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2015 Refresh: National C41 film processing in the UK


colonel

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hi there,

 

I am looking for folks current experience with photo labs in the UK who process C41 35mm and have a mail order service which serves the whole UK

 

I currently am very boring and mostly process C41 but also occasionally B&W.

My typical service is develop + Hi res CD. I only order prints if there is a freebie or very occasionally.

 

I am sensitive to cost as I process alot (for me) but also want as high quality service as possible. My cake and eat it, so to speak.

 

I have used:

1. apertureuk - Good value. Good quality.

2. snappy snaps soho - Ok quality. More expensive then aperture but faster turn around time if you need it (actually the fastest I have found)

3. peak imaging - Very good but not so cheap

4. Metroimaging - the best of the best (!!) but very pricey. Only for pros I guess. I used for a critical film

5. ilfordlab - Not bad but not that cheap

5. These ones I have not used but am interested in the views of anyone who has. I have googled around but only found comments about dscolourlabs (good but a few years dated) and ag-photolab (also good):

www.photofilmprocessing.co.uk

www.dscolourlabs.co.uk

www.digitalab.co.uk

www.the-darkroom.co.uk

www.ag-photolab.co.uk

 

Plus of course any others that folk have had good experiences of

Many thanks in advance

 

best rgds

Edited by colonel
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I use Peak Imaging which you have tried. One of the reasons is the ability to pay online via credit card. I found that others , including Aperture UK, who don't offer online payment want your full credit card details writing on the order form including the security code.

 

This has always seemed a bad idea to me. If the order is 'lost' in the post the card details could be misused and I assume that as the security code has been included then the card holder will be fully liable for any losses.

 

I may be wrong in which case it isn't an issue but it has stopped me trying other processers.

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Can't speak for B&W as I do my own, but having tried most of the same companies as yourself I now take my colour film to my local ASDA. The results are suprisingly good. As they have a good through put their processing equipment is regularly serviced and maintained.

 

As for costs I go for process only (no prints) at £2.00 per film (2day service), negatives left uncut and rolled in the original plastic container. Scans are Hi res JPEG at around 1900 x 1400 and cost £1.00 per CD. They will put up to 4 x 36 on one CD so that's at total of £9.00 for four films.

 

Might be worth a trial film :)

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As for costs I go for process only (no prints) at £2.00 per film (2day service)

 

I've become so accustomed to all the online whinging about the scarcity and high price of film development that this left me totally flabbergasted. I can hardly believe my eyes: Asda ?? £2 !!? I'm just...

 

 

Why are people constantly moaning they can't get their films processed at a reasonable price, or anywhere nearby?

 

 

Anyway, I'm very very happy with my local pro lab (Teamframkallning), but I'd begun to think I was uniquely lucky. This information just blew my mind.

Edited by plasticman
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You've tried most of them. In London there is also Bayeux in Newman street W1, pretty similar to metro.

By mail there is a nice place in Chester way which I think is UK Film Lab | Professional Film Processing and Scanning They are professional and run I think by a husband and wife team. They process a lot of weddings it seems.

Bayeux deals a lot with C41, processing and printing one of the UK's top fashion snappers pictures.

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I have used UK Film Lab for 120, their selling point is the individual scanning to your "look" by example or discussion, similar idea the to the Richard photo lab in the USA.

They provide useful feedback eg indicating one of my A12 backs was spacing unevenly :rolleyes: more of a personalised service. Depends what you want from your lab.

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I have only tried Snaps photo services in Bournemouth for B&W, C-41 and E6. So far I have had one dodgy roll out of about 35 but even then I got some shots off it I was really happy with (Acros in ID-11). I am happy with their service and develop only is very cost effective at only £2 a roll.

35mm Film Processing & Scanner-Snapsphotoservices

 

The last 8 or so rolls have been develop only and have come back to me in Kenro sleeves as requested and perfectly clean and mark free from what I can see or scan on my KM 5400. Very happy :)

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I use The Darkroom in Cheltenham for my C-41 and E-6 developing and have always found them reliable and fast and am a satisfied customer. I do my own scanning. I've had no personal interaction with them.

 

I use the Darkroom in Cheltenham too, but fortunately they are only a mile away from my home. Hence I get mine done in an hour :)

 

Film processing and photo printing - helpful staff and quality results at The Darkroom UK Ltd, Cheltenham. Online and postal services make ordering a snap.

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AG Photolab in Birmingham, who now also own Metro would be my choice, they offer a good quality mail order service and a high standard of scanning, both in B&W and colour. Their prices seem reasonable to me, given the work involved. You get what you pay for.

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I think I'm the only loser here who uses Boots, but alas not much money available!

 

Development, scan and print a 9 pounds, the results are good for BW and sometimes good for colour, in London I use West End Camera, he's good but the guy sometimes iffy to work with.

 

Some test shoots with my IIIb:

 

2wm11zm.jpg

 

2yoeueb.jpg

 

2nhke12.jpg

 

Another test, this time as you can see there's a sort of green shade in the shots.

