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Film Developing Question

January 7th, 2009 by jack

Hey guys, I was just wondering how all of you out there develop your film. You all can't have a darkroom, can you...?

I just bought a used 35mm SLR just to get going, and then possibly move to digital.

What I was wondering is how all of you develop your film?

Should I get my film put on a disc? I've never done this before... Do they scan negs onto the disc, or the finished photos? And after I get the disc, can I then chose which ones I want from the disc?

Or should I just get them developed the regular way, then scan them onto the computer myself? (I would have to buy a better scanner. I currently have one, but it's not the best quality)

Which would be the best route to go?

Thanks!

Would anyone be able to provide an example of a 35mm photo that they've had put onto a CD from the lab?

So I can see just how noisy it is.

Thanks!

This is Ilford HP5+, taken last year before I got my darkroom set up:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37504

Thom

When you took the photography class and were developing your own B&W film, was it fun to you? Did you print too, or just develop the film?

To me, it was a lot of fun. Kind of a hobby for perfectionists these days. But a lot of fun. I will probably do it again some day when I have more living space.

Developing color film isn't worth the investment to me.

Another option would be to get color chemistry (C-41) B&W film. If you have it printed in the color lab, it will come out sepia-toned, unless the people printing are very good and are willing to make a lot of corrections. Alternately, you can send out the negatives to have them printed in true B&W.

If you use a better quality lab, they will provide you with imagse on a CD that are print quality. With the lab I am currently using, the have two types of CDs, a lower quality in which 4x6 or 5x7 can be printed from, as well as a higher quality that would allow for around 8x10 - 11x17 prints to be made. If you search around, I am sure you will find a lab that will be able to do a similar service.

Would this be a specialty lab, or just a lab in a store? Something like Walgreens, Eckerd, or WalMart?

...just curious how all of you do it on your own.

I have a darkroom, but if I didn't I'd use a changing bag to get the film out of the casette, and onto the reel. Once the reel(s) is in the developing tank you can take it out of the changing bag, or turn on the lights if you are in a darkroom. The developing tank allows you to pour in chems, and pour them out without exposing the film to light. A darkroom is mainly necessary for printing.

Would anyone be able to provide an example of a 35mm photo that they've had put onto a CD from the lab?

So I can see just how noisy it is.

Thanks!

Those don't look too bad to me... and I'm really not looking for any better quality as a beginner.

I guess we'll just have to see how they look once I get them put onto the CD. I'm going to go that route first, and then if they're horrible, which I really don't think they will be, then I'll try anyother route. Or maybe, if it's cheaper, I'll get them printed and then scan them into the computer.

Once I have them put on the CD, can I then chose which ones I want to have printed from there?

^Ok, thanks a lor for the information!

It looks like I'll just have them put on a CD at the store. I'm not looking for the best quality shots in the world, just doing this for fun and as a learning process.

I don't shoot film much anymore...but I just took all my film into a local lab. I did get all the photos put onto CD at the time of developing.

Practically all the labs are digital these days. That means that they develop the film, then the machine scans the negatives and uses the resulting digital file to print the image. Transferring those files to a CD is then very easy. The down side is that that the scans are usually not very high quality...good enough for 4x6 or 5x7 prints...but nowhere as good as files from a good digital camera. Some labs offer better scans as an extra service, check you local labs.

To get better digital files from scans...you can do it yourself...but good scanners aren't cheap...and it's a time consuming process that may take a lot of practice to perfect.

I've seen some people buy the scanners and try it that way...but they usually end up getting a DSLR anyway.

That doesn't look to bad to me, as a beginner.

But don't you notice it a bit more in the color photos?

What kind of scanner do you have ladyphotog?

I have a scanner that came with my printer, it was just a little something special to seal the deal. Nothing too great, I don't think.

It's part of the Dell All In One printer. I've scanned some photos and the B&W ones seem to come out alright, but the color one's don't come out as great. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. I will have to give it another go.

I have the Epson Perfection 4990 scanner, it takes up to 8x10 film and prints. It is great but it runs about $450.00. But I think worth every penny, the first scan every time is great.

Actually, ladyphotog did mention a very good point. The film scanners now a days are quite impressive - for instance the Epson 4990 I believe it is called? Not too steep in price either if you think about how quickly the price of making CDs at your lab will add up.

Specialty

I agree with Big Mike. When I would get CDs at Walgreens for my shots that I took with my SLR, they were really noisy, and very bad in quality. I would suggest you get them on a CD, but perhaps just using this SLR as practice for when you do get up to digital.

That doesn't look to bad to me, as a beginner.

But don't you notice it a bit more in the color photos?

Can't say, because that HP5+ is the only film I've ever ordered with a CD from the lab because soon afterwards I bought a Nikon Coolscan, so I can do my own colour if I want. Like these, which are Fuji Sensia 35mm transparencies taken with a Nikon SLR and scanned myself:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=51095

I wouldn't describe them as noisy, but others might I suppose.

Thom

To develop black & white film, you'll need a changing bag (or completely dark closet), developing tank, reels and chemicals. Torus34 has written some great articles about developing: http://www.thephotoforum.com/node/34
To make prints from your film, you do either need a darkroom or you can scan your negs and print from that. I use a Canon flatbed to scan my negs, but I only use the scanned images for my own personal prints (usually no larger than 5x7) or web images. To be used professionally, you might want to consider a dedicated flim scanner, such as the Nikon Coolscan.

Color film is a whole different animal - I've read that it's slightly more complicated, needs much more temperature control, and is fairly expensive unless you develop a lot of film. I take my color film to the local pro lab.

Thanks for the info Nicci, but I have devleoped film before in clesses I've taken. I'm doing it all on my own now, and was just curious how all of you do it on your own.

One more question that wasn't answered, will I be able to choose which images I'd like printed after I take them home on the CD to view? And if they scan to the CD in bad quality, will they then print at, say Walgreens, in bad quality?

I develop my own and then scan them into my computer myself, however, I have a very high end scanner so I get great results.

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Film Developing Question