I do the same as Ian, but I check the prints before leaving the
establishment (a drugstore). If prints are too yellow (quite often when
I use available light), or don't reflect what the negs look like, I go
to the person at the counter, and they always send them back for free
proper reprinting. They usually charge 5.99 Canadian for developing and
processing for 24, with an extra set of prints for just 99 cents.
I don't use 1-hour processors generally. I figure big labs have better
quality control.
I've been told that quantity prices for chemicals and paper these days
are very cheap, at least in Canada. That 4x6 print costs them less than
5 cents Canadian for chemicals and paper.
tOM
On Thursday, December 05, 2002 at 18:20
IanG <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I shoot colour neg, 1/3rd stop or more underrated, and put the roll through
> the cheapest lab I can find (about £4 at the local chemist). The prints, I
> give to my wife, and then I scan the negs, play with them in Photoshop and
> print the occasional one on an Epson 880 (cheap, cheerful and better than
> the labs can do). Mostly I just show them on the computer.
>
> This week I shall be sending a few of my scanned files off for printing by a
> lab - hopefully to get high quality prints.
>
> Standard lab printing is not good but I've never yet had a truly badly
> developed film back. I've found neg to have a number of advantages over
> slide... easier to expose, easier to scan, the set of prints act as both big
> contacts and as a colour guide and finally my wife gets a set of prints all
> of her own.
>
> I'm using a Nikon Super Coolscan and it has been able to get details off
> both negs and slides which has surprised me...
>
> regards
> Ian
>
> PS I've also scanned archived stuff although one downer is that all the
> relatives and neighbours want their stuff copied and 'improved' now.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Jon Mitchell
> Sent: 05 December 2002 17:45
> To: Olympus Mailing List
> Subject: [OM] Developers - AAAAARRRGGGHH !
>
>
> OK, so I've finally lost it with developers / processors. The prices they
> are charging me are going up and up and the quality is getting worse. Now
> I've recently acquired a very nice OM-4 from a list member (thank you,
> anonimous enabler !) and love the fact that I can use the spot meter to
> choose which area of the frame I want to meter from and get exposed
> correctly. But WHAT IS THE BL**DY POINT IF THE D*MNED DEVELOPER AVERAGES
> EVERYTHING OUT WHEN ITS PRINTED !!!!
>
> Just had a very unpleasant argument with the girl behind the counter. She
> kept explaining that the machine would take the average light reading across
> the frame, and that it would be best for my pictures that way. I pointed
> her to some of the prints that they had grossly over-exposed and expressed
> over and over again that *I* will choose how I want my pictures exposed not
> *HER* and certainly not a bl**dy *MACHINE* !!!! She still thinks that the
> machine knows best. I GIVE UP !!!
>
> Right now I can't see very many options available to me.
>
> 1) I can pay even more and have a pro-lab do my developing / printing (most
> likely for the moment).
> 2) I can shoot slide film (good, but I would then want a slide scanner and a
> good photo printer).
> 3) I can go digital (yeah, like I'd dump my OM's - NEVER !!!).
>
> So for the moment I shall be having to pay 10GBP (I think that's a little
> over 15 USD) for each film I want developed and printed 6x4.
>
> Looking to the future a little more, I have been thinking of a slide / neg
> scanner for some time now. I like the idea of scanning my pics in and being
> able to display them on my PC / on the web. Scanning prints on a flatbed
> scanner just doesn't quite cut it !! But if I am to dump prints altogether,
> I would need a good quality printer to do my own photo printing. Doesn't
> this start to get a little on the expensive side ? Not just the hardware,
> but the consumables ?
>
> I'm starting to seriously regret not buying that "minilab" I saw on Ebay a
> few months back for 300GBP. Full colour processing machine. Good one too.
> Would have taken up most of the lounge, and the smell in the house would
> have been rather unpopular, but AT LEAST I WOULD GET THE RESULTS I WANT !!!
...
---- Quidquid latine dictum sit altum viditur ----
,__@ tOM A. Trottier +1 613 860-6633 fax:231-
6115
_-\_<, 758 Albert St.,Ottawa ON Canada
K1R 7V8
(*)/'(*) ICQ:57647974 N45.412 W75.714
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a
little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor
safety." -- Benjamin Franklin
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