gtownby Posted April 12, 2011 Share #1 Posted April 12, 2011 Advertisement (gone after registration) I was just photo-site surfing and came across dr5 Chrome lab in Denver. Does anyone have any recent experience using it? If so, why? When I shoot B&W, I usually use Tri-X and use a small lab to process and print. However, I also like to scan Tri-X and TMax on the Nikon scanner for home printing, especially if I want to do some toning. Does dr5 offer something special for the "hybrid shooter"? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 12, 2011 Posted April 12, 2011 Hi gtownby, Take a look here Any Recent dr5 Experience?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
adan Posted April 12, 2011 Share #2 Posted April 12, 2011 No experience - just never had the time (to mail film off - they were still in NYC then, not just down the street ) or money for dr5. Plus I found out about it after (the "d" word) was already attracting me. dr5 was mostly popular with pros when they wanted to have a portable-light-box portfolio. They could intermix B&W slides with their color chromes - without being limited to Agfa Scala, or learning to do their own TMax100 reversal processing. dr5 asserts their positive process is also sharper than negs - that's where some more experienced replies will help. My overall experience (as a plus for dr5) is that scanning software prefers positives (not - before someone jumps in - that one can't get perfectly good scans from regular negs with a little work). There was a time when I really wanted a monochrome E6 film (just as there are "B&W" C-41 films.) However the one problem with dr5 positives is that they are still silver images, and thus can't be scanned with ICE dust removal, unlike E6 positives (but no different from scanning your Tri-X negs). The other is - suppose you decide some day in the future to do traditional chemical printing yourself? Reversal B&W printing is a massive headache (as in - buy raw chemicals and mix everything from scratch for five steps instead of three - or make internegs) compared with regular 150-year-old neg-to-paper printing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MX5Bob Posted April 14, 2011 Share #3 Posted April 14, 2011 When I was a photo-j student, preparing portfolios to send out meant photographing B&W mounted prints with a copy stand and E6 film so the whole thing could be in one slide sheet and with any color work. I have a roll of FP4 and a roll of Velvia waiting for another of each before sending to dr5. Might be a little while, but I'll try to remember to report back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KM-25 Posted April 14, 2011 Share #4 Posted April 14, 2011 I send 120 Techpan and other interesting black and white films to dr5 to be made into chrome for spectacular Ilfochrome prints made at The Lab Ciba in Burbank, CA, jaw dropping good. I also sent them 15 rolls of Tri-X shot in the last three hours that Dwayne's Photo was running the K-14 line, that way I have slides for the whole show / book. It is interesting stuff and looks amazing projected... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dritz Posted April 18, 2011 Share #5 Posted April 18, 2011 Absolutely. Search this forum for "dr5.com" as there have been other references to this service. I send all of my B&W work there and love the results. They project beautifully and scan very well. Much cheaper than making 6 foot prints! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtownby Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share #6 Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks for the help, all. I'm in the middle of a Fujichrome kick right now, but will consider dr5 when I get back to Tri-X. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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