Portra 160NC - where develop?

[Peter_S]

Hi
I am currently in Vancouver. I shot a few rolls of Kodak Portra 160NC. I have had other films developed at London Drugs, without issues. What about Potra - is London drugs (or any drug store) OK or is is a bit more problematic than regular color film?
Thanks,
Peter

 

[not_in_good_order]

Any place that develops c-41 can develop Portra 160NC.

 

[charjohncarter]

I take mine to WalMart. I would take it to an independent if there was one near me. My only problem with Walmart, my old lab, Costco, and/or Wolf is there is always way more dust than when I do my B&W at home.

 

[umboody]

I've had a few rolls of 160NC developed at Tescos. Never again. Erratic results, destroys the unique quality of the film. My best results have come from Davies Colour in Cardiff. Can't go wrong with them for £4 a film. Very professional service.

 

[amateriat]

It all comes down to how well the processor is maintained. I've had indifferent results from would-be "pro" labs, and good results from the lab in chain stores like CVS and Duane-Reade. (And vice-versa.) The secret is in getting to know the people you hand your film off to, and getting them to know you. That way, you're more likely to find out if the processor is "off" on a given day. As an ex-pro-lab rat, I can usually tell whether a lab is running a reasonably tight ship or not, but I still talk to the people in charge. Staff turnover is also a hint regarding stability: my local CVS has as fairly low turnover rate for a big-box chain, so I trust them more than I would others.

Besides this, I only let a lab process the film, and return it to me uncut. This removes one additional handling step (or two to three steps, if you're getting prints and/or scans) from the process. The worst I've had to deal with on average is the occasional fingerprint smudge, which usually comes out completely with a timely hit of film cleaner on a cotton swab.

And: good film choice. Portra 160NC has been my go-to color film for years.


- Barrett

 

[Roger Hicks]

It all comes down to how well the processor is maintained. I've had indifferent results from would-be "pro" labs, and good results from the lab in chain stores like CVS and Duane-Reade. (And vice-versa.) The secret is in getting to know the people you hand your film off to, and getting them to know you. That way, you're more likely to find out if the processor is "off" on a given day. As an ex-pro-lab rat, I can usually tell whether a lab is running a reasonably tight ship or not, but I still talk to the people in charge. Staff turnover is also a hint regarding stability: my local CVS has as fairly low turnover rate for a big-box chain, so I trust them more than I would others.

Besides this, I only let a lab process the film, and return it to me uncut. This removes one additional handling step (or two to three steps, if you're getting prints and/or scans) from the process. The worst I've had to deal with on average is the occasional fingerprint smudge, which usually comes out completely with a timely hit of film cleaner on a cotton swab.

- Barrett

Dear Barrett,

I could not agree more. A masterly and comprehensive summary.

To the OP: anyone who can do a good job consistently with any one C41 film can do it consistently with any other C41 film. It's the C41 that matters, not the film choice.

Cheers,

R.

 

[ZeissFan]

When you go the "bargain basement" route, you get what you pay for. Sometimes OK, sometimes not. When I have something of value (wedding photos, for example), I pay a bit more to have them processed.

Portra should be easy to have processed anywhere.

For me, the C-41 film that seems to be giving processors trouble is Kodak Ektar 100.