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Who develops your 120 film?
- Thread starter Deano
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I work with top photographers from digital and colour negative film, hand and digital printing and I just wanted to put in a plea. Please, please, please don't cut corners or try to save money on film processing.
It's one of the most important parts of getting a great photograph. You can get a bad print from well developed film, throw it away and get a better print, but badly developed film is an abomination.
Pro labs charge from £4 to £6, that's peanuts and is costed to cover fresh chemistry, well maintained machinery and careful operators. If it was special enough to take a picture of, then care enough to get it developed perfectly
It's one of the most important parts of getting a great photograph. You can get a bad print from well developed film, throw it away and get a better print, but badly developed film is an abomination.
Pro labs charge from £4 to £6, that's peanuts and is costed to cover fresh chemistry, well maintained machinery and careful operators. If it was special enough to take a picture of, then care enough to get it developed perfectly
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How would I find out if I'm cutting corners?
CT
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Guys - Jean appears to be from a processing house called 'Visions' 
Her advice is generally sound. You're probably cutting corners if you go to one of those High St processors who charge you 3 quid and pick up your prints in an hour, although they've largely disappeared with the digital explosion. You get what you pay for -if they're important shots use a quality pro lab. I used Colab for many years, but there are others.
That's not to say you can't do a perfectly good job yourself with reasonable care and if you get it wrong at least it's only yourself to blame.
Her advice is generally sound. You're probably cutting corners if you go to one of those High St processors who charge you 3 quid and pick up your prints in an hour, although they've largely disappeared with the digital explosion. You get what you pay for -if they're important shots use a quality pro lab. I used Colab for many years, but there are others.
That's not to say you can't do a perfectly good job yourself with reasonable care and if you get it wrong at least it's only yourself to blame.
I agree. Jean is quite right despite the vested interest.
What it boils down to is that you have a simple choice for each process.
For black and white there is really no substitute for doing it yourself. It is easy, cheap, requires little in the way of equipment, and gives you complete control over choice of chemistry. This choice is usually whatever your favourite soup is but you have the option of varying it for special occasions such as push processing, developing for grain and so on. To me the developing and printing of black and white are an integral part of the creative process and I would no more send my film to a lab than seduce a woman and then pay someone else to make love to her. If this is alien to you then pay what you need to get the best quality you can but accept the fact that no lab will give the care and attention to your prints that you can.
For C41 you would have to be insane to contemplate doing it yourself. The chemistry is expensive and particularly noxious and you have to be really unlucky to have a lab make a hash of it. Colour printing is of course the key to the results and here you need to look for a good lab and forge a relationship with them so that your prints are treated individually by someone who knows what they are doing - this costs but not as much as the gear you would need to do the job yourself in any sort of volume.
E6 is more of a 50-50 call. If you have the kit it isn't difficult at all and the chemistry is not expensive. It is a bit time consuming and requires care but overall is far quicker than sending your film away. If you do send it away then once again you need ot pick a good lab. Cibachrome (and similar) is also not exactly rocket science although the chemistry is sufficiently nasty that you have to neutralise it before you put it down the drain - I have always done smaller (up to about 10x12) short runs myself and sent larger size and quantities away - not cheap but life's too short!
I've just has a Swiss Tony moment - Processing your own film is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman. First you have to make sure your equipment is nice and clean, then you get everything warm and slide your film into the spiral. Then you get it all wet and jiggle things about until you are finished!
What it boils down to is that you have a simple choice for each process.
For black and white there is really no substitute for doing it yourself. It is easy, cheap, requires little in the way of equipment, and gives you complete control over choice of chemistry. This choice is usually whatever your favourite soup is but you have the option of varying it for special occasions such as push processing, developing for grain and so on. To me the developing and printing of black and white are an integral part of the creative process and I would no more send my film to a lab than seduce a woman and then pay someone else to make love to her. If this is alien to you then pay what you need to get the best quality you can but accept the fact that no lab will give the care and attention to your prints that you can.
For C41 you would have to be insane to contemplate doing it yourself. The chemistry is expensive and particularly noxious and you have to be really unlucky to have a lab make a hash of it. Colour printing is of course the key to the results and here you need to look for a good lab and forge a relationship with them so that your prints are treated individually by someone who knows what they are doing - this costs but not as much as the gear you would need to do the job yourself in any sort of volume.
E6 is more of a 50-50 call. If you have the kit it isn't difficult at all and the chemistry is not expensive. It is a bit time consuming and requires care but overall is far quicker than sending your film away. If you do send it away then once again you need ot pick a good lab. Cibachrome (and similar) is also not exactly rocket science although the chemistry is sufficiently nasty that you have to neutralise it before you put it down the drain - I have always done smaller (up to about 10x12) short runs myself and sent larger size and quantities away - not cheap but life's too short!
I've just has a Swiss Tony moment - Processing your own film is a lot like making love to a beautiful woman. First you have to make sure your equipment is nice and clean, then you get everything warm and slide your film into the spiral. Then you get it all wet and jiggle things about until you are finished!
CT
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CT
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True story...
A few years ago I bought a brand new Canon cheapish compact, stuck a roll of colour film in it and shot off 20 quick test snaps. I dropped the film into one of those High Street processors - there must have been half a dozen in the town centre at that time - all vying to be the cheapest and the quickest. This one was 3 quid and collect your prints next day, or a fiver and collect in an hour. I opted for the 1 hour option, paid me money and went for a cuppa and a bun.
On my return I was told they'd been waiting for me to return - my camera had a problem and was letting in light. I was then shown the prints which had awful purple patchy casts in various parts of the images.
I told the proprietor it was a brand new camera and this didn't phase him one bit, he declared I must have strained the back, I'll give him credit for nads, he was quite prepared to see me junk the camera.
I had a quick look at the negs which seemed fine. I then toid him I'd been processing colour film for years and the purple stains were either exhausted chemicals or cross contamination in his procssor, pointing out that he was insulting my intelligence to even suggest that it was the camera letting in light which would look entirely different. I added that I was quite prpared to take the negs elsewhere and get them reprinted to prove my point.
He did have the decency at this point to blush right up to the roots of his hair and agreed to reprint the negs. I picked them up the following day and they were fine. Well - as fine as you get for 5 quid and ready in an hour.
A few years ago I bought a brand new Canon cheapish compact, stuck a roll of colour film in it and shot off 20 quick test snaps. I dropped the film into one of those High Street processors - there must have been half a dozen in the town centre at that time - all vying to be the cheapest and the quickest. This one was 3 quid and collect your prints next day, or a fiver and collect in an hour. I opted for the 1 hour option, paid me money and went for a cuppa and a bun.
On my return I was told they'd been waiting for me to return - my camera had a problem and was letting in light. I was then shown the prints which had awful purple patchy casts in various parts of the images.
I told the proprietor it was a brand new camera and this didn't phase him one bit, he declared I must have strained the back, I'll give him credit for nads, he was quite prepared to see me junk the camera.
I had a quick look at the negs which seemed fine. I then toid him I'd been processing colour film for years and the purple stains were either exhausted chemicals or cross contamination in his procssor, pointing out that he was insulting my intelligence to even suggest that it was the camera letting in light which would look entirely different. I added that I was quite prpared to take the negs elsewhere and get them reprinted to prove my point.
He did have the decency at this point to blush right up to the roots of his hair and agreed to reprint the negs. I picked them up the following day and they were fine. Well - as fine as you get for 5 quid and ready in an hour.