35mm film developing then home scanning

PaulButler

PaulButler

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Every now and again I get the urge to dust off an old film camera, be it my KR10 or Oly P&S ... previously I have sent the film away to be developed and get back the usual negs and 6x4 prints. I know this is hardly pushing the boundaries.

What I'd like to do is just get the film developed w/o prints, and then scan the negs at home. My question is rather simple, will anywhere that develops film (e.g. Boots/Asda/Local camera shop) be ok fro doing this or is there a benefit in using a specialist such as Peak?

I have absolutely no desire at this time to start developing my own again, I honestly don't miss the smells (or the headaches and mess ;))
 
Hi Paul,

Asda will definitely do this (well my local one does) and I imagine that Boots will too. Peak also do it and I would recommend somewhere like them if you want to ensure a decent negative to scan. My Asda are ok if I'm testing a camera with a roll of Poundland Agfa Vista but I wouldn't trust them with anything important.

Andy
 
If it's colour and 35mm then boots and similar places would be fine for dev only I think, I don't really see what benefits a specialist would give for those films if you're planning to scan yourself. If you wanted lab scans then I'd say pick a specialist over a high street store, but if not, Boots will be ok (although I've always found them to be pretty pricey compared to other high street stores)

Black and white is going to be more of a pain (hence why everyone says develop it yourself!!) as not many high street stores will do that, and will make you wait 2 weeks whilst they post it off to a specialist. If this is the case then you may as well cut out the middle man and send them to a specialist yourself.
 
Thanks chaps, I'll be using both B&W and colour so it looks like sending off to peak or similar is the way forward. :)
 
PaulButler said:
Every now and again I get the urge to dust off an old film camera, be it my KR10 or Oly P&S
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Every now and again?

If you're only going to be shooting a few rolls per year, I'd say that you'd be better off sending your film to a good pro lab for development and scanning rather than scan yourself. You'll get better results than from home scans, especially for colour film, and you won't need to invest in any hardware (i.e., scanner). I'd also recommend shooting either Ilford XP2 or Fuji 400CN as your black and white film, as that will be easier and cheaper to develop.
 
skysh4rk said:
Every now and again?

If you're only going to be shooting a few rolls per year, I'd say that you'd be better off sending your film to a good pro lab for development and scanning rather than scan yourself. You'll get better results than from home scans, especially for colour film, and you won't need to invest in any hardware (i.e., scanner). I'd also recommend shooting either Ilford XP2 or Fuji 400CN as your black and white film, as that will be easier and cheaper to develop.
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hehe, yes it is only every now and again for me :) I have a scanner now as I needed one to scan several boxes of film (prints mainly as somehow most negs have got lost - but that's another tale) - I appreciate the recommendation on film stock, thank you. :)
 
Carl Hall said:
boots and similar places would be fine for dev only I think
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I asked at my local Boots, and she looked at me blankly and said they didn't do it. I don't think I even saw a scan-only option, they all seemed to involve prints too. It's possible that if you had a person with more clue at your branch, they'd do it. ASDA, on the other hand, no problems.
 
abdoujaparov said:
I asked at my local Boots, and she looked at me blankly and said they didn't do it. I don't think I even saw a scan-only option, they all seemed to involve prints too. It's possible that if you had a person with more clue at your branch, they'd do it. ASDA, on the other hand, no problems.
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Haha see my town is the opposite, Boots will do dev only or dev and prints (which is only like 50p more than dev only weirdly), but my local Asda doesn't do film at all. Neither does tesco or any other shop. Think Boots is actually the only place in town!
 
Snappysnaps will do a dev only service, the price varies from one branch to the next though.
 
Don't forget local independent photo-labs. I've used a few. I presently use one in Kings Lynn that has enough business and skill to keep good chemistry. Very happy with their quality. They develop C41 either 35mm (inc' 36 exposure) or 120 for me with a good quality, cut in fours in the case of 35mm, and slipped into negative sheets for a mere £2.50 per film.

As for b/w, I develop my own - not only satisfying with personal control over developer, rinsing, and any pushing, but very cheap.

I use an Epson Perfection V500 scanner.
 
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