minilab vs jobo

[meandihagee]

Hello,

I am limited in my country to 2 developing places: one that takes forever to return the films (jobo) and a 1-hour-photo (with a big machine, I think the mini-lab term is right..., is it?)

I am sick of waiting for 3 weeks for a sheet of film to return to me, so I went today to the mini-lab. The negatives came out all right to my eye.

Is there a hidden difference...? Am I losing something if I go the mini-lab way? I am shooting both 35mm and 120.

Thank you

 

[sevo]

Kodak, Fuij etc. originally designed their processes for minilab operation at the smallest - technically, Jobos (and Colentas, and all other tiny volume studio processors) just tried to make do with them in a smaller setting than intended. In a perfectly maintained high volume lab in film days, a pro lab running a minilab processor would have been slightly preferable, for running strictly on specifications and with manufacturer calibration service, where rotary processors depended on the DIY skills of the lab staff.

In real life and current conditions, it is purely a matter of which processes they run and how carefully they maintain them - the fingernails of the operator (or rather, their cleanliness) might be a better indication of lab quality than the name of the machine they run...