film and the cost of developing

[tenter10]

🙂goodday fellows its me again, I just got my photos back from KMart here in brisbane, not only did they take four weeks to process, they do not do their own anymore & the price has risen 50% If I was a conspiratist I would say that they trying to drive us to digital. The only film they now sell is 400asa ,so choice is going as well. Now to my thoughts on the matter, you young entrepreneurs out there, set up in China ,Vietnam Thailand, set up a developing company have the customers send their film, offer a great price and you will be rolling in money in no time. If the costs of developing rise too much more here,I will send my film to my nephew in vietnam .I can get the 3 films done and the prints sent to me here for not much more than getting one roll of 24 done here. I am too old and lazy to set up my own company. And film? it will be available in asia for years to come.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I didn't know they had Kmart in Australia! Fortunately, film processing and film are both still fairly cheap in the USA. I had 40 rolls of 120 size color transparency film from my trip to the southwest in August done by a pro lab in Chicago and it only cost about $200 total for developing. The film itself was only about $5 a roll, for Fuji Provia 100F.

 

[Keith]

Hi tenter,

I'm curious, how much were you charged and was it normal black and white or C41 process? I gather you got prints also?

 

[azryal]

They have Kmart in New Zealand too! I don't know if the dev film though.

 

[DamenS]

Buy your film from a professional store or get it from the USA in bulk - the range will be fine (K-mart or Coles are NOT photographic stores, thus they have never sold a great range of film types).

Developing is expensive - as it always has been at an actual lab or photographic chain such as Ted's. Maybe learn how to process it yourself ? Certainly, taking it to a proper lab will ensure you no longer have a 4 week wait, and I don't believe the prices at any real Labs have gone up - they have just always charged more than K-Mart.

 

[Keith]

Brisbane's a funny place ... if I had to rely on this fair city's film developing resources I'd be all digital by now. The only pro lab I've had anything to do with is All Chromes in Fortitude Valley where the price of developing a roll of conventional black and white is fourteen dollars and ten dollars for C41! 😱

 

[vinyljunky]

4 weeks seems excessive just for developing! Here in Hong Kong I get my roll back within a day for USD 4. In Singapore, it took a bit longer (2 days) for around the same cost.

Film is a bit more expensive in Asia, but developing still seems reasonable.

 

[DamenS]

Brisbane's a funny place ... if I had to rely on this fair city's film developing resources I'd be all digital by now. The only pro lab I've had anything to do with is All Chromes in Fortitude Valley where the price of developing a roll of conventional black and white is fourteen dollars and ten dollars for C41! 😱

Actually, they're about the same prices I pay in Melbourne too, so Brisbane isn't doing badly compared to its more populaced southern state. A set of 4x6 with developing a 36 roll B/W ends up being around $30 down here. I need to learn how to develop film ... However, I have to say this is not any higher than it ever used to be. I used to work for Ted's and a couple of other stores so I always got a staff discount, but these prices seem about the same as what I used to pay in 1991 (not including my staff discount). I don't think anything has actually become more expensive (other than that discount chains no longer develop film cheaply on-site).

 

[Steve M.]

Wow, for once we're in good shape here in the US. I buy excellent C41 B&W film from fleabay for approx $1 a 27 exposure roll, and the local Walgreens store develops it and scans it to a CD for me in 1 hour at a cost of $10.50. I'd been complaining about Walgreens having raised their prices recently. Seems silly to complain now.

But still, the only way to get a handle on this cost is to buy traditional B&W 36 exposure film and develop it yourself. I hate scanning, so at that point I'm ready to make contact sheets and decide if anything's worth a print. Old school indeed, and cost effective. Gets me away from the infernal computer this way too.

 

[Keith]

I was thinking of getting some fast colour film, Portra 800 seems to be the only game in town these days. For 135mm x 36 exp it's nearly $12.00 per roll at Freestyle and a little cheaper at B&H and over sixteen dollars a roll here in OZ. Add the cost of C41 developing to that and you're up around seventy five cents a shot without a scan or print for your trouble. Fifty rolls and you're nearly at the price of a half decent digital camera.

I've seen some shots taken with that new Portra and it's very, very nice ... but!

 

[tyrone.s]

4 weeks does sound excessive. They probably forget or simply waited till they got a run of films up to send off. At that price / time you'd be better off using extrafilm even or posting to any lab. Yeah, the days of cheap supermarket developing appear to be over here in Oz. I'm $20 a roll out here in the South East of South Australia - from a photo shop. That takes a week assuming I drop off on Thursday - and that's for the 1 hour service! I forgot to ask how much last time I dropped off 5 rolls. 🙂 That was for 24 exposure Fujicolor 400 btw, although with C41 processing I wouldn't expect chromagenic B&W would cost any different anyway - it's not like they use different chems for that.

