Re: [Leica] Grey Zone

["Anthony Atkielski" <anthony@atkielski.com>]

From: Alexey Merz <alexey@webcom.com>
Sent: Monday, September 27, 1999 20:08
Subject: Re: [Leica] Grey Zone


> Let's get this straight: you can afford high end Nikon
> (F5) and Leica (M6) gear and then you skimp on your
> processing?

I don't skimp; but I can't afford to shoot too much.  At current prices, for
example, and two rolls a day, with _no_ prints, I will have paid for an
additional M6 or F5 in a few months.  I can't afford to drop sums like that over
and over.  Development is by far the most expensive part of photography, if one
shoots with any frequency at all.

> I would *strongly* suggest that you will obtain better
> results if you DIY and/or go to a pro lab.

Space constraints prevent DIY, as far as I can tell thus far.  I get excellent
results from one-hour labs (usually), but they usually won't do black and white.
I may start going to a pro lab for everything, though, since there is one nearby
and it doesn't charge that much more than the one-hour places do.

> BTW, good pro labs need not be obscenely expensive.

They aren't that expensive at all, objectively.  It's just that it adds up.  In
order to gain experience, I'll have to shoot hundreds of rolls.  That's
thousands of dollars in processing costs.  I shoot as much as I can, but I'm not
independently wealthy.

Another thing to be kept in mind is that, if I'm shooting for practice, the
cheapest processing is the best.  That is true no matter what equipment I'm
using.  And good equipment serves me when I decide to shoot some serious
pictures (as opposed to exercises).

> And a good lab is *much* less likely to scratch or mismount
> your precious slides.

True.  Sometimes I see little scratches on my one-hour stuff, although they've
been better lately.

  -- Anthony