danmitch Posted August 5, 2009 Share #1 Posted August 5, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just had film back from developing by a London pro-lab and on scanning have noticed it has a number of kinks, scratches and bits of dried residue, dirt and dust - re-washing has helped a bit. Surely they should be doing better than this? It has probably been ten years since I last developed a roll of film myself and I am concerned whether I should expect much better if I start again myself at home. Am I being too picky and suffering from the fact that scanning shows more "dirt" than traditional printing - or should I expect more for my £16? Dan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted August 5, 2009 Posted August 5, 2009 Hi danmitch, Take a look here Despair over quality. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Guest Bernd Banken Posted August 5, 2009 Share #2 Posted August 5, 2009 same happened to me with a Kodak BW 400. Scratches, dust and particles. My solution: As in the past bathroom developing, loading Jobo drum in a small tent from Calumet, that's it. Cheers Bernd Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted August 5, 2009 Share #3 Posted August 5, 2009 Yes, you should expect more £16 goes a fair way to starting your own home brew kit. Do it yourself and any dust and scratches are down to you it's easy, cheap and quick to process your own b&w Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCS Posted August 5, 2009 Share #4 Posted August 5, 2009 I recently shot a few rolls of color and had to take them to a lab. The negatives came back a mess. Scratches all over the place. It was really disappointing. I'm now thinking of giving up on color and sticking with b&w so I can do the work myself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneth Posted August 5, 2009 Share #5 Posted August 5, 2009 As Andy says. Do it yourself. It costs very little in equipment investment. It's very satisfying but only B&W. I have no idea about colour processing or desire to do it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted August 5, 2009 Share #6 Posted August 5, 2009 If you have a Jobo, doing your own colour film is just as easy as b&w, just takes a bit longer. I do most of my own E6 at home now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomasw_ Posted August 5, 2009 Share #7 Posted August 5, 2009 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hi Andy, do you mean a Jobo film reel/tank? I use that for all of my B+W. I had read that colour involves way more consistent temperatures than one can maintain in a typical Jobo film tank? Could you tell us more about your E6 and/or C41 processing? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted August 5, 2009 Share #8 Posted August 5, 2009 I have reverted to doing my own B&W processing (film) and may take up C41 too - Andy means a Jobo processor which has a temperature controlled water bath for the chemicals. I've had a several shocking experiences with processing from Jessops and Boots. Jessops lost my film and Boots ruined two films I dropped in together - I'm talking about serious marks, kinks, and scratches, totally ruined. Snappy Snaps have been mostly OK although one film was scratched. I've also tried so called 'pro' labs but generally found the quality to be no better, just that you pay a lot more! In fact a few years ago I left a few negs to be printed up at a local pro lab, they were B&W high key images. Despite my instructions they decided that the prints should show a full range of tones and they complained to me that my negatives had been ruined in development! I didn't want the prints, they were useless to me - and very poor quality - but I had to pay to get my negs back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick De Marco Posted August 5, 2009 Share #9 Posted August 5, 2009 There is a guy called Jag/Jack in snappy snaps on Fleet Street. I take all my films (medium format and 35mm) to him. Pay less than £5 for develop only black and white. He does them well Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmitch Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share #10 Posted August 5, 2009 Thanks Nick - definately worth a try, do they do B&W on site or send it away? I will mention your name! I disliked digital because of the time and workflow "post-processing", at least with B&W film I find if I want to digitise the picture I can just scan and I am pretty much done - this evening I have spent hours removing dust and scratches. The fact is, if I can help it, I really don't want to spend time processing film, my enjoyment is taking and viewing the pictures - I would far rather a reliable lab (reasonable pricing would be a bonus) that is local and relatively quick. Developing myself is a last resort, though one that is looking increasingly likely. Dan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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