For the little colour film I do these days I'm tempted to get a tetenal kit or some such and do it myself.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

I don't take much colour and I develop my own B&W. I also develop B&W for the local camera shop and for a few others he provides my "service" for. He charges $15 process only, prints are extra and he does them on his Fujicolor machines at 'digiprint' rates.

I scan and digitally print my own B&W. I have a full print/enlarge darkroom but the dust is a problem to control.

I charge him $5 per roll of B&W which he credits to my account so when I need a colour film processed or some colour prints done he just contras it off my balance. He provides a service, makes a nice little profit (percentage if not gross) without any work, I cover my B&W chemical costs and get cheap colour stuff done if I need it. It's not a business proposition but I'm retired and happy to help the cause of B&W photography by doing it. My turnaround is usually 2-3 days, depending on what else I'm busy with.

I've just finished processing the second film for him this week. One 120 T-Max-100 and one Delta 400 135/24.

 

[Leigh Youdale]

I didn't know they had Kmart in Australia!

K-Mart USA sold/licenced the name and business model to a local supermarket chain. I think the parent had a financial interest too and offered some buying arrangements but I think that may have ceased and now there is just a licence for the use of the name.
I presume there was a similar deal done in NZ.

 

[El Jonbre Grande]

Seems like we're lucky over here in Perth - we have 1 lab that will do C41 for $2.50 a roll 35mm or 120 ready to pickup same day if you drop it off in the morning! The pro-labs that do slide are about $12 a roll dev'd.

Not that it matters - I get a lot of pleasure doing c41 and b&w in my own darkroom at home 😀

Keith the new Portra 400 pushes very nicely - so much so I don't think I'd bother with Portra 800.

 

[tenter10]

Hi tenter,

I'm curious, how much were you charged and was it normal black and white or C41 process? I gather you got prints also?

🙂since I do not know what C41 is I do not know. It was kodacolour 100ASA it cost $9.95 for 24 prints the film was $16 for 3. It used to cost 5.95 to process so not quite 50%rise but it is getting pricey

 

[Freakscene]

Wow, for once we're in good shape here in the US.

Consumer goods and many services are vastly cheaper in the US than Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Labour costs are lower in the US, and economies of scale make retail and many other sectors more competitive. For example, normal retail price of a pair of Levis here in Australia is over $100 - I buy them in the US for $35.

Marty

 

[shyoon]

It's not all bad in Brisbane. ProLab in South Brisbane develop 35mm/120 for $10 a roll. Luckily for me, I'm a student so they charge me less - $22 for 3 rolls.

 

[cnphoto]

Where and how are other Sydney / Australia RFFer's getting their E-6 and C-41 developed? I picked up a Unicolor kit, but had mediocore results unfortunately. Vision image lab is around that $10 a roll, more or less, and it looks like they may be the best option (no extra cost for pushing or pulling film, dip & dunk processing).

I'm only interested in pro-labs, not Big W type 1 Hour places.

Oh, and that Walgreens rebranded Fuji + cheap processing I enjoyed in the US when I was last there sure makes paying prices out here for this stuff a tough pill to swallow 🙁

 

[nighstar]

lots of nice info here for getting photos developed in Brisbane. apparently there are labs that i never knew about, although the prices seem to be about the same as where i get my stuff done.

i get all of my film (35mm, 120, slide) developed and occasionally scanned and printed at Fotofast in the city on Adelaide St.

prices for color negative 35mm (1hr dev):
develop only: $10 (regardless of 24exp or 36exp)
scan to CD (low res): + $5
scan to CD (high res): + $10

prices for b&w negative 35mm (5day dev):
develop only: $15 (regardless of 24exp or 36exp)
scan to CD (low res): + $10
scan to CD (high res): + $20

prices for color negative 120 (2day dev):
develop only: $12
scan to CD (low res): + $10
scan to CD (high res): + $20

prices for b&w negative 120 (5day dev):
develop only: $15
scan to CD (low res): + $10
scan to CD (high res): + $20

i happen to have their service brochure. 😛 will be going there today to pick up my first 2 rolls from my new Hasselblad. so excited. 😀

 

[Vics]

It is true that when people ask me, "Where do you buy film!?!" I say, "Where I've always bought it. At camera stores." Department stores and drug stores have never carried the films I used, even back in the '60s when I first started. I've always done my own B&W processing and had pro labs do my color. Adjusted for inflation, I think it's still pretty cheap, although I can no longer afford color on my fixed retirement income.