Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/02/22
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]BTW, tomorrow my dad is coming down to visit, and if I can pry him away from figure skating on the tele, I'll drag him down to the DADA exhibit at the national gallery. I love to shoot inside the museum, and typically have used HP5+ at ISO 800 in the past. XP2 just isn't going to cut it here, as you point out - under exposure gives a really gritty look (nice in itself, but not what I'm looking for shooting the museum's loverly architecture). I got to get on the phone to Chrome and B&W Labs here in town and talk to them about processing pushed HP5+. I do it (or more accurately at this point, "did it") in HC-110 (H) with very, very gentle agitation and have been happy with the results, but I'm worried what even a decent commercial lab might do to it. Maybe I'm too paranoid. Soup and a contact sheet isn't too pricey, and if I could become comfy with a commercial lab, I'd be able to catch up on a 7.5 month backlog of undeveloped film. Scott Don Dory wrote: >Scott, >I don't think that C-41 will go away anytime soon, it just will not be as >ubiquitous as it has been. I believe that probably the best E-6 lab in town >is doing as much C-41 work as E-6 work now so at least one outlet in Atlanta >for the long term. > >Seth will be smiling at me, but for C-41 B&W films, the current Kodak >offering is very much superior to XP-2. XP-2 is just too tricky compared to >the Kodak offering. I think it is really a 200 ISO emulsion, it doesn't >respond well to underexposure, grain can be an issue in thin parts of the >negative, the base can scratch fairly easily, and other reasons not to >appreciate this film. > >An alternative would be to shoot color negative film and have it converted >to B&W. Your local Ritz can do this very easily, if they have a Frontier >they can also play with sharpness and contrast but will not want to. > >Don >don.dory@gmail.com > > >On 2/22/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: > > >>Interesting. This has recently become an "issue" that's important to >>me. Up to this past summer, I shot color in digital, and B&W in >>traditional films that I would soup myself. Now, I just don't have the >>energy (due to illness) to soup my B&W film - I have an embarrasing >>pile of the stuff yet to be developed :-( >> >>So I've started shooting XP2 and having it developed for me, using >>4x6 prints for proofing. I have a bunch of it in the freezer, and so far, >>it seems to do the trick well enough. Ok not well enough, but I'll take >>what I can get at this point :-) I've spoken to the guy at the local Ritz >>down the street about properly processing/printing XP2, and he seems >>sensitive to the issue, and I don't get any weird blue or green prints >>that >>I've gotten in past years. >> >>I've also got some Fuji chrome film (Velvia 50 and Provia) and some >>Fuji mailers, but I've had a *HELL* of a time scanning slides that >>even *remotely* resemble what they look like through my Mamiya >>loupe. Maybe I need more practice here - don't know. >> >>But my health is starting to look up, and maybe I'll get back to good >>old traditional film grain soon enough! >> >>Since I got sick, I've learned that a big advantage of living in a big >>city is access to a wide variety of medical specialists. Now I can add >>access to C-41 processing :-) >> >>Scott >> >>Don Dory wrote: >> >> >> >>>Scott, >>>Your question gets to the heart of my question. In small towns I think >>> >>> >>that >> >> >>>the closing of minilabs will happen sooner than later. You will still be >>>able to get your digital capture printed, but C-41 films will have to be >>>farmed out probably to Kodak. In a more urban environment, I believe >>> >>> >>that >> >> >>>the current density of labs will thin out quite a bit. Here in Atlanta >>>where I live you probably could hit a C-41 machine every half mile on >>>average; however, I don't see much film hanging. Plenty of digital >>> >>> >>prints >> >> >>>but not a lot of film. >>> >>>I suspect that in the rural and very suburban enviromments, those labs >>> >>> >>that >> >> >>>have figured out new strategies to survive such as wedding, portrait, >>>retouching, restoration, novelties, scrapbooking, studio, custom >>> >>> >>printing, >> >> >>>digital printing will look at the time and expense of keeping the C-41 up >>>and running and at some point will decide to scrap the beast. >>> >>>I also suspect that the drug store lab will morph into your digital print >>>center and will lose the C-41 machine as well. For drug stores and even >>>Wal-Mart the print business is a lure to get people in the store. Once a >>>customer graces the front door, they are almost guarenteed a $50 