# Cheap film processing - also



## fractionMan (Sep 26, 2012)

I've got a film camera on the way and I'd like to play with it but I don't particuarly want to spend that much money.  

Initially I'll be playing with colour but I'll also be shooting b&w, probably with chromogenic film if I can't find somewhere cheap to develop proper black and white.  I'd think about developing it myself but there's no way I have space for the equipment.

Does anyone send their film off or take it into the shop to be processed?  Where do people recommend?


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## 8115 (Sep 26, 2012)

I used to use Boots.  It's not that cheap though.  You can get the negatives put on cd.


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## fractionMan (Sep 26, 2012)

Develop only is only £2 here, but £4.50 with CD http://www.photo-express.co.uk/price-list.php

truprint (oldskool!) prices are a bit unclear but could be cheaper: http://photos.truprint.co.uk/prices/index.html


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## cybertect (Sep 26, 2012)

I've been using AG Photographic in Birmingham for C41 lately and been pretty happy: £2.99 per film dev only, inc return postage. And they will handle 120, 110 and 126 in addition to 35mm at that price.

http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/film-processing-395-c.asp

Film comes back in Kenro sleeves, which is perfect for me as I store all my negs in a ring binder.

E2a: For E6 slide and very important stuff I go to Peak Imaging in Sheffield, but they are rather more pricey.


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## wayward bob (Sep 26, 2012)

we have an indie place down the road where they do colour & b&w onsite, they'll even cross process if you ask them nicely  not the absolute cheapest but quick and you get a free film that you can upgrade to something worth having and it's good to support somewhere local. they'll do just process, or process/scan as well as p&p and they'll give you back your negs uncut (can't remember why i wanted that )

ftr b&w dev is easy to do in the bathroom, it's the printing that takes the room/equipment. if you have a scanner that does transparencies you can get decent quality from 120, not tried it with 35mm. i've sent them out to print in the past but can't remember where. there's a fairly recent thread on here that has all the info if you decide you are interested.


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 26, 2012)

wayward bob said:


> we have an indie place down the road where they do colour & b&w onsite, they'll even cross process if you ask them nicely  not the absolute cheapest but quick and you get a free film that you can upgrade to something worth having and it's good to support somewhere local. they'll do just process, or process/scan as well as p&p and they'll give you back your negs uncut (can't remember why i wanted that )
> 
> ftr b&w dev is easy to do in the bathroom, it's the printing that takes the room/equipment. if you have a scanner that does transparencies you can get decent quality from 120, not tried it with 35mm. i've sent them out to print in the past but can't remember where. there's a fairly recent thread on here that has all the info if you decide you are interested.


My local Jessops did a cross-process for someone I knew. Some idiot didn't recognise what film they were dealing with.


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## wayward bob (Sep 26, 2012)

loads of places bitch about x-p because it supposedly fucks with the chemistry, but not in small quantities  i think people used to take them to asda or somewhere cos they never check 

ouch for your mate though


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## Vintage Paw (Sep 26, 2012)

Great tip about that place in Brum, cybertect. I'd been using Peak, but it's really quite expensive. I've got tons of film hanging around that I never get around to shooting because the prospect of all that money on processing isn't appealling.

There used to be a nice little family run place here in town that did it all, but in the end they just weren't getting the business, and they closed. A damn shame. I was one of a handful of their only regular film customers near the end.

My scanner (can't remember what it is, it's been so long since i've used it) handles 35mm fine. It's never going to be professional quality, but I don't really care. It depends what you want it for. If it's going online or for small prints, it'll be just great. If you need something printing bigger, you can send the negs away to a specialist place, I guess.


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## cybertect (Sep 26, 2012)

BTW, for those that don't own a scanner, one of the guys from AG turned up on a photo forum I frequent a couple of weeks ago and mentioned they're going to be introducing a Dev + Scan service soon.


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## fractionMan (Sep 26, 2012)

cool beans


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## Vintage Paw (Sep 26, 2012)

cybertect said:


> BTW, for those that don't own a scanner, one of the guys from AG turned up on a photo forum I frequent a couple of weeks ago and mentioned they're going to be introducing a Dev + Scan service soon.


 
That sounds great. If it's not too pricey, it might be something I'd be interested in. Scanning can be a faff. But then, after I set up the scan preview, I often find there are only a couple of frames per roll I want to scan anyway.


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## fractionMan (Sep 26, 2012)

Yay, just bought a pentax SFX with 3 rolls of fuji superia for £6.49. Needs a battery (2cr5 - about 4 quid) but otherwise seems like a decent deal, especially as I can stick my existing pentax-f 35-70 and 50 f1.7 lenses on it 







I already have that exact lens lol

eta: bah, it's 24exp film. Who uses that?


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## Vintage Paw (Sep 26, 2012)

My mother called the other day to say she found a Fujica 605N in her loft that I can have. Parents with lofts. It's great, innit? I've got a couple of boxes full of old colour film, all of it out of date. Some b&w too, but mostly colour. I'm hoping it's degraded a bit, because the only reason I pick film over digital is in the hope it'll add something imperfect to the picture.


