

Genie Imaging's dev-only cost has now gone up to £2.79 ex VAT (it used to be £2.29), which is £3.35 incl VAT. It's still cheap for fast E6.
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Do they really charge postage per-film, as the spreadsheet says?
 
freecom2 said:
I'm not the person who would have the answer to that, I'm afraid - I'd be surprised if they did, but I am close enough that I drop and pick-up in person.
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Aha, ta. The website doesn't update the price, no matter which postal option I choose, and I don't want to go any further in the process as I don't actually have any film I want to process at the moment.
 
Hang on, I'll dig out my invoice and see what it says

ETA: No, I dont think so... Two films and a cd posted back to me for £3.80 which is exactly what it cost me to send it the same way.
 
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freecom2 said:
Interesting! Is this only at selected stores?

Genie Imaging's dev-only cost has now gone up to £2.79 ex VAT (it used to be £2.29), which is £3.35 incl VAT. It's still cheap for fast E6.
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Have you had your e-6 mounted? Do they charge much more for that service?
 
freecom2 said:
Interesting! Is this only at selected stores?

Genie Imaging's dev-only cost has now gone up to £2.79 ex VAT (it used to be £2.29), which is £3.35 incl VAT. It's still cheap for fast E6.
Click to expand...

The price sheet looked official, so I don't think it was a one-off. I'm not sure how many Costcos have photo developing sections, but it's definitely worth a look. And yep, there's the membership fee to pay yearly, but if you have it anyway...
 
RaglanSurf said:
Have you had your e-6 mounted? Do they charge much more for that service?
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Never, I only shoot medium format transparencies. However, looking at their website, they appear to offer glassless mounts, but it's £6 (!) more expensive! That's more than £10 after VAT.

mothdust said:
The price sheet looked official, so I don't think it was a one-off. I'm not sure how many Costcos have photo developing sections, but it's definitely worth a look. And yep, there's the membership fee to pay yearly, but if you have it anyway...
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Thanks - I'm assuming it was only 35mm? The Costco website doesn't appear to give much detail about any in-house film processing (the photo section refers more to their printing service).
 
freecom2 said:
Thanks - I'm assuming it was only 35mm? The Costco website doesn't appear to give much detail about any in-house film processing (the photo section refers more to their printing service).
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It was - I did ask about b/w and 120, but they looked baffled. I'm guessing it's just 35mm c41.
 
mothdust said:
The price sheet looked official, so I don't think it was a one-off. I'm not sure how many Costcos have photo developing sections, but it's definitely worth a look. And yep, there's the membership fee to pay yearly, but if you have it anyway...
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They give their stores minilab ICC profiles for download on their website, so I would assume that the following stores also do film processing (I know the Milton Keynes one does):

View attachment 9974
 
I think I a going to have to give peak a go, I have been using the darkroom for years now and have started to notice that there B&W development quality had started to slip. This is e second set of negatives back from them that have weird streaks on them that look like bubbles formed on the surface...
 
I sent 4 rolls 2nd class on Wednesday to Photo Express in Hull after reading this thread, and they arrived back today! Excellent service, still gave a 50p discount per roll and the scans are exceptional. Will definitely be using them again! It worked out £21.80 for 4 rolls to get developed and scanned with postage (£2.80 out, £1 back). I've also chosen my favourites as digitals and sent them to get printed using the Free Prints app. Used it once before and was pleasantly surprised by the print quality, especially considering you get 50 free 6x4's a month (no subscription) and you just pay the P&P.
 
Dan Foggin said:
I sent 4 rolls 2nd class on Wednesday to Photo Express in Hull after reading this thread, and they arrived back today! Excellent service, still gave a 50p discount per roll and the scans are exceptional. Will definitely be using them again! It worked out £21.80 for 4 rolls to get developed and scanned with postage (£2.80 out, £1 back). I've also chosen my favourites as digitals and sent them to get printed using the Free Prints app. Used it once before and was pleasantly surprised by the print quality, especially considering you get 50 free 6x4's a month (no subscription) and you just pay the P&P.
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Shame they don't do B+W....
 
Sectionate said:
It was £7.99, which for one film was the same cost as sending it away for development. The do B&W also, but that takes 24 hours at £8.99.
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Hmmm... I guess Snappy Snaps' prices aren't standardised throughout the UK. The Glasgow Snappy Snaps charges about £5.65 for the quick 120 option and £3.65 for the 24-hour one. Technically the quick option is supposed to be an hour, but they usually get it to me in about 20-30 minutes if I ask for 'dev only'. I really only use Snappy Snaps for my monochrome C41 120 film nowadays, but I usually opt to save my two pounds and pick the film up the next day.
 
Sectionate said:
It was £7.99, which for one film was the same cost as sending it away for development. The do B&W also, but that takes 24 hours at £8.99.
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Too expensive for me, but I'm sure I asked snappy snaps years ago (near me) if they did 120 and they said NO....maybe they have changed and I will ask them again.
 
excalibur2 said:
Too expensive for me, but I'm sure I asked snappy snaps years ago (near me) if they did 120 and they said NO....maybe they have changed and I will ask them again.
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I think it depends on the Franchise. I only used it this time because it was a single film, if I had bulk I wouldn't use them.
 
