Color Film / processing

tennis-joe

tennis-joe

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There are fewer and fewer places to get color film developed as most of the Walgreens drugstore in Houston have dropped processing color film. I might have to switch to B&W and develop my own negatives and scan them. Have two digital cameras that are okay but I have always loved film since I was a little kid. Now what to do with my M and the rest of my rangefinder cameras. I guess I could purchase a Leica M8 or M9 and use my lenses but then with the problems of the M9 maybe cured???? I would have to sell 3 M's and 3 IIIgs.
Are there still places like Seattle Film Works still developing? I just searched for them on the web and they are out of business.
Drat! :bang:
 
If you're willing to develop your own B&W, why not develop your own colour film? It's just as easy (if not easier).
 
^IIRC, color film developments requires a more precise temperature control. You might need a stainless steel development tank and develop it in a water bath.
 
I've been using The Darkroom in San Clemente, CA. They develop B&W or color, scan to a disk, upload to a website for you, return negatives, make prints if you want them. Also cards, photo books, etc.
 
The fast answer to your question is yes, there are still labs that process color. Just fewer and fewer. I'd say as long as there is color film, there will be a place to develop it. But the trend is rapidly collapsing - when people in every city discover they cannot develop in a "1 hour" shop, they quit film. Eventually, I predict there will be about 3 labs nationwide. And you'll pay and get what they give you.
 
Even for old and very limited M8, I have to pay equivalent of years and years with bw and cinefilm in bulk and home processing.

C-41 is not a problem to develop, if you have no problem to develop and scan BW.
It isn't big deal at all since you are scanning, not printing. WB is adjustable in PP after scan.

I ditched C-41 for color with M. Prices are stupid, no bulks.
I'm using expired cinefilm in bulks for color in 135 film format. Same results as C-41, if not better.
Developing is same as C-41. The remjet isn't big deal at all.
 
It's worth it to make a darkroom and do your own black and white! My darkroom is just 6 x 13 feet, in the basement, and I can turn out up to 16 x 20 prints if I want. I don't shoot much color film either, these days. Black and white is what I do with my Leicas.

Or, you can develop the film without much of a darkroom, and scan it! Me, I'd rather wet-print.
 
Ko.Fe. said:
C-41 is not a problem to develop, if you have no problem to develop and scan BW.
...
Developing is same as C-41. The remjet isn't big deal at all.
Click to expand...

Home development is certainly preferable to using a one hour lab. Either do it oneself, or use a professional dip and dunk lab, which is obviously expensive.
 
Send your film to Photographique in Dallas. Their processing prices are excellent, they are incredibly quick to develop and ship back. I know the owners personally, awesome people. They work closely with professional photographers that use film as their primary medium.


http://www.photographique.com/
 
tennis-joe said:
Are there still places like Seattle Film Works still developing? I just searched for them on the web and they are out of business.
Click to expand...

There are dozens of different excellent options for you.
Just have a look at that very informative thread:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=137289

The labs recommended there are almost all doing both E6 and C41 development.

And developing E6 and C41 at home is also not difficult at all.
 
I've faced the same dilemma about a year ago. In fact I sold all my color stock and shoot all BW film. Then some guys started opening their own 'lab' and doing their marketing via instagram and such, catering mostly to film shooters 20-30 years of age. Most of them would pool all the color films and have it processed at a lab, then they scan it. The BW are all processed in house. One even hand develop BW, C41, and E6, which is not common here. I use him for my personal projects. And finally we see some interesting development, a pro lab that offers developing, scanning, contact print, for up to 4x5!! This is their website: http://www.soupnfilm.com/

FWIW, if we are shooting for a client, we send our film to FIND Lab. Most of the film shots on our website below were done by them.
 
I do my own C-41 at home. The Tetenal kits are easy to use. It's actually easier and faster to develop C-41 than B+W. You just need to rig up a water bath (I use a small styrofoam drink cooler) and a good thermometer. The instructions are quite strict about temps during the development stage, but even then I've varied my temperature a few degrees either way and no harm done.

I'd say doing C-41 at home is about as hard as making pasta carbonara or a good Béchamel sauce.
 
Both Blue Moon Camera & Machine & Pro Photo Supply in Portland, OR do a great job on color developing & printing up to 8x10. Like Blue Moon better because they seem to be more flexible.
 
You can send your film to Blue Moon Camera and Machine in Portland. They develop, and they're one of the last labs with optical machines for C-prints. Well worth it.
 
The only thing that sucks about color kits is they don't last as long as B&W. I destroyed a few rolls doing it at home. It's easy enough, but if you don't have a lot that needs to be done at once it gets risky. Otherwise, piece of cake.
 
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