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## FridgeMagnet (Sep 27, 2012)

Poundland are doing Agfa Vista 200 for, oddly, a pound a roll at the moment (at least in some branches) if you want to stock up.

I don't shoot a lot of colour and when I do it's mostly rubbish so I tend to just take mine to Snappy Snaps for a £2/24h dev only, then scan it myself. However, when I get back from holiday I may send mine off to Genie Imaging, who have a deal on dev plus scan ATM - will have to see if that's still going.

It _is_ cheap and easy to dev your own B&W, and also satisfying, but if you aren't sure you're going to keep it up it's probably not worth buying the kit immediately. Consumer colour film plus dev only processing is still quite cheap.


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## Vintage Paw (Sep 27, 2012)

There's a Max Spielman in town that will do dev only (in an hour, too ). Some places won't do it, and insist you have prints and/or a CD as well. iirc last time I tried Boots that was the case, and it worked out expensive.


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## fractionMan (Sep 27, 2012)

Poundland?  I live in Bath.  There's not a pound shop in sight


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## FridgeMagnet (Sep 28, 2012)

Well, you can still get it quite cheap mail order. Ag Photographic are doing Agfa 400 for £2.56 and Kodak Color Plus for £1.98, for instance.

http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/agfa-colour-negative-print-film-385-c.asp
http://www.ag-photographic.co.uk/kodak-color-plus-423-c.asp


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## cybertect (Oct 5, 2012)

Vintage Paw said:


> That sounds great. If it's not too pricey, it might be something I'd be interested in. Scanning can be a faff. But then, after I set up the scan preview, I often find there are only a couple of frames per roll I want to scan anyway.


 


i had an email from AG Photographic this morning announcing their dev + scan service. They're also doing E6 and b/w too and will supply prepaid mailing bags to send your film to them.

A new web site to go with it.

http://www.ag-photolab.co.uk/


BTW, didn't mention this before, but I've been running a thread on the topic on talkphotography.co.uk with a load of links for alternatives: Film Developing in the UK


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## fractionMan (Oct 5, 2012)

Had the camera almost a week now but I'm still waiting for the bloody battery I ordered from ebay to arrive


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## fractionMan (Oct 5, 2012)

I never thought I'd moan about a lack of asda round here


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## fractionMan (Oct 9, 2012)

How much should a cheaop lightbox cost?

I'm considering putting negatives on it then snapping them with a macro lens to make quick and cheap digital images of the ones I like.

There's one that looks like it'll go for 14.99 on ebay.  reasonable?


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## fractionMan (Oct 9, 2012)

This small one is 22 quid new: http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/products/2803/firstcall-lightbox-petite


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## Vintage Paw (Oct 9, 2012)

I've seen people doing similar just by sticking them up to a very well-lit window. Certainly a cheap option while you're otherwise getting sorted out.


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## cybertect (Oct 9, 2012)

I've done it with 35mm slides before with my Panasonic G2, a lightbox and an FD 50mm Macro lens.

Worked quite well, actually.

As long as the light is even, it should be fine. Colour balance isn't so critical for a light box for this purpose with a digital camera as you can adjust that in PP.

The biggest problems are

- holding the film still in the right place
- masking off the lightbox round the edge of the frame so you don't get flare


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## fractionMan (Oct 9, 2012)

I'll try out the window idea, would electrical tape be good for holding it in place?

Didn't consider the flar, I guess I'll have to see how it works out.  I've got a 70mm macro that I can use to take the shots


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## ViolentPanda (Oct 9, 2012)

fractionMan said:


> Yay, just bought a pentax SFX with 3 rolls of fuji superia for £6.49. Needs a battery (2cr5 - about 4 quid) but otherwise seems like a decent deal, especially as I can stick my existing pentax-f 35-70 and 50 f1.7 lenses on it
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I've long been annoyed at Pentax for not carrying over the single best design feature of their autofocus cameras to their digital cameras - the de-centralised hotshoe.


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## fractionMan (Oct 9, 2012)

It's a lovely feeling camera and makes an awesome noise when shooting and winding the film.  

It's definitely changed the way I take photos.  There's only 24 in there and I find myself too tightwad to just snap away.

Can't wait to see how the photos come out!


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

Just picked up 24 rolls of expired fujifilm superia 400 for 80p 

Shame I can't really afford to spend 48 quid to develop it.


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

eBay half of it in small lots to pay for developing the other half.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

FridgeMagnet said:


> eBay half of it in small lots to pay for developing the other half.



This is a good plan


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

It would take me ages to get through that anyway - £3 a roll over several months isn't too bad (dunno about £2).

Eta: doh, I see I said £2 - fairly sure snappy snaps is actually £3, though I usually mail it off these days


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

FridgeMagnet said:


> It would take me ages to get through that anyway - £3 a roll over several months isn't too bad (dunno about £2).
> 
> Eta: doh, I see I said £2 - fairly sure snappy snaps is actually £3, though I usually mail it off these days



I've not done it in ages tbh.

I think I'll just start shooting it and worry about the developing later.

All I need now is a new (old) film camera.