Sectionate said:
I think it depends on the Franchise. I only used it this time because it was a single film, if I had bulk I wouldn't use them.
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It does, a lot depends on the knowledge of each fanchisee and the demand in their area, I have one close to me in central London that will rattle of a C41 35mm in about 15 minutes, I've never asked them about 120 though. But because of the cost I only ever use them in an emergency.
 
RumpFace said:
how do you "rattle off" a roll of C41 in 15 minutes when it's a 40 minute process?
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I have no idea, I'll ask them the next time I'm in there :)
 
I used ASDA for C41 processing of Agfa and XP2 and both films processed and scanned onto CD only cost me £6 I think.

For 35mm black and white film (I have HP5, Tri-X, Tri-Max) I really don't know who to use. I just need it processed and scanned onto CD. If I like any of the images I can always send the negative to be scanned in high resolution.

AG seem to be the cheapest but can take a long time, sometimes. Peak seem to be very good but are expensive (about £12 to process + scan one roll of 35mm film). Such a difference between C41 and 35mm....I'm hoping the 35mm film I bought is much better than XP2 otherwise I don't see the point in spending 2-3 times as much.

Any other recommendations for processing and scanning 35mm B&W film?
 
Yep, do it at home and buy a scanner.

I spent a long, long time being scared of home processing but about 3 months ago I bit the bullet, bought the chems and kit and had a go....doddle. I've done about 20 rolls so far and not a duffer amongst them.
I use a changing bag, the kitchen sink and the massive dev chart on my Nexus it really is easy and great fun. Give it a go mate, you won't regret it.

Andy
 
Hmmm....I think we should have a 'film processing at home' meet where someone can show greenhorns like me how to develop film at home :D

I had considered processing and scanning at home. It's not the developing that puts me off but the scanning. After posting about this earlier this year I'm still no closer to finding a scanner that will suit me. After many replies it seemed that Epsons like the V500 were great value for money but better at doing 35mm and 120 film, and that dedicated 35mm scanners like the Plustek (sp.?) offered better scanning quality but were expensive. I also remember reading that some scanning software was particularly un-user friendly. There wasn't a common consensus and this just confused me even more as to which scanner to get.

The other thing is how many rolls will I be shooting to make this worthwhile? I would guess just one 36 exp. roll a month. Maybe people who process/scan at home are taking advantage of this and shooting 2-3 rolls a month?
 
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southernjessie said:
The other thing is how many rolls will I be shooting to make this worthwhile? I would guess just one 36 exp. roll a month. Maybe people who process/scan at home are taking advantage of this and shooting 2-3 rolls a month?
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£100 for a v500 (ish - you might get luckier than that). £4/roll for scanning (AG Photolab price). 25 rolls (2 years for you) and you've broken even - except you still have a scanner that's probably worth £70-£80.
 
And you may find that if you are devving at home you shoot a bit more anyway. I use the V500 for 35mm and 120 and the software that comes with it and I find it fine. I'm sure that some of the more fancy-dan software can do a better job but the Epson one is simple and I need simple.
 
southernjessie said:
Hmmm....I think we should have a 'film processing at home' meet where someone can show greenhorns like me how to develop film at home :D

The other thing is how many rolls will I be shooting to make this worthwhile? I would guess just one 36 exp. roll a month. Maybe people who process/scan at home are taking advantage of this and shooting 2-3 rolls a month?
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I'm fairly noob. I've been home developing less than two years, scanning a bit longer (with a V500 - but I'm happy with the Epson software, and with the way that it handles 120). I probably go through more like 4 - 12 rolls per month, 135 and 120. I'm pretty mean with process chemicals, and reuse what I can. I really don't find b/w expensive - its much cheaper than a shop price, and there is the control / reward issue. I have processed C-41 film, but I didn't enjoy the process, found it difficult, and decided to leave what little C-41 I do use to the street labs.

I taught myself through Youtube, Ilford instructions, and old photography manuals. I really enjoy hybrid photograpy - it gives me the satisfaction that I want. It's about the work flow. Hybrid photography is really easy once you have a developing tank, chems, film changing bag, and scanner. I really couldn't commit enough for a full darkroom and traditional printing. One tip I can give is to keep a development diary - listing times, chems, films, and any screw ups as well as successes.
 
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Ok, I'll certainly look more into this.

Best place to get a V500 would be in the classifieds on TP or ebay?
 
southernjessie said:
Ok, I'll certainly look more into this.

Best place to get a V500 would be in the classifieds on TP or ebay?
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Or Gumtree or Preloved. I never had any luck with either, but people hereabouts have. It depends on how impatient you are, really. The only one on eBay UK right now would cost you a rather ambitious £161 posted, which is only £20 less than a brand new v550!
 
I'm too n00b to see TP classifieds. Search around online, I'm sure that you can find new V500 around £110 - £125, and V550 a tad more - correct me if I'm wrong. If you go for used - always make sure that they have the masks and lamp cover!
 
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