B&W - Shoot and Convert or M246 - Monochrome?

[Exodies]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

What are the running costs of film, say 100 pictures per week, scanned?

[Joshua Lowe]

What are the running costs of film, say 100 pictures per week, scanned?

 

Let's say 3 x 36 rolls a week.

 

Are you processing and scanning the rolls yourself or are you outsourcing it?

 

If you're paying someone else to do it then on the high end you're looking at $22 per roll of 35mm film for "medium" resolution scans on a Noritsu or $24 per roll on a Fuji Frontier.  This is through Richard Photo Lab.

 

There's also the cost of postage to/from and sales tax.  I believe Richard charges a flat rate of $10 for return shipping of processed film, but that may be incorrect.

 

You'd be looking at ~$100 for each weekly batch of 3 rolls.  Don't forget the cost of the film, either.  So maybe your costs are closer to $125 per weekly 3 rolls.

 

If you opt to let them do the processing but do you own scans it reduces the costs pretty significantly.  That's the route I went.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Joshua Lowe

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Exodies]

Self. Let's assume it's an enthusiast for film doing this.

[Joshua Lowe]

Self. Let's assume it's an enthusiast for film doing this.

 

I don't remember the exact cost but I bought a two reel tank, C41 and D76 kits, a good thermometer, glassware for storing chemicals, etc.  I'm guessing around $200 for all of it?  The kits are the only items that are consumable.  

 

A scanner can cost anywhere from a few hundred bucks to around $15,000.  I opted for an old Pakon F135 minilab scanner for $300.

 

The most expensive part of DIY film processing and scanning is your time.  It devours that.  I've found my personal happy medium is to outsource the processing and do my own scanning.

 

Regarding differences between the M246 and M240.  There's very little to separate the two until you start shooting at ISO 1600 and up.  Then you start to see noise in the M240 while the M246 stays clean until 3200 when it starts to creep in.  At ISO 6400 the M240 starts to band pretty aggressively where the M246's noise pattern looks similar to film grain.  At ISO 12800 the M246 starts to band similarly to the M240 at 6400.

 

This is when shooting in public, in uncontrolled lighting conditions.

 

With controlled, optimal lighting conditions there's almost nothing to separate the 240 and 246 until ISO 6400.

Forgot to add that in bright/sunny conditions the M240 works better because it has ISO 200 and doesn't blow highlights as easily as the M246.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Joshua Lowe

[EdwardM]

Thank you all for your comments, meanwhile   decided to stay with m240 and SILVER EFEX  PRO converter

[MT0227]

I agree 100% and decided to take the exact same route.  I feel that investing in the best scanner you can afford is worth doing; taking control of this part of the workflow is a critical and worthwhile investment. 

 

 

 

I've found my personal happy medium is to outsource the processing and do my own scanning.

 

[MT0227]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

In NYC, 35mm/120mm is $8 for just the processing.  

 

What are the running costs of film, say 100 pictures per week, scanned?

[sblutter]

Thanks for this thread, answered the question (along with a lot of other reading) to NOT get a 246.

 

Am doing a lot of B&W (printing with Piezography Pro inks on an Epson 3880 17x22".  Have 2 3880's. 1 color, 1 B&W).

 

Why stick with the 240?  I find myself playing with the color sliders in PS a lot prior to monochrome conversion.

 

Simple examples;

-darken a blue sky with saturation

-lighten a purple fabric for separation (when converted)

 

The extra stops don't much matter to me.  With very dark scenes, tripod & low ISO produces excellent noiseless shots.  I'm not a street shooter

 

Thanks for saving me the equivalent of 2 vacations!

[Likaleica]

I really miss my M9M.  Selling it was very difficult, but it's easy to become a Leica glutton so I let it go. I always think about getting another (internal debate between MM1 and MM2).  However, what I've been doing is shooting RAW and BW JPG on my M240.  I visualize the photo in BW, so I have playback set for BW. I evaluate the BW JPGs in Lightroom and if I want to develop the image further I go to the RAW color file and start working on it, applying filters in post processing, etc.  

 

Having said that, I keep "Leica Monochrom" search as a favorite on eBay.  There's just something magical about the camera.
 

[sblutter]

I really miss my M9M.  Selling it was very difficult, but it's easy to become a Leica glutton so I let it go. I always think about getting another (internal debate between MM1 and MM2).  However, what I've been doing is shooting RAW and BW JPG on my M240.  I visualize the photo in BW, so I have playback set for BW. I evaluate the BW JPGs in Lightroom and if I want to develop the image further I go to the RAW color file and start working on it, applying filters in post processing, etc.  

 

Having said that, I keep "Leica Monochrom" search as a favorite on eBay.  There's just something magical about the camera.

--

I feel & do the same, very helpful to see a B&W version in the field