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've not done it in ages tbh.
> 
> I think I'll just start shooting it and worry about the developing later.
> 
> All I need now is a new (old) film camera.


You lost the Pentax?

There are loads of Pentax K bodies on eBay - I got a black ME Super recently (the black ones are a bit rarer but there are still quite a lot of them). Another good one is the Ricoh KR10 - goes for very little and works well.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

FridgeMagnet said:


> You lost the Pentax?
> 
> There are loads of Pentax K bodies on eBay - I got a black ME Super recently (the black ones are a bit rarer but there are still quite a lot of them). Another good one is the Ricoh KR10 - goes for very little and works well.



I've still got the pentax, and I've still got the 50mm manual focus prime for it.  But I'm really not liking the controls on it - they're very different to a normal camera.

I may try to find a different pentax.


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I've still got the pentax, and I've still got the 50mm manual focus prime for it.  But I'm really not liking the controls on it - they're very different to a normal camera.
> 
> I may try to find a different pentax.


The two I mentioned are very traditional - well, the ME Super doesn't have an exposure time dial, it uses buttons to save space (it's tiny, smaller than an Olympus OM), but the KR10 does.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

I'm also thinking of a half frame camera, maybe something like this but with better controls: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BARGAIN-T...ography_VintageCameras_SM&hash=item20e513927b


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

I have a couple of half frame cameras - an original fully-manual Olympus Pen, and a Yashica Samurai, which is a bit bonkers tbh (an autofocus one-handed half-frame zoom SLR that looks like a camcorder - without fail people say "wtf is that"). They're both pretty fun, but you do need to scan the negs yourself, and image quality isn't going to be super hot given the size. They've been okay mind.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I have a couple of half frame cameras - an original fully-manual Olympus Pen, and a Yashica Samurai, which is a bit bonkers tbh (an autofocus one-handed half-frame zoom SLR that looks like a camcorder - without fail people say "wtf is that"). They're both pretty fun, but you do need to scan the negs yourself, and image quality isn't going to be super hot given the size. They've been okay mind.



I was thinking I'd be scanning them myself as it's so much cheaper.  But I'd need some sort of lightbox, and a macro tube.


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> I was thinking I'd be scanning them myself as it's so much cheaper.  But I'd need some sort of lightbox, and a macro tube.


I just have a scanner with a backlight. Much quicker and easier than all that faffing about.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

FridgeMagnet said:


> I just have a scanner with a backlight. Much quicker and easier than all that faffing about.



Like a regular scanner?  Or one specially designed for scanning negatives?


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## FridgeMagnet (May 19, 2014)

fractionMan said:


> Like a regular scanner?  Or one specially designed for scanning negatives?


Canoscan 9000F - a flatbed with a backlight.


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## fractionMan (May 19, 2014)

Just realised my otherwise broken pentax f 35-70 still works at the macro end.  And I've got the K adaptor for my new Fuji.  

So I should be able to scan using that with just a lightbox (or window for now!).  Result.


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## fractionMan (May 20, 2014)

By some weird twist of fate there was a really cheap slide copier on ebay that fits the rather rare leica sized 39mm thread of my new fuji lens.  I'm going to give it a go.







eta: oh.  I think I've fucked up.  I now think this is an m39 thread, not 39mm screw on adaptor.

However, I think it clamps onto a lens, so may be able to use it with my pentax 35-70.


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## ToothlessFerret (May 20, 2014)

Cheap film processing?  DIY B/W is the cheapest, especially if you're careful with chems, and maximise their use.  It's cheap as chips.  Some films will develop at extended times with diluted developer.  I reuse stop and fix as much as I dare.  As for C-41, it can only be cheap if you are really good at process at exactly 38C, and take a lot of C41 photos.  Otherwise I'd use either a local independent, or maybe Snappy Snaps.

Expired or cheap C-41s.  For the freezer, or you can cross process in B/W process - leaving the scanner to do the work.  The negs look awful, but the scanner does pick up ok.  I've just cross processed an expired disposable camera film this evening.  Take a look at the Flickr Group for this:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/c41inbw/

I'm going to try pushing some Poundland film in B/W to 800 in the near future.

Scanner _ I use an Epson Perfection V500 with original masks.


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## fractionMan (May 20, 2014)

They look great!

I'd love to be able to process my cheap colour film as b&w


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## stowpirate (May 23, 2014)

Still two quid to get colour film developed at ASDA. A tad more if scanned onto CD albeit only low resolution scans. Noticed also fuji colour film was on offer at two quid.


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## Riklet (Dec 29, 2019)

Where is still cheap nowadays? Mostly just online or...?


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## FridgeMagnet (Dec 29, 2019)

Riklet said:


> Where is still cheap nowadays? Mostly just online or...?


I go online for most purposes. I still use AG Photolab - Film developing, processing, printing, film scanning, digital photo printing - their prices have gone up a little over the last few years but they're still ok I think. Mind you I only get the film developed, I scan it myself.

The only time I take it to a high street lab is if I'm doing something like a photo walk where you shoot a roll, drop it in for a one-hour process and print, then pick it up and everyone shows each other what they got. This is fun but kind of hard on the people at the lab if there are lots of you.


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