basket >>> >>> >>at >> >> >>>the check out counter. >>> >>>Don >>>don.dory@gmail.com >>> >>> >>>On 2/22/06, Scott McLoughlin <scott@adrenaline.com> wrote: >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>>Is this mostly an issue in small towns or suberbs? >>>> >>>>At least the various Ritz cameras around downtown DC I >>>>sometimes use always have someone in the back working at the >>>>machine and cranking out prints. I don't know about the Penn >>>>Cameras downtown because the "guts of the operation" are not >>>>visible. But Penn is still renting out MF film gear, selling film >>>>including a reasonable selection of B&W films and 120 films, >>>>and so forth. >>>> >>>>Is this some kind of "special case"? >>>> >>>>Scott >>>> >>>>Don Dory wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>Adam, >>>>>The hassle of keeping your typical mini-lab C-41 up to snuff is no >>>>> >>>>> >>light >> >> >>>>>matter for the home enthusiast. Volumes start at about 10 litres and >>>>> >>>>> >>you >> >> >>>>>would have to run possibly 5 rolls a day to keep the chemistry fresh. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>Then >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>there is the rack maintenance to keep dried chemistry from scratching >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>your >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>>negatives. For the home, the Jobo system makes much more sense.. >>>>> >>>>>Don >>>>>don.dory@gmail.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>On 2/22/06, Adam Bridge <abridge@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>>>If these minilabs start being sold maybe there's an opportunity there >>>>>>for a really wiz-bang home lab! >>>>>> >>>>>>On 2/22/06, Richard S. Taylor <r.s.taylor@comcast.net> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>>(snip) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>>So, those of you who use C-41, how busy are your labs? >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>Don - The short answer is not very busy at all, at least as far as >>>>>>>C-41 processing is concerned. I would guess that part of his >>>>>>>business has dropped to about 25% of what it was at its peak. To >>>>>>>survive, he has had to change with the times. He (actually, one man >>>>>>>plus one gal on the counter) now offers a wide range of digital >>>>>>>printing services, portraiture, sports and wedding photography, photo >>>>>>>copying and restoration, and does a lot of commercial business as >>>>>>>well as the retail he started with. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>He seems committed to keeping the C-41 service alive and long may he >>>>>>>be successful. His product is superior to either of the two local >>>>>>>alternatives, a CVS and a video store. >>>>>>> >>>>>>>I processed my own B&W film (35, 120, 616, 116) for years. Now the >>>>>>>convenience of C-41 really appeals, particularly since the shop does >>>>>>>good work and deals with the hassle of scanning all the negatives. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>(snip) >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>>>Don >>>>>>>>don.dory@gmail.com >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>>>>>Leica Users Group. >>>>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>-- >>>>>>>Regards, >>>>>>> >>>>>>>Dick >>>>>>> >>>>>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>>>>Leica Users Group. >>>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>>>Leica Users Group. >>>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>>Leica Users Group. >>>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>-- >>>>Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps >>>>Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 >>>>(Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act) >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>_______________________________________________ >>>>Leica Users Group. >>>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>_______________________________________________ >>>Leica Users Group. >>>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >>> >>> >>> >>> >>-- >>Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps >>Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 >>(Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act) >> >> >> >>_______________________________________________ >>Leica Users Group. >>See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information >> >> >> > >_______________________________________________ >Leica Users Group. >See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > -- Pics @ http://www.adrenaline.com/snaps Leica M6TTL, Bessa R, Nikon FM3a, Nikon D70, Rollei AFM35 (Jihad Sigint NSA FBI Patriot Act)