Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/06
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]From: RP Johnson <rpjohnson2@home.com> Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 1999 20:51 Subject: [Leica] film and traveling > Although I have to disappoint Anthony on one matter: I do pack > two pounds of coffee with me when I go. Sheesh... and here I thought my example was an excellent _reductio ad absurdem_! > Coffee in France is good, but expensive for us 10 cup > a day types. If you drink ten cups of _French_ coffee per day, you won't sleep for the duration of your trip. One cup of most European coffees is the same as about a pot full of American coffee; the only difference is in the dilution. > Can other seasoned travelers tell me why (aside from the slight > increase in expense) I should not buy film in Europe and have > it developed there? There isn't any reason that I can see! It's one of those urban legends--like bringing toilet paper over from the States, or bottled water. > I can get negatives only processing and I suspect that > slides may be better done in Europe since they shoot more > of them than we do in the US. The one-hour lab I usually go to does an excellent job on E-6, although they messed up three rolls of B&W. If that's not good enough, there are pro labs that will also do E-6 in two hours or so, or at least on the same day. E-6 doesn't usually have the backlog of C-41, either, so long waits seem to be less frequent (and hopefully the chemicals are a bit fresher as well). Personally I'd be very nervous about taking rolls and rolls of once-in-a-lifetime pictures on a trip and then trying to bring back all the exposed film _undeveloped_ to home with me. Like I said, one blast with x-rays somewhere and it might all be ruined. Why not just get it developed and have peace of mind? Additionally, if you get it developed right away, you still might be able to reshoot anything that didn't come out. Not only that, but developed film won't suffer as much if environmental conditions become extreme or change rapidly. -- Anthony