 

29przas.jpg

 

ajxvm0.jpg

 

qq7q5c.jpg

 

Still, good quality development and scan.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I  use  Truecolour  Imaging in  Luton  

 

http://www.truecolourimaging.com/layout1/welcome.php

 

Good  turn  around  time  . So  far  I   have  only  had  6x4  prints  back .  Very  helpful  lady   so   worth  phoning  . Once  she  did  print  an  order  wrong  for  me   but it  was  corrected  straight  away to  high  standards. 

She  also  has another   site  which  I forget  the name  of. 

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I've been using AG Photo for a while now, first off they were quite slow, maybe 2 weeks from post box  back to my door.

Now though its usually within a week, even for 8 rolls.

 

Last single roll I sent (testing a new to me Olympus XA1) I posted Tuesday and got photos and CD back on the Thursday!

 

About £7.99 per roll I believe with medium scans (3000 pixels wide).

 

Ive used them for C41 and B&W 35mm and 120 - no complaints thus far.

 

Oh and for C41 B&W they convert to B&W so theres no colour cast (not that its hard to remove yourself)

 

basically most photos in my Flickr are AG Photo https://www.flickr.com/photos/somefool/

Edited by MattMaber
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I think I'm the only loser here who uses Boots, but alas not much money available!

 

Development, scan and print a 9 pounds, the results are good for BW and sometimes good for colour, in London I use West End Camera, he's good but the guy sometimes iffy to work with.

 

Some test shoots with my IIIb:

 

Still, good quality development and scan.

You're probably cheaper and better served sending it off. Or even a local Asda.

 

I've found my local boots WAY to expensive and not great quality.

 

The colour is due to them being C41 B&W, they will have a colour to them unless you or the lab remove it.

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In the midst of the M9 crisis last December, which did nothing if not to reaffirm my predilection for film, I took a wad of money destined for a second digital Leica and threw it instead at a Jobo CPP3.  I am now happily lab-emancipated and enjoying higher control over my own b&w and colour processing.  Previously I had tried some of the UK labs discussed here, but was never 100% satisfied with any of them.

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In the midst of the M9 crisis last December, which did nothing if not to reaffirm my predilection for film, I took a wad of money destined for a second digital Leica and threw it instead at a Jobo CPP3. I am now happily lab-emancipated and enjoying higher control over my own b&w and colour processing. Previously I had tried some of the UK labs discussed here, but was never 100% satisfied with any of them.

Had a look at it, looks interesting

 

For colour:

How long, end to end, does it take to process a film in this thing ?

How long do the chemicals last or do you need new every time ?

 

What scanner do you use ?

 

Many thanks

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Had a look at it, looks interesting

 

For colour:

How long, end to end, does it take to process a film in this thing ?

How long do the chemicals last or do you need new every time ?

 

What scanner do you use ?

 

Many thanks

 

If I can chip in with my experience of using a Paterson tank and a Tetenal C41 kit it may also help.

 

Processing gets longer the older the chemicals are, but from end to end at 30C (86F) you are looking at approximately 18 minutes to 25minutes including intermediate rinse. You can easily get 15 rolls from a Tetenal 1 Litre kit which costs about £17, but you are better processing a couple at a time to reduce the oxidation rate. Higher temperature, 38C/100F, brings the developing time down, lower temperature keeps the process more relaxed with time to think twice. The important thing to note is that while timing is everything, getting it a bit out here or there if you fumble or forget something, your results do not fall off a cliff, it is not scary, you will always get a colour negative so long as the chemicals go in the right order. I find results are always predictable and top class whether using 35mm or 120. I even use the Tetenal kit with 4x5 sheet film in a modified Paterson rotary print processing tray and the colour and tone are identical to roll film which to me shows it is a robust kit of chemicals.

 

 

I am pretty sure Al will also be able to reassure you just how easy it is with his experience of the Jobo tank.

Steve

Edited by 250swb
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Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Had a look at it, looks interesting

For colour:
How long, end to end, does it take to process a film in this thing ?
How long do the chemicals last or do you need new every time ?

What scanner do you use ?

Many thanks

Using the Tetenal C-41 kit, colour takes 24 minutes end to end, including washing.

I used the same set of chemicals for 8 films, with no problems.  Two months after first use, I tested by using them to develop a roll of Ektar taken on a Lomo camera.  No apparent colour problems there either.  But I threw the chemicals out at that point.

 

I use a Nikon Cooolscan IV.   Above is a shot on Cine Still 50, two weeks ago.

 

The processor has been a game-changer for me on many levels, not least that with an expert drum, I've been able to stop using tray development for paper.  My darkroom was too small and unventilated for that, but now all smells are gone.  I'm going to try colour printing soon, as well.  

 

For b&w, the temperature control and lift make precision development very easy.  I can now realistically aim to produce consistently good negatives.  I've yet to try E-6, but that's in the near future.

 

 

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