threeputt Posted January 6, 2012 Share #1 Posted January 6, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'm relatively new back to film photography and don't do my own processing. I've shot a few rolls of Tmax 400 and Ilford HP5 for careful photography, but I have to mail it off for processing. My local CVS and Walgreens can do B&W film on the spot, as long as it can be processed as color print film. I know this is compromising quality, but for snapshots I think I might be able to live with it now and then. That being said, what would you recommend in this type of film? I still shoot Tmax and Velvia 50 when it counts, but need a cheaper, faster solution for practice rolls, experimenting and shots of the kids, dogs, etc. Thanks! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted January 6, 2012 Posted January 6, 2012 Hi threeputt, Take a look here Suggestions for B&W film that can be E6 processed?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
adan Posted January 6, 2012 Share #2 Posted January 6, 2012 There is no B&W "E6" film ("E6" is the process for slides, not prints - Provia, Velvia, E100G etc.). What you want for local processing in color-print machines is a process C-41 B&W film. There are two - Ilford XP2 and (at least for the moment) Kodak BW400CN. Both ISO 400. Having only used XP2 (and that, rarely) I leave it to more experienced users to comment on recommendations between them. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 6, 2012 Share #3 Posted January 6, 2012 I think you mean C41 processing!! There aren't too many options, try a roll of whatever is available and see how you like it. Better still, buy the kit to process your own traditional B&W film, it's really easy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hiles Posted January 6, 2012 Share #4 Posted January 6, 2012 Your local guy will be able to deal with Ilford XP2 and Kodak 400CN. They are both excellent. Look at my postings - they are 98% XP2. You might not like the pictures, but they are technically competent examples of what XP2 will do. The Kodak film will have a look that is subtly different, but not much. BTW - both are advertised as 400ASA - the best negatives are obtained if you expose for 200ASA. At 400 the shadows are too thin. A rigourous film speed test supports this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeputt Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted January 6, 2012 Late-night brain cramp! Sorry, yes I meant C41, the standard color print processing. The CVS employee drops it into the machine. Thanks for catching my mistake. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeputt Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share #6 Posted January 6, 2012 Thanks fellas I'll give those a try. James, I'd like to give it a go with processing my own, but am hesitant to try and convince my wife to give up a closet! I haven't done it in about 35 years when my father taught me to process B&W film from my Brownie! Needless to say I don't remember much! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 6, 2012 Share #7 Posted January 6, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Thanks fellas I'll give those a try. James, I'd like to give it a go with processing my own, but am hesitant to try and convince my wife to give up a closet! I haven't done it in about 35 years when my father taught me to process B&W film from my Brownie! Needless to say I don't remember much! Jeff Jeff, it's time to come out of the closet I just use a changing bag and process the film while I'm sat watching the telly or listening to music. I don't wet print anymore (though thinking of it again) but scan and print digitally. There's a great beginners guide here, but it's like riding a bike ILFORD PHOTO - Getting Started It's really no hassle at all, and you still get a thrill of seeing your fresh negatives as you take the reel out of the developer tank. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stunsworth Posted January 6, 2012 Share #8 Posted January 6, 2012 I'd like to give it a go with processing my own, but am hesitant to try and convince my wife to give up a closet! It's easy, and the only light tight space you need (apart from the developing tank) is the inside of a changing bag. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeputt Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted January 6, 2012 OK you're getting my interest up. I remember as a kid my dad had me practice over and over with an old roll of film until I could do it with my eyes closed, then into the bag for more practice! Thanks for the link, I'll check it out! I have no aspirations to print myself either. I'll scan them as well. If something truly stands out and I can't print digitally to my satisfaction, I have someone else do it. Thanks again! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted January 6, 2012 Share #10 Posted January 6, 2012 Color neg from Sams, walmart, Costco Freestyle will all do. You will ultimately he happier with Portra 160 or 400 or EKtar 100. Try a 5 pack of something cheap, short rolls like 24 exp to start. Get a scan, no prints. But cheap scans can be a problem just like sending out black and white. When the scan is bad, you will not know if it is you or the scan. If the goal is black & white, learn to home process. It is the only way, always has been, always will be. There is no cookie cutter formula that always works. Even water quality makes a difference. All these problems are why people have ultimately gone digital. There is nothing wrong with film per se. The problem is untrained people who have to crank out thousands of prints at 15 cents each. If you go to a good custom lab, you get wonderful results, but you pay dearly for skilled labor. With digital, you give them a file and then there is but one step they have to perform. All they have to do is keep the printers in calibration and try not to improve the file you gave them which they always do. So then you buy a home printer or go to a custom lab. Then Kodak files for bankruptcy. You see Kodak used to do pretty nice film processing, but the government decided it was a monopoly. Took about 20 years, and there was the end of Kodak. Cheaper/ faster won over quality and slow and the average consumer did not realize the junk prints were the result of poor processing forced on them at the consumer level. To be fair, there are some environmental concerns, but the pollution of digital camera manufacture is somewhere else and is of no concern. But you see the soot, mercury etc from China`s smokestacks drift all the way here. Mercury gets in the water, little fish, bigger fish eat the little fish, and so on. The top of the food chain like tuna and swordfish live a long time and can get pretty contaminated. My complaints, sorry. Just go to Walmart and get some cheap color film. We will help you to the next step. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
threeputt Posted January 7, 2012 Author Share #11 Posted January 7, 2012 Picked up a couple of rolls of 400CN this morning, hoping to find something interesting to point my camera at this weekend... Thanks for the advice fellas. Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.